re: Reggie Bush = Bust?

Reggie was exiting , we should have changed our offense to accommodate him. More open, more motion like Philly. Square peg in a round hole.

Like I've been saying, everything in life has its proper context. Had Reggie been drafted in the 2nd round or later, he would have been considered a really good pick. But considering where he was taken, he was underwhelming. A #2 overall pick shouldn't be just a "solid contributor".

Prospects are not graded equally. It all depends on what the cost was. a 6th round pick who doesn't make it through training camp is not a bust. The odds were against him from the beginning, and he had an uphill battle to begin with. Alternatively a 1st or 2nd round pick doesn't make it through training camp, and he's a huge bust. Two different players, same result, different views.

I think a general timeline/guide from what to expect a top-5 pick to look like is something like this: Years 1-2, solid/quality starter. Years 3-6, fighting for probowl spots, years 5+ in the conversation for all-pro at their position. Mack and Von are perfect examples of what is EXPECTED out of a top-5 pick. Does that always come to fruition? No. But Reggie wasn't even close to these expectations.

Again, like I said, it's all relative. Reggie was the #2 pick and didn't live up to the expectations that come with that selection, not even close really. Had he been taken lower, the cost would have been less, thus the expectations lower, equaling a career without the bust stigma attached to him.

How his peers did has no bearing on this conversation, and you're starting to walk down a separate road. His draftmates being busts and him being a bust are not mutually exclusive. Just because it was a weak draft doesn't mean he didn't under-performed significantly for his draft position. He still could have performed up to expectations of #2 overall regardless of what happened to the other guys, but he didn't. That had absolutely no affect on his personal career.

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I think a lot of y'all aren't looking at this in the right context. Given that he was drafted 2nd overall, yes he is a bust. Is he a bust in terms of the average NFL player? No he was a solid contributor for a SB team, and a couple teams afterwards. But he put up nowhere near the production you would hope for/ expect from a #2 overall pick. The return definitely did not match the cost.

Now don't get me wrong, like I said in my first post, I think he was a big part of that SB team, and I like Reggie. I always rooted for him in Miami and Detroit. However that doesn't take away from the fact that in the correct context, he has been a bust. It is what it is. That's not to say he wasn't a solid player tho.

Go back and look at that draft. If they did a redraft, knowing what we know now, do you think Reggie would still be a top-10 pick? top-15? I don't.

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Since 2006 these were the top two picks and allpros/pro bowls.

2006:
Mario Williams: All-Pro
Reggie Bush: None

2007:
JaMarcus Russell: None
Calvin Johnson: All-Pro

2008:
Jake Long: All-Pro
Chris Long: Pro-Bowl

2009:
Matthew Stafford: Pro-Bowl
Jason Smith: None

2010:
Sam Bradford: None
Ndamukong Suh: All-Pro

2011:
Cam Newton: All-Pro
Von Miller: All-Pro

2012:
Andrew Luck: Pro-Bowl
RG3: Pro-Bowl

2013:
Eric Fisher: None
Luke Joeckel: None

2014:
Jadaveon Clowney: None
Greg Robinson: None

2015:
Jameis Winston: Pro-Bowl
Marcus Mariota: None


"bust rate" is pretty high

You're talking about his draft position being determinative of expectations. If no body else worth a damn was in his draft class then of course his draft position will be higher. If Bo Jackson, Peyton Manning, John Elway and Charles Woodson are in the same class he will go lower. Where he is drafted has something to do with who else is in the class.

He had a ton of hype from college. Too much. He wasn't an all pro. But he wasn't a bust.

You're saying he went second overall so he has to be an all pro. If where he went is what you're judging it on, then you have to look at who else is in the draft class. What if he was the 5th pick? Or the 4th? Doesn't that depend on who else is in the draft class? Isn't every 1st round pick considered to be a good player? Are you the guy who thinks supermodels are fat? There are only so many all pro spots. Over the past 10 years the all pro RBs are Adrian Peterson (multiple times), Chris Johnson (once), LeSean McCoy (twice), M. Lynch (once) and Demarco Murray (once).

I liked the pick and he did what Sean Payton asked of him. He would have never had a Barry sanders like career even if he was as good as sanders because of the style of offense we run. He did what the coaches asked of him and he did it well.