Why did ___________ turn out good against expectations?

[Trentwannabe]

47 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Because he was the classic big armed, tall QB that needed work.  Those have always been boom or bust, and almost always busted.  He's the one that finally boomed.

And GM's and fans alike will spend the next 15 years or so saying the big armed inaccurate QB they drafted could be their Allen. 

[redsoxsuck05]

Virtually everyone here expected JPP to bust. Only went first because he could do 15 back springs lol.

[BetterCallSaul]

6 hours ago, MSURacerDT55 said:

Gregory Rousseau - Made up for his perceived lack of athleticism/explosion/bend with above average athleticism+elite length+pass rushing saavy 

 

He just didn’t have a lot of tape. Rousseau was always gonna be a stud IMO. Glad he’s come into his own in Buffalo and looks like a star. 

[Pugger]

Often when a player exceeds expectations it is because, like Brady, you can't measure a player's heart and desire to be great coming out of college.  And the opposite is sometimes true - a great player at the collegiate level never lives up to the hype because he doesn't have "it" to succeed at the next level.

[Malik]

All player development is circumstantial. Proportionally speaking there are very few NFL players that would have been successful anywhere they went. Like a Calvin Johnson would have been a Hall of Famer anywhere, but most other WRs would have bounced out the league.

[Forge]

On 6/8/2023 at 8:58 AM, dll2000 said:

But George Kittle was flat missed.  Maybe just because he didn't have big numbers.  I don't know.   A lot of guys get drafted without big stats.  

 

Kittle crushed the combine. But he had 0 production in college and the Iowa coaches did not speak highly of him to the NFL 

[fluhartz]

On 6/8/2023 at 2:45 PM, scar988 said:

Yup. People love to say the Burfict hit caused him to go crazy. Naw. He had issues back in college.

yep, AB was always crazy was much as I hate to admit this the stealer organization is just ran so well that they were able to hide it for a long time...

Edited June 10, 2023 by fluhartz

[dll2000]

Why was Shannon Sharpe missed?  He is a monster and his brother was a stud.

Seems a no brainer.  

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by dll2000

[Jakuvious]

3 hours ago, dll2000 said:

Why was Shannon Sharpe missed?  He is a monster and his brother was a stud.

Seems a no brainer.  

 

Sharpe went to Savannah State. D2 school, and not even like, one of the really good D2 schools. Now, he did light it up there, but still...D2 school. Want to say he's still the only player ever drafted out of Savannah State, but maybe that's changed.

He was also very much a tweener during a much more conventionally minded league. Aside from Todd Christensen, who himself moved from RB to TE before finding a true home, basically all of the top TEs of the late 1980s (Keith Jackson, Kellen Winslow, Mark Bavaro, etc.) when Sharpe was drafted were in the 250 pound range. Sharpe was like 225, and even the Broncos who took him drafted him thinking he'd be a slow WR, not a small TE.

So ultimately, you had a small school tweener who was seen as too slow to play WR, too small to play TE, and it honestly makes sense.

[Spartacus]

I think Rashan Gary should be included here. After the draft most everyone didn't really like the pick or thought he was a guaranteed bust in the making. I think most were so off on him for a couple of reasons. 

1. Pre-Draft reviews saw effort concerns even when coaches and other players spoke extremely highly of his work ethic. I think people assumed due to the lack of stats with his physical profile that he must not be giving effort consistently. In Green Bay he has been one of the highest effort guys on the team both on and off the field. 

2. Scouting didn't do their due diligence enough on how he was asked to play at Michigan compared to what he would be playing at the NFL level. He was tasked way too much in college with hogging up OL for their LBs instead of pure pass rushing. This helped Michigan but is a big reason his stats in college were so underwhelming. Once he was asked to pass rush at the NFL level it showed how great he could be utilizing his athletic talent. 

I think with Gary it all came down to stats and in his case the stats really didn't tell the true story on how he was as a player and how he projected at the NFL level. A Ricky Elmore vs Clay Matthews type of situation. 

[vegas492]

On 6/14/2023 at 2:08 PM, dll2000 said:

Why was Shannon Sharpe missed?  He is a monster and his brother was a stud.

Seems a no brainer.  

 

Just going from memory...but he was viewed as a "tweener", wasn't he?  Like not fast enough or quick enough to play WR.  But not big enough to be an in-line TE.

I think he even was tried as a WR early, and failed, so he was moved to tight end.

And teams just found a way to make him more of a movement TE and the dude had that great mentality to go with that brain and hands that made it all work.

Wished the Packers would have drafted him anywhere in the draft just based on genetics.

Edited June 16, 2023 by vegas492
and I'm late to the party.....

[7DnBrnc53]

2 hours ago, vegas492 said:

Just going from memory...but he was viewed as a "tweener", wasn't he?  Like not fast enough or quick enough to play WR.  But not big enough to be an in-line TE.

I think he even was tried as a WR early, and failed, so he was moved to tight end.

And teams just found a way to make him more of a movement TE and the dude had that great mentality to go with that brain and hands that made it all work.

Wished the Packers would have drafted him anywhere in the draft just based on genetics.

I am looking at the April 16, 1990 issue of the Sporting News. They had Sharpe in with the WR's, and he was their fifth-best WR in that class. Here was their scouting report:

Quote

 

Strengths: Blessed with ideal size and strength. Despite level of collegiate competition, Sharpe seems advanced in most phases of the game. 

Weaknesses: Must improve blocking skills. His attitude is questionable. 

 

 

[OkeyDoke21]

On 6/8/2023 at 1:53 PM, jebrick said:

Antonio Brown fell because he was mental.  He was athletically gifted and could cut on a dime but Emmanuel Saunders predicted what would happen when they gave him the money.  The players knew what sort of person he was.  

Ryan Clark, too.  

Edited June 16, 2023 by OkeyDoke21

[Mr Bad Example]

On 6/8/2023 at 3:47 PM, Trentwannabe said:

And GM's and fans alike will spend the next 15 years or so saying the big armed inaccurate QB they drafted could be their Allen. 

I always tell people that Josh Allen's success is going to get so many GMs fired. 

[BetterCallSaul]

I think people severely underestimated Josh Allen because of the crap festival he played with. He did get a lot better in the pros, but Allen was very impressive in college IMO, even if you didn’t factor in the physical talent. I am willing to bet most people that hated him never watched him play full games & simply looked at his completion percentage & wrote him off.

His tape was good, he had elite physical tools, and above all else, he was an amazing leader with a level of maturity to him that is rarely seen in a kid that age. He was carrying a dreadful Wyoming team all by himself every single week. He also played in a pro style deep shot system, so he wasn’t able to pad his stats with bubbles, screens, and dump offs like a lot of other spread college QB’s can.

He was a rare prospect who did improve, but people are acting like he was John Skelton with legs coming into the league. It was dumb then when people sharted on him as a prospect.

I don’t think the league took a huge risk drafting him in the top 10, nor do I think his success is gonna lead teams to take uber athletes with arms but no skill very high. I think teams that need a franchise savior (Indy) are gonna take big swings, but not because Josh Allen made insane improvements. Allen progressed nicely, but it’s not like he completely pulled a 180–he was always gonna be good.