Justin Harrell Will Never Be The Biggest Bust In The 2007 Draft
This is what Harrell looks like in a football uniform.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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“Not exactly what you want from the 14th pick in the draft, though.”
Or the 16th, for that matter…
But yes, Harrell is facing increasing competition all around him. He’s going to have to step up big time and make an impact in the rotation if he wants to be employed next year.
Ironic typo, because the 14th pick was Darrelle Revis.
Funny, the next 7 picks after Harrell are all pretty good or decent players – Leon Hall, Michael Griffin, Aaron Ross, Dwayne Bowe, Anthony Spencer, Robert Meachem and Ben Grubbs…oh yeah, Greg Olson was later as well…hmm…
My top pick at that spot for that year was between Aaron Ross and Ben Grubbs…maybe I should be the GM.
LOL Check this story!! http://www.theonion.com/articles/raiders-excited-about-prospect-of-signing-free-age,17745/
I think it’s safe to say that Harrell is by far the worst pick in that draft. Jarmacus Russell at least got fans excited and sold jerseys. Justin was a dissappointment from the second he was drafted to the Packers and somehow still fell short of his extremely low expectations. Who could’ve guessed that a player who was injured all throughout college would be injured throughout his entire nfl career? But Ted Thompson’s smarter than everyone else, so nice pick Teddy boy! I hear the train acomin!
Are you retarded or just that full of hate for Thompson?
1. Harrell wasn’t picked over Peterson, Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Patrick Willis, and Darrelle Revis like Russell was.
2. Russell was a first overall pick so he got paid much more than Harrell. And Harrell just can’t stay healthy.
3. Russell ate himself out of the league.
4. You say Russell got fans more excited. Well, isn’t that the very definition of a bust? When someone who you have very high expectations for fails miserably.
So why don’t you back to longingly watching Favre Sears commercials while the grown ups talk football.
Fine Matt..your team can pick (the vikings) can pick him up on waivers if (when) he gets hurt again. Enjoy your new packer switched viking.
oh yeah…sssslllluuuuurrrrp…Matt Fox sucks another swallow of shit!!
I like where this post goes. I don’t think the hopes we put on first rounders really gets put into perspective of their plausible output as a player– especially every April.
I’m not going to argue Justin Harrell isn’t a bust, it’s just I have a hard time putting Justin Harrell in the same sentence as Russell. Harrell has had some bad luck and his body has paid a pretty heavy tole for playing the game he loves. He’s stayed positive, persistent and done everything that’s been asked of him. Do I really need to get into why Russell is the exact opposite of this? On the flipside, a lot of “busts” miss their opportunity for the same reasons as Harrell.
You should have Ginn higher. You also forget one of his problems is he was a wuss. He always went out of bounds to avoid contact. Ginn is best remember for his one great game against the jets, and that is the only reason hes not even more hated.
Probably should take reggie nelson off there now also.
85 tackles 2 sacks 2 ff and 4 ints and 1 td in 2011.