For every "bust" taken first overall in the NFL Draft, there was always at least one person who imagined him a future Hall of Famer. In every draft day war room, scouts, general managers and team presidents will be split on the best available player. And the pressure, having that first overall pick, comes not simply to find a serviceable player. No, season ticket holders and a monumental signing bonus demand a franchise-making player. Saturday, that task falls to the Miami Dolphins, who hold the NFL's No. 1 pick for the first time after a 1-15 season. "They expect No. 1 to be a superstar," said Ken Herock, a long-time director of personnel in the NFL. "And that may never happen." The Atlanta Falcons selected outside linebacker/defensive end Aundray Bruce with the first pick in the 1988 NFL Draft, bypassing the following: Wide receivers Michael Irvin and Tim Brown. Defensive end Neil Smith. Tight end Keith Jackson. All of them multiple-time Pro Bowlers. And that was just in the first round. Herock, then the director of player personnel with Falcons, coveted Brown. But the trend in the NFL, always a copycat league, was to mirror the success of the New York Giants, which had just won the Super Bowl with ends Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks. Begrudgingly, they came to a consensus. And the rest is history. Today, the No. 1 pick demands instant and lasting star power. Yet, only 12 of the NFL's first overall picks, dating back to 1936, have gone on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame while 34 others never played in a single Pro Bowl. History judges the No. 1 overall pick quite harshly and few are allowed a middle ground. Bruce was largely considered a bust. However, he played 11 seasons in the NFL, a long career by league measures. But because he never reached a Pro Bowl, he is tagged with what some consider and unfair burden. Not many accolades early on In the NFL's nascent years, being a top draft pick was more of an honor than a crucible. Paul Hornung knew weeks ahead of time he was going to be selected first in the 1957 draft. Regardless of which team won the coin flip, the Chicago Cardinals or the Green Bay Packers, both had told the running back he was going first. When the day came, a wealthy Notre Dame supporter who acted as the agent for all the Fighting Irish boys worked out the details for no fee. There was no shaking hands with the commissioner in New York and no photograph holding a Packers jersey with his name on the back. All Hornung knew was that the No. 1 overall pick meant a $3,500 signing bonus and a $15,000 first-year salary. "Nowadays, by God, if you're the No. 1 pick in the draft it's like you won the lottery," Hornung said. As the money grew incrementally, so did the attention. Quarterback Jim Plunkett came into the league in 1971 when there was no draft party or television rights for a circus at Madison Square Garden. He was working out at his mother's house when his agent called to let him know the New England Patriots had taken him first overall. Plunkett immediately faced high expectations. And even though he was named Rookie of the Year, he heard grumblings when none of his teams finished with a winning record in his first five seasons. link http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphi...fldraft_0420.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=46
With the amount of money these guys get paid, how can you NOT expect great things. The league really needs to do something about limiting rookie contracts, or maybe loading them with performance bonuses instead of guaranteed money so they actually have to EARN it, instead of just 'winning the lottery' as the article suggests.
Thats what ive been saying all along!!! In my opinion, it would be nice to see every player getting a base salary simply for playing. Then have a set of performance bonuses for each position established at the start of the year, and then you go from their keeping a running tally so to speak of what your players have accomplished, and then add it all up at the end of the year, and there you go. Here's your big payday now based on your performance. i know it would NEVER work... but wouldnt it be nice??? But the rookie salary cap works well for the NHL. you can draft these young guys like crosby, and ovechkin and so on... pay them a decent chunk of cash which isnt overly ridiculous, they get to play and make an impact right away, and you also still have cap space to pay the veteran players you need on your team for experience and leadership... But theres no doubt about it, in the NFL, if you dont hit a home run when you have the first overall pick (maybe even one of the top 5) it can set your franchise back several years.
And that's the real problem: Teams are trying way too hard for a home run instead of just going for a base hit. Take a look at the last eight drafts, for instance: Other than Mario Williams in 2006, seven of the eight #1 picks were boom or bust kind of projects. Two boomed, four busted and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Jamarcus Russell increase that number to five. In each case, the team picking at #1 could've chosen to take a single (Joe Thomas, Ronnie Brown, Julius Peppers, Ladanian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis) and be better off with it in the long run. Instead, they went for the homerun and payed dearly. I understand the call for a rookie salary cap. In fact, I'm all for it. But the NFL FOs are as much to blame for setting their franchises back than the rookie contracts they handed out to boom or bust players they shouldn't have drafted there in the first place. And I can't say I'm having a lot of sympathy for the woes of these teams. If you're stupid enough to hand out 68 million dollars to a quarterback who displayed poor work ethic and severe maturity concerns as well as sub-par technical skills, you are basically begging for a bust.
"The Atlanta Falcons selected outside linebacker/defensive end Aundray Bruce with the first pick in the 1988 NFL Draft, bypassing the following: Wide receivers Michael Irvin and Tim Brown. Defensive end Neil Smith. Tight end Keith Jackson. All of them multiple-time Pro Bowlers. And that was just in the first round." OUCH! That burns like hell lol.
Yes its sick how much money these untested rookies make, they need a cap in place desperately, both for the teams sake and the rookies. If they werent making so much, the pressure to produce right off the bat might not be so overwhelming. I also think you might see more teams "go for the single" and take a "safer" pick. I did find the copycat league comment amusing though, especially as it was the Giants who won the SB that year largely due to LT, whom the Falcons tried to emulate. I hate the copycat thing, just go out there and play your own damn game, and if you do it well enough, youll win!
