Top Ten Draft Busts and Bargains

It's pretty much safe to say at this point in the season which players could be considered "busts" or "bargains," and believe me, there are FAR more of the former than the latter. Heck, the entire first round is practically a comedy of errors, not counting LaMont Jordan (Stem), Anquan Boldin (Lincoln) and maybe Cadillac Williams (Eli). Here we have the top ten in each category:

BUSTS

10. Ronnie Brown (Fred Lane's Wife). It's hard to call the seventh overall choice a bust at this point, since he's a rookie and continues to have plenty of keeper value. Furthermore, he currently has the 19th most points of any running back in the league, but the first round choice would have ideally yielded more. He remains a pick for the future more than the present.

9. Chris Brown (ChamPeons). The fifth overall choice is the 18th best running back option out there, which is neither shabby nor exactly stellar for a running back everyone continues to expect breakout games from.

8. Brandon Stokley (Who is Ron Mexico?). The ninth choice of the second round did not reproduce his breakout season last year, while other opportunities continued to make Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison superstars. He is the 64th best receiver in the league, with only 34 catches and one touchdown.

7. Dallas Clark (Fred Lane's Wife). Another breakout season from a year ago was a distant memory this season for the fourth choice in the second round. The 15th best tight end in the league has just three touchdowns in 2005.

6. Drew Bennett (Blaine Browns). After becoming a VUFSA cult hero a year ago, he became a sexy preseason pick and was taken with the third choice in the second round. But he has just one touchdown this year and stands as the 30th best option in the league, with injuries swirling around his season.

5. JJ Arrington (The Octagon). Occasionally mentioned in the same breath as Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown among rookie running backs that should be taken early, Arrington was a complete flop out of the gate, and he was quickly replaced in the starting 11 by Marcel Shipp. Some late season production has him as the 46th best option out there.

4. Michael Clayton (Sex Panther). It was supposed to be a breakout year for the Buccaneers receiver, but it was instead an absolute nightmare for the fifth choice in the second round. With 27.50 points to his name, he is the 86th best receiver in our league, far below the expectations that had him slated as a potential blossoming star before the year.

3. Fred Taylor (Madd Skillz). Injuries seriously derailed the 10th overall choice, and the 32nd best running back in our league is only incrementally better than teammate Greg Jones, who has carried the bulk of the load in Taylor's absence.

2. Brett Favre (Who is Ron Mexico?). It's not that Favre's fantasy value has been altogether putrid until lately, but his standing as the second pick in the draft was already high to begin with, and then he was waived. His standing as the 13th best quarterback in the league is okay, but his 21 (!!) turnovers make him a constantly scary play. It's over for Brett.

1. Nate Burleson (Big Fat Guys). Might as well go straight to the top with this one, the first overall choice. Some said before the season that the heir apparent to Randy Moss would thrive, others felt he would buckle under the attention which Moss was talented enough to overcome. Injuries and ineffectiveness made it appear that the latter was true, as Burleson has just 16 catches, one touchdown and a ranking as the 97th best receiver in the league. Ouch.

BARGAINS

10. Chris Chambers (Big Fat Guys). Baron snagged the Dolphins wideout with the last pick of the fourth round, and he has gone on to break the Dolphins' single-game receiving yard mark, posting numbers that could have him as keeper material for next season. He is the 12th best receiver to date.

9. Plaxico Burress (Cellar Dwellars). The third choice in the seventh round is one of the main reasons Andrew Stem has had such a promising year, as Burress and Eli Manning have found a dynamic in New York such that Burress is the 10th best receiver in the league. He will most certainly clear the 1,000 yard mark.

8. Tom Brady (Madd Skillz). While most owners picked up their quarterbacks early, Ed Schillinger found his in the sixth round with the first pick, a respectable location for a tested talent such as Brady. The most handsome gunslinger in the NFL ranks behind only Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning in fantasy value.

7. Chris Cooley (Blaine Browns). The third pick of the 12th round has quietly had an outstanding season at tight end and running back for the Redskins, and he would be the fifth-ranked tight end in the VUFSA. Such standing has him ahead of more touted pre-season selections Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Randy McMichael.

6. Keenan McCardell (Blaine Browns). The eighth pick of the ninth round had a strong season in San Diego, where he has 7 touchdown catches and stands as the 17th best receiver in the VUFSA. Wolf also picked up big numbers from the Drew Brees-McCardell connection.

5. TJ Houshmandzadeh (Blaine Browns). Another receiver picked up by Drew Wolf, the 15th best receiver in the game has become a keeper possibility thanks to good rapport with quarterbck Carson Palmer and despite his draft slot in the eighth pick of the seventh round. It's pretty clear that Wolf had a solid draft as far as hidden gems go.

4. Santana Moss (Blaine Browns). Too bad for Drew, his best find is one that he dropped and handed to Ed Schillinger. The eighth choice of the fifth round was a bust in the season's earlygoing, but to date he has caught six touchdowns, 1,111 yards and is the eighth best receiver in the league.

3. Joey Galloway (Big Fat Guys). Sixty-three catches, 1,075 yards and eight touchdowns? Nobody saw it coming from this Buccaneer, which is why he so easily fell to the 13th round, where Baron snatched him up with the first pick. Galloway has done most of his damage for Andy Viano's team this year, but it was a trade commodity Brendel never figured to have.

2. Carson Palmer (The Octagon). Brendel may have given up Galloway, but he picked up Palmer in a trade with the Octagon, so it all works out in the end. Solid keeper quarterbacks were pretty much considered Manning, McNabb and Culpepper before the season, but Palmer is now among them, sitting as the top ranked QB in the VUFSA despite not getting drafted until the second pick of the eighth round.

1. Larry Johnson (Madd Skillz). It may not seem like a steal to take a guy like Johnson with the 10th pick in the fifth round, but Schillinger demonstrated patience with the Chiefs' backup running back, shooting down trade offers for the seemingly dormant ground option. Then, Priest Holmes died and ascended to Fantasy Football AfterLife, and in came Johnson, now the sixth best running back in the league despite not even starting the whole year. He was truly the best fantasy bargain in this year's draft.