Young players once valued but not pretty much done (1 Viewer)

[Sabertooth]

While optimism abounds with the upcoming draft, I thought this would be a good time to take a peak at those guys we grabbed in the past few drafts who just look like they are done or dang near done.

Parameters:

They were picked in the top 3 rounds of your rookie draft.

They are QB, RB, WR, TE

I'll start

From the 2013 draft:

Marcus Lattimore - picked earlier than many though he would be picked. And we saw why. :(

Jonathan Franklin - showed great promise. One injury and done.

Tavon Austin - 1st wideout off the board in our 2013 draft. I don't think you could give him away.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

I'm personally not throwing in the towel completely on Austin yet. The situation he's been in has been pretty ridiculously bad as far as allowing ANY WR to be FF relevant, and some rookie WRs take time to develop. He has a new QB and a new OC this year. He is definitely special with the ball in his hands.

I certainly wouldn't pay much for him, but as a cheap flyer, sure, why not.

 

[amicsta]

I'm personally not throwing in the towel completely on Austin yet. The situation he's been in has been pretty ridiculously bad as far as allowing ANY WR to be FF relevant, and some rookie WRs take time to develop. He has a new QB and a new OC this year. He is definitely special with the ball in his hands.

I certainly wouldn't pay much for him, but as a cheap flyer, sure, why not.

My concern is just that the new OC was already a coach with the team, so I'm not really expecting anything new. It's a shame that a talent like Austin hasn't gotten to work with an OC who could creatively get him the ball. Shotty is the worst.

 

[Sabertooth]

I'm personally not throwing in the towel completely on Austin yet. The situation he's been in has been pretty ridiculously bad as far as allowing ANY WR to be FF relevant, and some rookie WRs take time to develop. He has a new QB and a new OC this year. He is definitely special with the ball in his hands.

I certainly wouldn't pay much for him, but as a cheap flyer, sure, why not.

Special? At 8 YPC? Maybe if you have 30+ man rosters or something but he's looking uber-buster (and not the good kind of uber busty)

How about Trent Richardson? Done?

Blaine Gabbert is pretty much done.

Jake Locker obviously.

Christian Ponder

Kendall Hunter

Justin Blackmon

Justin Hunter

Justin Bieber

Lamichael James

 

[Coeur de Lion]

I'm personally not throwing in the towel completely on Austin yet. The situation he's been in has been pretty ridiculously bad as far as allowing ANY WR to be FF relevant, and some rookie WRs take time to develop. He has a new QB and a new OC this year. He is definitely special with the ball in his hands.

I certainly wouldn't pay much for him, but as a cheap flyer, sure, why not.

Special? At 8 YPC? Maybe if you have 30+ man rosters or something but he's looking uber-buster (and not the good kind of uber busty)

Look at some of his rookie year highlights -- he can be an absolute holy terror with the ball. Clearly, he's missing a bunch of the other pieces that make up the "good WR" puzzle, but his ability with the ball in his hands shouldn't be doubted. I wouldn't invest heavily in him or anything, but as a cheap flyer why not?

 

[Sabertooth]

Maybe as a cheap flyer. Much like Cooks, it just doesn't appear he can break any tackles in the NFL.

 

[thriftyrocker]

Are we defining done as fantasy value or NFL career? Tavon's NFL career probably has a lot of legs.

 

[msommer]

How about Trent Richardson? Done?

Blaine Gabbert is pretty much done.

Jake Locker obviously.

Christian Ponder

Kendall Hunter

Justin Blackmon

Justin Hunter

Justin Bieber

Lamichael James

One of these is not like the others....

 

[Sabertooth]

Are we defining done as fantasy value or NFL career? Tavon's NFL career probably has a lot of legs.

Fantasy value

 

[Khy]

How about Trent Richardson? Done?

Blaine Gabbert is pretty much done.

Jake Locker obviously.

Christian Ponder

Kendall Hunter

Justin Blackmon

Justin Hunter

Justin Bieber

Lamichael James

One of these is not like the others....

Justin Hunter right?

Seriously though, I wouldn't go so far as to say Hunter is done yet, Fantasy or NFL. The Titans are just now starting to get a real team on offense. If they end up pulling off this trade for Rivers I think Hunter becomes a massive buy low before the hype hits. Even still, I think Mettenberger can make him a solid starter.

Guys I'd toss on this list that haven't been mentioned:

David Wilson, once a Top 3-5 dynasty rookie pick, had a great rookie season, busted in season two and was no more due to his neck. Never got a real chance to break from the sophomore slump and show his stuff.

Doug Martin, is there a more confusing prospect? Was a highly drafted RB like Wilson. Was HUGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEE in his rookie year, one of the best rookie RB seasons in recent memory. Then disappeared. Hate to say I told you so, but I said a million times after that season he wasn't even close to as good as the numbers suggested (now that I say I told you so, he'll explode again this year).

Robert Griffin III: RG3 may end up having a rebirth on a different team, I don't think he'll do anything with the Redskins. I also think either way, he'll need to become a pocket passer who CAN escape. He doesn't trust his knees enough to run like he used to and there's a lot of question marks. But he went from "Did the Colts make a mistake not taking RG3?" to... "Jesus Christ, RG3 sucks" overnight.

Isaiah Peed - Literally never did a single thing in this league.

Johnny Manziel - Too soon? Probably not.

Cordarrelle Patterson - Will he ever learn to run routes? Or for that matter... will someone coaching the Vikings take the time to even try to teach him something?

Christine MIchael - Marshawn got extended, he'll be 26-27 before he ever gets a shot. The next Rashad Jennings type. Just had to wait to long.

 

[amnesiac]

i'm hoping Hunter pulls it together, but i'm not holding my breath.