Seattle finished 26th in the league last year in rushing, averaging just 97.9 yards per game. They were tied for 25th with a 4.0 yard per carry average and they were tied for 27th with just seven rushing touchdowns.

The NFL is a passing league but the Seahawks’ shortcomings on the ground had to be at least part of the reason why the team finished 25th in the league in scoring with just 280 points.

The Seahawks’ problems in the run game can’t be completely blamed on Julius Jones (leading rusher with 663 yards and a 3.7 yard per carry average. Future likely Hall of Famer Walter Jones missed the season. Matt Hasselbeck missed two games and was certainly not healthy all year. But Jones is hardly inspiring as a team’s top running back option. He’s more typically the type of guy coaches are always looking to replace in the starting lineup (witness Dallas and Marion Barber III when Jones was still there).

The Seahawks took steps to address that shortcoming this weekend with low-risk trades that added former Tennessee Titan power back LenDale White and injured Jet Leon Washington. The former ran for 1,110 in 2007 and 15 touchdowns in 2008 – and those numbers were achieved before he actually got in shape for the 2009 campaign.

White lost most of his opportunities to Chris Johnson in Tennessee last year. But LenDale – welcome back to relevance. What kind of a workload he gets likely depends on a number of factors, including continued commitment to fitness, what last year’s backup Justin Forsett looks like in camp and the healing timetable for Washington, who adds a breakaway threat to the mix … if his broken leg fully heals.

Washington reportedly is likely to miss some time at the beginning of the season. His leg injury was gruesome. But if he can regain his old form, the Hawks acquired on the cheap a back who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 370 carries over four seasons and a guy who was carving out more time with the run-heavy Jets before his leg broke.

White and Washington both come with questions. There is no guarantee that these guys are going to turn those numbers around. But the team gave up a fifth and acquired a seventh to take on Washington and traded down in the fourth and sixth rounds to acquire White – and his teammate, defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson. The upside of both of these trades clearly made them excellent gambles.

Couple the trades with the acquisition of left tackle Russell Okung in the first round of the draft and the Seahawks’ offense should be much improved in 2010. I don’t necessarily think they necessarily solved all their problems. But the run game, in my opinion, will at least actually exist as a threat in the season ahead.

After trades before and on draft day four teams ended up with two picks in round one.

I like best the day the Seattle Seahawks had, which may not be surprising given that they were both in the top 14. The Hawks first nabbed Russell Okung, who will likely step in on day one to replace Walter Jones, when the Seahawks’ star left tackle makes his retirement official. The second pick, safety Earl Thomas, has 4.3 speed and was being talked up by some of the draft experts on ESPN as the best safety in the draft. He’ll immediately make the defense better too.

The San Francisco 49ers had a good day as well. There had been some talk that they might go for a speed back like CJ Spiller to complement Frank Gore. Instead, with the Clemson back off the board early, the 9ers nabbed two stud offensive linemen to make holes for Gore instead. Anthony Davis from Rutgers is a 325 pound anchor who will also help protect whoever ends up at quarterback while Mike Iupati, the guard from Idaho, will also be a road grader.

The most controversial of the picks among teams with two first-rounders was Tim Tebow, who was Denver’s second pick of the night. He went 25th when there had been talk a few weeks and months ago that he might drop to the third or fourth round. Demaryius Thomas, a 6-3 wide receiver, will replace Brandon Marshall. According to the FoxSports.com draft tracker, coach Josh McDaniels thinks Thomas is actually faster than Marshall. That … would be impressive. I have my doubts.

Finally, I have no particular issue with Detroit’s two first-rounders. You can make an argument that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh might be the most talented player in the draft. And the Kitties then traded up to grab Jahvid Best, which I guess makes some sense with running back Kevin Smith nursing an ACL tear.

Still, this is a team with a lot of weaknesses, among them the offensive line. They must think awfully highly of Best to trade back into the first round to get him. But unless they think Smith is going to take a long time to heal they have a sufficient weapon there. And they still haven’t sufficiently addressed the offensive line, particularly the left tackle position in two years under coach Jim Schwartz – particularly important because they chose to build with Matthew Stafford last year rather than grabbing a tackle.

It looks like Stafford is going to be a decent player but they are going to want to do something to keep him upright at some point in the near future. He got killed at times last season already.

The Best pick is defensible. I don’t hate it. But he has durability concerns working against him as well. I like the aggressiveness but I would have preferred seeing them do something in the trenches on the offensive side of the ball instead.

The Jacksonville Jaguars struggled with attendance in 2009 enough to the point where rumors had the team several months ago considering drafting Tim Tebow in the first round just to get the locals interested in the team again.

They clearly decided Tebow wasn’t worthy of going with a top 10 pick and based on the reports it’s not surprising. They may still be able to get him in the second round if they want him.

But I can’t see fans in Jacksonville being all that excited about the team selecting defensive tackle Tyson Alualu instead. . That’s not to say the University of California product is a bad player – he may be a very solid lineman. Not that Mel Kiper is the end-all, be-all, but he had Alualu ranked as a late-first or early-second round pick.

Yahoo Sports had him as the 69th best player overall.

The Jags need defensive line help, no doubt. But it seems as though they might have been better off trying to swing a trade to move down eight to 10 spots and safely taking him there.

Either way, it’s hard for me to see this pick putting fans in the seats.

Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com trashed Jim Kelly a few weeks ago when the old Bills quarterback said he’d have no problem recommending Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to the Bills.

Florio criticized Kelly for the recommendation because Kelly has never been a scout – despite the fact that Kelly acknowledged in his answer to a question that he had never been a scout and couldn’t guess where Tebow should be drafted (Then just a few days later Florio chipped in with draft advice of his own … who are you going to listen to more? Florio or Kelly? I thought so.).

Today Florio puts 49er Hall of Famer Joe Montana in his sites. Montana was asked by NFL.com about Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame quarterback who could fall in the draft due, at least in part, to concerns about his attitude.

Montana’s response? “He came in with a little bit more of an attitude than most people wanted, but if you don’t have an attitude, you don’t make it in the league,” Montana told NFL.com. “You can’t be timid and shy.”

ProFootballTalk’s headline, “Montana has a bias” leads to a piece where Florio again makes the claim that Montana shouldn’t be recommending draft picks … despite the fact that Montana didn’t recommend a spot in the draft where Clausen should be taken. Montana actually doesn’t say Clausen should or shouldn’t fall – just that between Tebow, Clausen and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford that Clausen’s college performance will be the most telling because he played in an NFL offense.

Someone please tell me why former NFL quarterbacks – Hall of Fame quarterbacks for that matter – shouldn’t be able to offer opinions on how they think other up-and-coming quarterbacks might perform when they get to the NFL.

Kelly and Montana were both asked questions and they both answered them using their backgrounds and histories as former quarterbacks. Damn good quarterbacks. Quarterbacks who might have a hint of a clue what it takes to make it at that position in the pros.

I don’t know if Clausen will drop in the draft. I don’t know if Clausen should drop in the draft. But I do know that when it comes to which quarterbacks are worthy of being drafted or what attributes it might take to be a star in the NFL I am far more likely to put credence behind the thoughts of someone who has done it before.

Contrary to the pathetic and idiotic point that Florio has failed at least twice to make with any convincing evidence other than some thoughts from one anonymous, sniveling scout who apparently had his or her feelings hurt, neither of these guys is undermining scouts by doing offering these thoughts either.

And Florio is lessening any iota of credibility he still has by insisting that they are undermining scouts. Furthermore, he fails to mention the most convincing piece of evidence that there might actually be a bias involved in Montana’s thoughts — the fact that both Montana and Clausen attended Notre Dame.

Come on, Mr. Florio. Think this through a bit.Why do a lot of former players become studio hosts or game analysts? Because they know a lot about the game. Why do reporters go to former players to hear their thoughts about potential draftees? Because they know a lot about the game.

To think that is a conflict of interest is foolish and moronic. Kelly and Montana are former players with sometimes insightful opinions. And I for one enjoy reading them.

We realize that here at Zoneblitz.com (and at our baseball site) we sometimes rant on particular topics a little too much.  But sometimes, the subjects of our rants make it too easy not to.

Case in point–last week, Andy pointed out that Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk castigated Jim Kelly for saying that he would be comfortable recommending Tim Tebow to his former team, the Buffalo Bills, saying:

“The fact that he was a quarterback doesn’t make him qualified to determine the round in which another quarterback should be drafted. And it especially doesn’t qualify him to assess overall team needs and determine whether Tebow or any other quarterback should be picked instead of the best player available at another position, or the best player available regardless of position.”

Florio thought this was was worthy of a post, despite the fact that:

• Kelly was answering a question from a reporter, not actually making a recommendation to the Bills in their draft war room (that we know of)
• Kelly admitted he didn’t have enough information to decide whether he was worthy of a 1st round pick, but that he would be ok as a 2nd round pick
• Kelly acknowledged that he’s not qualified to make a recommendation as to whether the Bills should use the ninth pick in round one or the ninth pick in round two to get Tebow

Despite this, Florio added:

“If Kelly wanted to recommend players to the Bills, he should have become a scout upon retiring, rolling up his sleeves and grinding away and visiting college campuses and watching film. “

And this:

“Indeed, we doubt that many/any Bills scouts offered Kelly unsolicited advice about playing quarterback during his career.  He would be wise to return the courtesy now.”

Now, five days later, Florio offers up this gem:

“Even if he’s not ready to contribute at the NFL level as a rookie, his long-term potential likely makes him worthy of a selection in the top 20 picks.”

That quote was featured in a short piece about Jason Pierre-Paul, a defensive end prospect considered a “freakish athlete with unlimited potential”, but one that has raised questions about maturity and his readiness for the NFL with “nonsensical answers to fairly basic questions” during team interviews.

Hey Mike, I doubt that any scouts offered you unsolicited advice about how to try cases during your legal career–it might be wise to return that courtesy now.

Otherwise, some other blogs might start wondering just what you’re getting out of hyping a player that has raised legitimate concerns with his behavior during interviews–not to mention the fact that his “huge splash in only one year of major college football” amounted to only 6.5 sacks and only 7 starts (but still 13 games played)–hardly the kind of production that warrants a first round pick.

But hey, maybe you finally found another way to monetize all that traffic your site gets–I would guess that agents would pay pretty heavily to get a recommendation on a site that so many NFL insiders supposedly visit?

In the weeks following their shocking exit from the AFC playoffs the San Diego Chargers have announced plans to release LaDainian Tomlinson and not to tender Darren Sproles.

The first announcement didn’t surprise me. After seven fantastic seasons Tomlinson has struggled with injuries and performance the last two years, finishing 2009 with the lowest number of carries and yards-per-carry averages of his career.

The Sproles announcement, on the other hand, I found just short of stunning. First off, the guy has been a fireplug when he’s had the opportunity to play regularly, including the January 2009 playoff game where he had more than 300 all-purpose yards in the Chargers’ overtime win over Indianapolis.

Second, dumping both Sproles and Tomlinson left San Diego’s depth chart virtually bare, with just Michael Bennett – who hasn’t had as many as 50 carries in a season since leaving Minnesota after the 2005 season – listed as a halfback and two fullbacks, Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert, who have combined for just 78 carries between them in their two NFL seasons.

Tomlinson and Sproles combined to take 74 percent of the team’s rushing attempts in 2009 and 84 percent of them in 2008 while amassing 75 percent of the team’s rushing yards in 2009 and 83 percent in 2008.

And while he’s struggled, Tomlinson still scored 23 of the Chargers’ 30 rushing touchdowns the last two seasons with Sproles compiling four of the remaining seven.

In fairness, few are claiming the diminutive Sproles could take the pounding associated with being a 20 to 25 carry per game back. But with the Chargers turning into more of a pass-oriented offense with Philip Rivers at the helm, I’ve always wondered why he didn’t get four to five passes minimum a game along with another 10 to 12 carries out of multiple-receiver spread formations where he would have had more opportunities to get into open spaces.

On the other hand, Sproles made a ton of money in 2009 as the team’s franchise player and it is likely San Diego didn’t want to spend that kind of cash on a part-time player.

Furthermore, while the depth chart looks ugly at first glance, the cupboard might not be as empty as it looks.

Hester arrived in 2008 as a third-round pick out of Louisiana State. Lindy’s Sports Annuals called him the “inspirational leader of [the] Tigers whose motor never stops” and added that he “will work hard at all assignments.”

Most of those assignments thus far have involved blocking for Tomlinson and Sproles but in 40 career carries the 235-pound motor home does have a 4.2 yard-per-carry average.

Tolbert, who arrived the same year as a rookie free agent, is even bigger than Hester and has averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry in two fewer carries.

Neither of those guys are likely to take on a full-time feature role in 2010 but in this running back-by-committee era they can provide a piece of the overall Chargers’ running game solution.

While it’s risky for a top-notch, likely again playoff-bound team to put their eggs in the basket of a rookie, I would guess the NFL draft will also provide the Bolts with some new resources for their ground game.

The Chargers reportedly aren’t likely to get a shot at C.J. Spiller from Clemson without making a move up the board, but guys like Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer, Fresno State’s Ryan Mathews and California’s Jahvid Best are, by many accounts, being projected anywhere from the late-first to early-second round.

And running back is the one position coaches and scouts generally say is easiest for rookies to pick up in time to contribute right away.

If they don’t want to go the rookie route – or if they want to at least have a backup plan in case the rookie of their dreams doesn’t pan out, a Chester Taylor might be ready to move on from Minnesota. Guys like Brian Westbrook and Thomas Jones, who helped the Jets knock the Chargers out of the playoffs, are going to be on the free agent market as well.

So while if I was running the Chargers I’d have tried to find a way to keep Sproles on the roster I can see why their upper brass made the decisions they did.

It’s some risky maneuvering. But with an uncapped year all but a foregone conclusion for 2010, a deep draft and teams all around the league making moves at the position, letting their top two running backs from the last two seasons go at the same time might not be as crazy as it looks on the surface.

It didn’t take an expert watching Tim Tebow play quarterback for Florida over the last four years to see that he was a great college player and a good and decent human being. It also didn’t take a genius to guess that he’d have trouble translating his ample skills to the National Football League, at least if he wanted to continue playing quarterback.

While he was a great scrambler and he could buy enough time in college where his long windup didn’t hurt him he wasn’t going to get away with windmilling his throws playing against elite competition every week.

Those beliefs seemed to be confirmed when Tebow went to the Senior Bowl and promptly struggled – not only with his throwing but with taking snaps from center.

Give Tebow credit for paying attention. In a recent story published at Bleacher Report he indicates a realization that he’s got shortcomings and that he is and plans to continue working on them.

That same story, however, indicates that he won’t throw at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Huh?

If you know you have issues to overcome and you know all the scouts know you have issues to overcome and you say you’ve been working on correcting them wouldn’t you want to show that off?

“The changes I’m making have gone very well and it’s becoming more and more natural to me,” Tebow told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, according to Bleacher Report.

So throw at the Combine. Give scouts a reason to believe they should bump you up on their boards.

I’ve never been a fan of players not doing all the drills at the Combine. To me it shows confidence in your abilities if you go and do everything even if you are projected to be a top pick rather than picking and choosing the drills you are going to take part in. But it’s a bigger mystery when guys who aren’t at the top sit drills out. That only makes it look like you’re trying to cover up weaknesses.

As far as Tebow goes it’s hard to say where he’s projected to go. Most experts seem to indicate that he’ll be drafted but only as a project who’s going to need to sit for a couple years while fine-tuning those fundamentals he missed out on playing in the Gators’ spread offense.

If he is making progress one would think he’d want to take every opportunity he might have to show people and move up a few notches on their draft boards.

Or maybe not. What do I know?

I know I just wrote 2,200 words the other day focused at least in part on describing why I think ProFootballTalk.com isn’t as good a site as it used to be.

And I hate to harp on the topic. But he wrote another post today that raised my ire. Today Mike Florio’s topic was Noel Devine, the running back from West Virginia who decided to pass on the draft and go back for his senior season.

Sure, there might be little for him to prove by staying a Mountaineer. And yes, the NFL might impose a rookie salary cap for the 2011 season. So it’s possible – even likely – that Devine might cost himself some money by staying in school.

But at the end of the day, even if the NFL imposes a rookie salary cap, if he’s taken in the first couple rounds of the 2011 draft (assuming there is one) he’s going to make plenty of money.

Isn’t it just possible that Devine is enjoying the college experience? Can it be that he likes his teammates and wants to make a run at a major bowl game? Perhaps a national championship? Or, maybe he wants to guard against the chances that an NFL career doesn’t work out by, cough, cough, getting a degree?

Many college players come out early. And sure, it’s hard to blame them with the payouts they see in front of them. But many stay in school, some because they just enjoy it.

So often college football players are criticized for pretending to be students and using the NFL as a springboard for a pro contract. It’s almost surprising with a good to great player when it goes the other way.

So whatever Devine’s reasons, can we just enjoy the fact – injury risks aside (yes, see the cases of Sam Bradford and Michael Bush) – that this guy might be in the college game for more than just the big payoff? He’s taking a risk. But there’s insurance for that. I applaud Noel Devine. I don’t watch a lot of West Virginia games but I hope this move pays off for you.

No matter what ProFootballTalk.com says.

With the end of the decade approaching, a lot of people are putting out top 10 lists for the decade–so of course we figured, why should we be any different?

Rather than talk more about hall of fame level players, though, we decided to take a different approach–who were the top draft busts for the decade?

The criteria we tried to stick to for defining a bust was this:

• Had to be a first round pick–it sucks when later round picks don’t pan out, but they don’t have the expectations of first round guys.
• Not playing for a lengthy period of time due to football related injuries doesn’t necessarily equal a bust (think Ki-Jana Carter or David Pollack).
• However, injury due to a guy being an idiot can qualify him for bust status (Andre Smith’s getting fat, holding out, Charles Rogers possibly making his bones more brittle by smoking dope, etc).
• Obviously guys from this year’s (and maybe last year’s) aren’t fully qualified busts–but first round guys should always contribute something in their first season, second at worst, so they can be on the list.
• The rest of the first round does influence things—so if there are a bunch of busts early (like in 2002), it may be less likely that a guy is a bust later in the round, because there was probably quality to pick from…

With that, here’s our list:

10. Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints, 2006 2nd overall - Bush has hardly been a pure bust in the sense of contribution to the team–he’s a decent receiver out of the backfield, and has done some good returning punts.  But given the level of hype around Bush coming out of USC (and the baggage surrounding questions about whether or not he received inappropriate benefits–not to mention the fact that he is or was dating Kim Kardashian), and he makes our top 10 list.  I didn’t have a blog to talk about it at the time, but I knew even then that Texans made the right choice in taking Mario Williams.

9. Wendell Bryant, Arizona Cardinals, 2002 12th overall – Bryant disappeared from the league after just three seasons, totaling 39 tackles and 1.5 sack in his three seasons.  I don’t remember the details, but I remember thinking he was going to be a bust coming out of college, and he lived up to my expectations.  He joined the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL in 2009, but ended up being placed on injured reserve.

8. David Carr, Houston Texans, 2002 1st overall – Sometimes it isn’t (totally) a players fault that he’s a bust–Carr is a classic example.  He ended up starting his first season with the Texans (the team’s first in the league), before they had any semblance of an offensive line.  He got hit hard and often during his five years with the team, including an NFL record 76 times his rookie year–enough to make any quarterback gun shy.  But, the Texans still deserve some criticism for drafting a mid-major QB who needed a changed throwing motion first overall–especially with a guy like Julius Peppers on the board…although if they had gone Peppers, they may have taken Reggie Bush in 2006…or they could have taken Joey Harrington (3rd overall) who also could have made this list (we decided to leave him off simply because he played for the Lions).

7. Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, Tennessee Titans, 2005 6th overall – Sometimes guys who even were fairly talented and productive can be draft busts.  Jones had all the talent in the world–good cover corner, great kick returner–but his lifestyle choices got him suspended for all of 2007 and part of 2008, and eventually he was cut even by the Dallas Cowboys.  At one point he agreed to a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, but they decided against bringing him on board after he mistakenly called it the United Football League (which showed no interest in signing Jones).  Had he been a 3rd round pick, he was worth the risk–as the 6th overall pick, he’s just another bust.

6. Troy Williamson, Minnesota Vikings, 2005 7th overall – Back to back picks in the 2005 draft make the list.  The Vikings fell in love with Williamson’s speed after he ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine, and used the pick they got from the Oakland Raiders in the trade for Randy Moss to grab him.  They should have paid more attention to his hands (and/or eyes).  Williamson struggled to get on the field, and struggled to catch passes once he got there, dropping at least 11 passes during the 2006 season.  Even after working with Nike to correct vision problems, he struggled in 2007, dropping a 72-yard touchdown pass that hit him in the hands in the season finale, and a critical first down pass later in the same game.  He was traded to the Jaguars for a 6th round pick after the season, and while he is still on the roster, his most notable accomplishment with them is challenging Vikings head coach to a fight when the two teams met in 2008 (a game Williamson missed due to injury).

5. Charles Rogers, Detroit Lions, 2003 2nd overall – It’s tough putting any Lions on the draft bust list, considering the overall ineptitude of the organization during the decade.  But Rogers warrants mention, simply for the level from which he fell, and reason for doing so.  He started his career strong, with 22 catches, 243 yards and three touchdowns in his first five games–then he broke his collarbone, knocking him out for the year.  On the third play of his second season, he suffered another broken collarbone–then was suspended for games during the 2005 season for his third violation of the NFL Drug policy.  After returning, he played in only nine games, starting three and being declared inactive for four others.  Before the 2006 season, the Lions released him, and he failed to catch on with another team.  In August of 2009, he admitted that he smoked pot regularly, which many have speculated led to his bones becoming more brittle, leading to the broken collarbones.  He tried to catch on with an NFL or CFL team in 2009, but failed to do so.

4. Jamal Reynolds, Green Bay Packers, 2001 10th overall – Reynolds was the 2000 Lombardi Award winner coming out of Florida State, and was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award after setting career highs with 12 sacks and 58 tackles as a senior.  In his three year NFL career, he managed less than a third of those totals.  He played in 18 total games for the Packers, starting none, and accumulated 18 total tackles and 3 sacks.  The Packers traded him to the Colts after the 2003 season, but the trade was voided when he failed the Colts’ physical exam–the Packers released him 10 days later.  He was picked up by the Cleveland Browns, who had a terrible defensive line at the time–and they cut him before the beginning of the season.  He hasn’t been heard from since, other than making lists like this (he even made Charles Robinson’s worst all-time first round picks list in 2007).  While he ranks high on our list, we have to admit that it is impressive that taking such a colossal bust didn’t actually hurt the Packers terribly, as they made the playoffs each of Reynolds three seasons, including two NFC North division crowns.  By 2005, though, picks like Reynolds and Ahmad Carroll (25th overall in 2004) led to a 4-12 record.

3. David Terrell, Chicago Bears, 2001 8th overall – Terrell’s Wikipedia page sums up his career quite nicely–his career highlights and awards section simply says ‘N/A,’ while his Pro Career description is only four lines long, and starts talking about him being cut by the Bears on the first line.  His numbers might not be the worst of the first round busts, even–he started 29 of 54 games played, had 128 catches for 1,602 yards and 9 TD in his career–but in thinking back to his time with the Bears, I don’t remember anyone every saying anything positive about him, even Bears fans I know.  Williamson may push for this spot if he manages to not play any more NFL games, but for now, I consider Terrell the biggest WR bust of the decade.

2. Vernon Gholston, New York Jets, 2008 6th overall – This one is just for regular commenter Brad, who defended Gholston before this season.  It’s actually somewhat impressive that he’s made it this far up the list, given that it’s just his second season–but I think his production level, given where he was picked, combined with the pre-draft hype, warrants it.  Before the 2008 draft, all of the publications I read basically said the same thing–he disappeared at times for Ohio State, but he showed up at the combine and put up phenomenal numbers–basically, he was the classic Workout Warrior (aka, Mike Mamula v2.0).  Yet, most mock drafts I saw had him going to the Jets at #6–and despite the warning signs, they grabbed him.  So far, they’ve paid him over $10 million for 24 tackles and zero sacks, despite starting three games earlier this season when Calvin Pace was suspended.  Worst of all, he seems satisfied with his role on special teams–where he’s made just as many tackles as kicker Jay Feely.  It’s not a guarantee that Gholston will stay this high on the list–or even stay on the list, if he finally shows up next decade–but after two seasons, he has to be considered a huge disappointment for the Jets.

1. JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders, 2007 1st overall - Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Michael Griffin, Jon Beason–that’s the list of first round picks from 2007 that have made the Pro Bowl.  All of them taken after the Raiders took Russell.  Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye–both quarterbacks that earned starts over Russell during the 2009 season.  Heck, there were rumors that J.P. Losman was going to get a start, just days after they signed him after he led the Las Vegas Locomotives to the inaugural UFL Championship–and while he didn’t start, Losman did make an appearance in the game.  Russell’s career statistics are abysmal–51.8 completion percentage, 18-22 TD-to-INT ratio, 24 fumbles (14 lost), and a 65.4 career QB rating.  As with Gholston, it’s not a guarantee that Russell will be on this list when we look back in 3-5 years–but firmly entrenched right now, and he’s got a long way to go to get out–especially with Al Davis adding players like Darius Heyward-Bey in the first round (a player who may end up on this list himself one day).

Dishonorable mention:

Harrington, Ryan Sims, Mike Williams (OL), Mike Williams (WR), Peter Warrick, Travis Taylor, Rashard Anderson, R. Jay Soward, Willie Middlebrooks, Jerome McDougle, Michael Haynes, Carroll, Losman, Matt Leinart, Gaines Adams, Justin Herrill…we actually had about 20-25 other guys that made our consideration list.

Teams

So which teams had the worst luck (or simply did the worst job) utilizing first round picks during the first decade of the centry?

Well, the Detroit Lions jump to mind, with Harrington and their WR trio of Rogers (bust), Roy Williams (decent) and Calvin Johnson (solid).  The Raiders have to be in the mix as well, with Russell, Michael Huff and Heyward-Bey.  There could be a case made for the Bears as well–they hit with Urlacher at the beginning of the decade, but followed up with Terrell, Mar Colombo, Michael Haynes and Rex Grossman, and added Cedric Benson later in the decade (although he appears to have redeemed himself in Cincinnati).  The Cleveland Browns could also be a strong contender, with Courtney Brown, William Green, and questions still being raised about Brady Quinn–although quite a few picks that frustrated the Browns (Gerard Warren, Jeff Faine, Kellen Winslow Jr., Braylon Edwards) have done ok with new teams.

One team that might surprise some folks on our worst teams list would be the Green Bay Packers, who seem to do well despite their first round selections in many cases–Reynolds was a bust, Javon Walker only had one stellar season for the Pack before whining his way out of town, Carroll was a bust, A.J. Hawk seems to be considered by many a disappointment as a #5 overall pick, and Justin Harrell hasn’t shown anything yet.

What Do You Think?

You’ve seen our list–who do you think were the biggest busts of the decade?  Which teams did the worst?

Conversely, who were some of the best value picks in the first round for the decade?  Later round values?  Non-drafted free agent values?  Which teams did the best at finding gems?  We’re considering this list as well, and will work something out, if there is interest…

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Graham Harrell, the latest record-setting quarterback from Texas Tech University, has signed a contract to play for Saskatchewan in the Canadian Football League.

Nothing against the Roughriders (or is it the Rough Riders), but how can 14,000 yards passing and 119 touchdowns against 30 interceptions during a four-year college career not even warrant a training camp tryout in the NFL?

I realize Mike Leach runs a passing offense that skews some of those numbers. I also realize the stellar numbers of guys like Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons and Sonny Cumbie haven’t translated to success in the pros.

But in a league where backup guys like Dan Orlovsky, Quinn Gray, Cleo Lemon and Anthony Wright get recycled year after year after year, wouldn’t a fresh face like Harrell warrant a tryout?

Harrell completed better than 70 percent of his passes his last two seasons. He led the Red Raiders in chasing the national championship against traditional powers like Oklahoma and Texas by posting a six-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. He threw for nearly 2,000 more yards than Kingsbury did – breaking his school passing yardage record five games into his senior season – in a similar number of attempts and completions.

He can run – he eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark as a rusher his senior year of high school – so he’d at least have an opportunity to complete in the new, fangled Wildcat fad that’s spread across the NFL. And he was considered a leader at Texas Tech.

I’m not saying all or any of those facts will make him into an NFL superstar. Is it possible he could join the ranks of all the other Texas Tech “system” quarterbacks and be junk in the pros? Absolutely. It might even be likely.

But the fact that this guy isn’t going to get a chance to prove or disprove those theories is confusing and disappointing. Not even a spot on someone’s practice squad? Really?

Somebody give this guy a shot.