Justin Harrell Will Never Be The Biggest Bust In The 2007 Draft

No, that honor will go to No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who was dumped by the Oakland Raiders after three seasons and will go down as one of the all-time great busts.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Just Harrell is in the next group, though.

Harrell is one of nine of the 32 players chosen in the first round of the 2007 draft who have been out-and-out flops. That’s not counting Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later, Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams, who died last year, because why piss on the guy’s grave?

Here’s a look at the crap of the 2007 draft. These are career totals.

1. Russell (QB, Oakland, No. 1) — 354-for-680, 4,083 yards, 18 TDs, 23 Ints — Although it may look like Russell has done more than some of these players, as the No. 1 overall pick, he was a monumental disappointment. If you’ve seen him play, you know what I’m talking about. The Raiders released him this offseason, making him the only first-round pick from the 2007 draft who’s currently out of work.
2. Jarvis Moss (DE, Denver, No. 17) — 24 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF — Moss has started a grand total of one game since coming into the league. Despite playing in seven contests in 2009, he still managed to register zero tackles on the season. In fact, the only stat he did register in 2009 was a pass defensed.
3. Harrell (DT, Green Bay, No. 16) — 28 tackles, 0 sacks — Harrell has managed to stay healthy for a grand total of 13 games in three seasons. He missed the entire 2009 season and has started only two games in his career.
4. Craig Davis (WR, San Diego, No. 30) — 30 rec., 299 yards, 1 TD — Davis’ best season was his rookie year, when he caught 20 balls for 188 yards and that TD you see in the stat line, averaging a whopping 9.4 yards/rec. Davis has started one game in three seasons and has played in just five combined the past two. I wonder if it’s coincidence he played with Russell at LSU.
5. Adam Carriker (NT/DE, St. Louis, No. 13) — 53 tackles, 2 sacks — Carriker started 16 games as a rookie, but only nine his second season, before missing 2009 with an injury. The Rams thought enough of Carriker to trade him to Washington for a swap of fifth and seventh-round picks in this year’s draft. The Rams moved up 28 spots in the fifth and down three spots in the seventh.
6. Brady Quinn (QB, Cleveland, No. 22) — 184-for-353, 1,902 yards, 10 TDs, 9 Ints — Quinn started 12 games in Cleveland in three seasons. Initially, Quinn couldn’t beat out Derek Anderson for the job and when he finally did, in his third season, he didn’t play well enough to hold onto it. Quinn was traded to Denver for fullback Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012, in March.
7. Jamaal Anderson (DE, Atlanta, No. 8) — 84 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 FF — It isn’t that Anderson hasn’t gotten a chance, it’s just that he hasn’t done anything with it. Anderson has started 54 games for the Falcons, but he’s averaged just 28 tackles and less than one sack per season.
8. Ted Ginn (WR, Miami, No. 9) — 128 rec., 1,664 yards, 5 TDs — It isn’t like the Dolphins got nothing out of Ginn. He was always a threat in the return game, with two kick returns and one punt return for touchdowns. Ginn also had two rushing touchdowns. The problem with Ginn is he’s a receiver and has hands of stone. The Dolphins traded Ginn to the 49ers for a fifth-round draft pick in April.
9. Reggie Nelson (S, Jacksonville, No. 21) — 187 tackles, 1 sack, 7 Ints, 1 FF — Nelson had five interceptions his rookie season, but it was pretty much downhill from there. Nelson had no picks in 2009 and showed a tendency to get burned repeatedly before losing his starting job for the final two weeks of the season.

Like most of these guys, this is probably Harrell’s last chance to prove he has worth. If he proves he can stay healthy, and there’s really no reason to believe he can do that, he may have a shot at a backup role at defensive end.

Not exactly what you want from the 16th pick in the draft, though.

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