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As a huge Arkansas fan I was so stoked about the 2008 draft with THREE running backs drafted into the NFL.
They all fizzled out due to injury. I think McFadden would've done better anywhere else other than Oakland first off.
Felix Jones hamstring exploded everytime he got hit.
And Peyton Hillis had to exit before he became a vegetable.
Deebo samuel is who i thought jalen hurd would be coming out of baylor. Dude was a 6'5 RUNNING BACK with alvin kamara at Tennessee, then became a wr at baylor and led the team with almost a 1k yards receiving ahead of denzel mims in his first year playing wr .
Another would be bryce love. Sucks cause he looked like a god in college.
Ryan Shazier. Dude was quick and played with a passion.
I thought Lofa Tatupu was on a HOF trajectory but the injuries just kept piling up.
Could you imagine what Julio Jones would’ve been without all the nagging injuries?
Martavis Bryant if not for the stupid weed rules. Glad he is getting a second chance
Dennis Pitta felt like he was developing into an all-star TE. The chemistry he developed with Flacco during the years around the Super Bowl was incredible...Then the career ending hip injury happened.
Sterling Sharpe
Eric Berry would have been an all-timer. His body betrayed him.
Ryan Shazier - LB Pittsburgh Steelers. Was in his 4th year when he had a career ending injury.
Chad Pennington
If he hadn't hurt his shoulder he very well could have won back to back Super Bowls with the Jets in 2009 and 2010
I’m convinced that Ki-Jana Carter would have been a star. Third carry of first preseason game and he blows out his knee
Safety Nick Collins, neck injury ended his career. Was a 3x all pro.
Sean Taylor, my favorite safety ever. Killed by pieces of shit in his home.
Got on here to say Sean Taylor myself
Shawn Merriman but injuries killed his career!
And as a Washington, Sean Taylor. He just started to emerge as a top safety. To bad.
There’s something buttersweet about the guys who hung it up early for their health, Kuechly and Luck come to mind, lots of respect for them but damn I wish I could have seen a few more seasons from each of them
Greg Cook.
And unfortunately looking like Tre'Davious White might be heading that way as well.
First four seasons:
All-rookie team 2017
Pro Bowl 2019 & 2020
First team All-Pro 2019 Second team 2020
Since: 21 of 51 games played:(
Duane Haskins. Dude had incredible talent at Ohio State and I think got into the wrong situation in the NFL. Fucking sad how the story ended but I still think with the right coaches/situation he could've been something in the NFL.
Darrent Williams R.I.P
Jason Verrett
Jamarcus Russell. Just kidding.
Walter Payton.
Sam Huff.
Jerry Rice.
Charles Rogers is a big one
I’m still a Pacman truther.
Tony Boselli. I know he eventually made it to the HOF, but I don't think people realize how dominant he was in the years he was healthy.
3x First Team All American
3x First Team All Pac-10
Morris Trophy Winner
1st Overall in the 95 NFL Draft
PFWA 1995 All-Rookie Team
3x 1st Team All Pro
5x Pro Bowler
1990s All Decade Team
People talk about Pace, W. Jones, and Ogden as the best tackles of that era, but Boselli was just as good, if not better.
Joe Delaney - Chiefs running back in the early 80’s. Ran for 1100 yards as a rookie, got hurt during the strike shortened 1982 season, then died while saving a kid from drowning before the 1983 season.
Damn. A real hero.
Ryan shazier comes to mind
Jason Pierre Paul. He was crazy good until he blew his fingers off with fireworks.
Todd Gurley. He was the only reason to watch the Rams at the start of his career, and before injuries caught up to him he was electric to watch with McVay’s offense.
Aldon Smith, Josh Gordon, Henry Ruggs
I really feel bad for Dobbins. His talent and running style was perfect for Baltimore. It's hard for me to think of anyone else who's gotten fucked over that hard by injuries. His career basically never got started. And it's not like he's "injury prone" really. Just two brutal freak injuries. Hope he can pull a D'Onta Foreman and still find work somewhere eventually. But I feel bad knowing we only ever got a small sample of what he could do, and how much it could have added to those ravens teams.
Priest Holmes
While he had a good career, I really want to know if Carson Palmer could have been legitimately great had he not torn his knee up that fateful day.
Another one: Jahvid Best. Dude was electric, but concussions took him down. He found life as a track and field star, but I'll always wonder about what could have been.
I still firmly believe that Aldon Smith would’ve been one of the best defensive players of all time if he just stayed out of trouble
I was always a huge Bob Sanders fan. He did succeed with a SB, two first team all-pros, and a DPOY award, but his prime/career was cut horribly short from injuries. He only played above 6 games twice in his career, and racked up all those accolades listed above in those two seasons alone.
It was amazing how bad The Colts defense was without him, and how good it was with him. It's hard to believe that one guy can make that much of a difference, but Bob Sanders did.
Justin Blackmon had all the talent in the world. In the few games he played, he was a dominant receiver. Go back and watch him against Stanford when he played for OK St. So much potential and big play ability
Substance abuse issues eventually cost him what could have been a great and lucrative career.
Aldon Smith. But he let off field troubles ruin his career.
That dude was a freak. His arms were so long and he was so athletic. Even some of the best tackles in the league looked helpless trying to block him.
He could've been in Canton if he had kept his head in straight.
Aldon Smith and Von Miller were setting sack records at the same time. Same draft, both were just terrorizing the opposing QBs. Von wasn’t a head case and look how his career turned out, future HoFer. Aldon Smith would have been on that same trajectory
I’ll hand in a pair of AFC North LBs
Easy answer: Ryan Shazier. Dude was a beast and seeing his career end the way it did was tragic. They had some defensive issues in the years following, who knows what could’ve been for those teams if he had been on the field.
Not so known: Zach Orr. He was a bright spot for the Ravens defense in 2016 and made 2nd team all-pro. He was forced to retire because of a spine/neck condition. I think he’s currently a part of the defensive staff nowadays, but he only got to start one season before his playing career ended.
You just had to bring up Blackmon, didn't you? He was so freaking good, and in 2013 he was looking like the top WR in the league through those first four games.
One that comes to mind is Robert Edwards with New England. RB who ran for over 1000 yards his rookie year. Then the NFL had a Rookie flag football game before the pro bowl. Same year Peyton Manning was a rookie. He blew his knee out in the game, and it was baaad. I think he came back a few years later but didn't do much.
I don’t want to bag on him because he did have a solid career, but a fully engaged and motivated Bryant McKinnie could have been a generational talent at LT. The dude was a freak of nature. He had enough talent to get by on talent alone but didn’t have the drive to take his game to the next level.
The dude, as an olineman, placed 8th in Heisman voting. A fucking olineman. Dude was that dominant in college.
Josh Gordon is definitely one. I've thought that Tim Couch could've been good if he hadn't been taken by the Browns. Of course, picking a Browns QB pick in the last 20 or so years is basically cheating at this question.
Tim Couch if he was drafted by a good organization and sat behind a starter for a year or two along with a actual offense line he would have been a pro bowler at least.