Vernon Butler - Luxury pick gone wrong?

[therealmjl]

Just now, CRA said:

I can think of worse draft picks than Otah.   He was a dominant RT for the majority of 2 seasons.  yeah, that is all we got out of him.... there have been much worse picks who almost literally did nothing.   

as far as worst picks than Otah?

Peters, Terry, Brown, Shelton, Clausen.  So Otah makes a top 10 list but he doesn't make it for the same reason the other guys do.  He falls into the Rae Carruth * type.  His ability to play in the NFL isn't why he is on the list and I think that matters in a discussion.

In terms of first rounders, he is up there with the worst.

I am not saying he wasn't a beast on the field- quite the opposite. Had he stayed healthy, he could have been an All-Pro RT.

But hindsight is 20/20 (or 50/50 if you're Cam)...it was a terrible first round draft pick.

The fact that we traded our second, fourth, and a first round pick of the following year to get him is icing (or poo) on the cake.

[Craig Pruitt]

2 hours ago, mjligon said:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-fowler/article18868398.html

WORST: Jeff Otah. In 2008, we traded with the Eagles into the late first round to pick up Otah as a blocker for Jonathan Stewart ... He disappeared into a fog of injuries. Typically, the Panthers hit on their first-rounders and get dicey in the later rounds. Trading up for another first-rounder and then ending up with a bust is a major hit and makes Otah my vote for worst.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1984989-12-biggest-draft-day-mistakes-in-carolina-panthers-history

Jeff Otah is perhaps the best example of a player who starts out strong and then declines before burning out altogether.  Much of the blame for his decline centers on his lack of discipline and failing to stay in shape.  This played a role in why he was unable to stay healthy as he battled knee problems on a constant basis after his second year in the league.

Otah would miss all of the 2010 season, and after the 2011 campaign, the Panthers attempted to trade him to the New York Jets.  The trade would have gone through had Otah passed his physical.  He returned to Carolina and was eventually released.

Why the Pick was Bad

The Panthers traded with Philadelphia to get back into the first round.  Marty Hurney, the general manager at the time, felt Otah would not be around when it was Carolina's turn to pick again.  Carolina traded the 43rd and 109th picks, plus their first-round pick in 2009 to the Eagles in order to move up. 

Carolina should have stood pat, retained their picks and then drafted Josh Sitton.  The offensive tackle from Central Florida was drafted by Green Bay and still continues a successful career.

Losing their first pick in the 2009 draft would prove detrimental and set off a chain reaction of events that would lead to Carolina's rebuilding campaign following the 2010 season. 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/examining-the-worst-first-round-nfl-draft-pick-for-each-team-since-1990/

Jeff Otah, OL, 19th, 2008 
The Panthers once drafted Tim Biakabatuka, Rae Carruth and Jason Peter in consecutive first rounds. Yeesh. But I’m going to go with a dark horse here and say Jeff Otah is the biggest bust. He was good as a rookie, but he was drafted in the first round as a right tackle, he broke down physically and he started a series of ill-advised trades involving first-round picks that ended up with Carolina drafting Jimmy Clausen and Everette Brown before bottoming out in 2010 and landing Cam Newton.

----

And there are plenty more where those came from:

http://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/5958/carolinas-worst-of-the-first-no-4-otah

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/marty-hurney-doomed-by-bad-drafts-signings-panthers-staff-roster-on-notice/

http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap2000000346036

BURGER FLIPPER: Jeff Otah, OT, Carolina Panthers (2008)
After a successful rookie season in which he started 12 games, Otah caught the injury bug and started just 17 more in his short career. He missed all of 2010 due to injury.

....

Not going back and forth with you today.

I have a hard time calling a player a "bust" because of injuries. 

I agree that we gave up an awful lot to get Otah.  Not a fan of trading away next year's #1 draft choice.  In hindsight it did lead to problems down the road in terms of our draft picks. But, even you admit Otah's career got off to a promising start. If he hadn't got hurt your opinion would be different. And, you have to admit, we could use someone with that ability at the RT spot this season.

I would consider Jimmy Clausen, Dwayne Jarrett, Everette Brown, Erik Shelton, etc to be "bust". These guys contributed nothing to the team but were all high draft choices. Our team history would not be significantly affected if they were never picked. In fact, if we had picked other players in their place, we'd probably have a better history.

Hindsight is 20/20. None of us as a GM would have picked Otah knowing how things turned out. But, if someone had told us that he'd be healthy for the next 10 seasons and play at a high level a lot of us may have pulled the trigger w/out any reservations.

[CRA]

2 minutes ago, mjligon said:

In terms of first rounders, he is up there with the worst.

I am not saying he wasn't a beast on the field- quite the opposite. Had he stayed healthy, he could have been an All-Pro RT.

But hindsight is 20/20 (or 50/50 if you're Cam)...it was a terrible first round draft pick.

The fact that we traded our second, fourth, and a first round pick of the following year to get him is icing (or poo) on the cake.

to me a true terrible pick is drafting someone who can't play

drafting a player that can dominant but can't stay on the field....IMO just deserves to be noted as different.  You simplyre going to lose talented players to injury. Average NFL career is short for a variety of reasons.  It isn't short just because guys don't have the talent.

What was your take on Thomas Davis as we headed into the 2012 season?  6 seasons in the first rounder managed to start in only a little over of 50% of his games here.  a bad pick? or bad luck? I think his positional moves and injury history would need to of been well noted before he was knocked at that point.

[heel31ok]

It is documented he  wasnt one of the worst picks... A quick search shows that...but I didn't need to search I lived it ...obviously you didn't...it was the right pick...injuries are just the risk you take...there were far worse picks

[uncfan888]

26 minutes ago, heel31ok said:

It is documented he  wasnt one of the worst picks... A quick search shows that...but I didn't need to search I lived it ...obviously you didn't...it was the right pick...injuries are just the risk you take...there were far worse picks

Yes.. Everett Brown, armanti edwards, Jimmy Clausen. All by your boy

[heel31ok]

58 minutes ago, uncfan888 said:

Yes.. Everett Brown, armanti edwards, Jimmy Clausen. All by your boy.

 

What boy? My boy left early on...wasn't around for those mistakes or G-MAN's mistakes...

 

 

[RetiredCollegeCoach]

So...what kind of year do y'all see Bustler having in 2017?

Some of the Huddle's more knowledgeable football minds, myself included, have defended the Bustler pick in the past, but at what point do we get real and admit that drafting a rotational JAG in the first round may have been a classic Gettlefail?

Jury's out, but what do you PREDICT for this year?

[Khaki Lackey]

So...what kind of year do y'all see Bustler having in 2017?
Some of the Huddle's more knowledgeable football minds, myself included, have defended the Bustler pick in the past, but at what point do we get real and admit that drafting a rotational JAG in the first round may have been a classic Gettlefail?
Jury's out, but what do you PREDICT for this year?

You misspelled retarded in your user name.


Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

[therealmjl]

7 hours ago, RetiredCollegeCoach said:

So...what kind of year do y'all see Bustler having in 2017?

Some of the Huddle's more knowledgeable football minds, myself included, have defended the Bustler pick in the past, but at what point do we get real and admit that drafting a rotational JAG in the first round may have been a classic Gettlefail?

Jury's out, but what do you PREDICT for this year?

Give up dude...nobody takes you serious on here or wants to have a football conversation with you. You're a nobody.

[the butch]

I'm fairly satisfied with the first page of responses to this.  Huddle gonna Huddle.  Sheesh.

[bestsportnascar]

7 hours ago, RetiredCollegeCoach said:

So...what kind of year do y'all see Bustler having in 2017?

Some of the Huddle's more knowledgeable football minds, myself included, have defended the Bustler pick in the past, but at what point do we get real and admit that drafting a rotational JAG in the first round may have been a classic Gettlefail?

Jury's out, but what do you PREDICT for this year?

I do not feel the need to comment on the huddle much. Typically I enjoy reading the conversation.

I've learned your handle in the last 5 minutes of reading. All I can say is, please stop commenting.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

There is a lot of sexual tension in this thread.

[Steve_Smith_Sr.]

I haven't given up hope yet but underwhelming is my feeling right now.

[Icege]

1 hour ago, Porn Shop Clerk said:

There is a lot of sexual tension in this thread.

I knew something attracted me here