Who will be this year’s biggest draft bust?

Every year a number of busts are selected in the first half of the draft. The biggest busts are those that are picked early in the event, and this year has a number of possibilities to claim the prize of being the biggest draft bust.

Many believe Jadeveon Clowney has all the makings of one of the biggest busts in league history. With each passing day, it appears more and more certain that Clowney will be the Texans’ selection. His work ethic may be a bit suspect, but he has an incredible level of talent. That talent should help him become a solid starter in the NFL at worst.

Instead, I would suggest that Johnny Manziel is the player that leads the way in the bust sweepstakes. At 5’11”, Manziel is very short for a quarterback in the NFL. Sure, Russell Wilson is short and makes it work, but there’s no denying that it’s a disadvantage either.

In addition to his physical limitations, Manziel is used to being able to pull down the ball on a broken play and make something out of nothing. Unfortunately for Manziel, defenses in the NFL are far faster than anything he ever saw at Texas A&M. When he takes off against pro players, he’ll have a difficult time playing his normal Houdini role.

Probably most troubling, is the simple fact that quarterbacks have one of the more difficult transitions going from college to the NFL. Suddenly, throws Manziel could fit between coverage at Texas A&M are being intercepted over the middle. Manziel isn’t a guy that’ll be safe with the football either. He’s a gunslinger that’ll take shots instead of throwing the ball away on a lost play, and that type of mentality will probably get him into trouble early in his career.

Manziel may not be headed to a good situation either. Teams like the Texans, Jaguars, Browns and Raiders need a quarterback, and each of them make their picks in the top five. Manziel’s draft stock varies wildly depending on who you talk to. Going to Houston or Jacksonville would give him a fair chance of succeeding. Both of those teams are adding talent, and they’re moving in the right direction.

Going to Cleveland or Oakland would be a different story. Both of those teams are still floundering at the bottom of the standings, and there’s little to suggest that either team is moving towards the playoffs. Both teams lack leadership and they have few playmakers on either side of the ball that have the ability to change games for the better.

There are no safe bets in the draft. There’s just too many factors involved for any player to be a safe pick. Manziel is working against more than most prospects heading into the draft, and it puts him at a high risk for being a gigantic draft flop.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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