By Cooper Girolamo
This year’s NFL Draft has a lot of players who have high ceilings but very low floors when it comes to their potential as prospects in the NFL. There are a lot of guys who are boom or bust prospects who are widely regarded that are ranked at the top of many experts and teams’ draft boards. These are the few guys I see failing in the NFL and eventually becoming busts who are currently slated to go in the first round.
QB Shedeur Sanders
Sanders, the quarterback out of Colorado is a guy who I think is going to bust in the NFL. While he has brought a winning culture to both schools he has played at—Jackson State and Colorado—he is not a great prospect as a whole.
For one he is cocky and arrogant, refusing to go to certain teams, thinking he is the best, even having Colorado play his song he released during his games. He seems to be more concerned with personal success rather than team success, which is a problem when it comes to the NFL.
On the football side of things, he tends to always try to go for the big plays which in the NFL will result in a lot of turnovers. He was the nation’s most sacked quarterback in all of college football the last two seasons because his pocket awareness is sub-par. Against NFL defenses who can disguise rush packages very well, he will get eaten alive.
https://twitter.com/CUBuffsFootball/status/1911919810285306278
Lastly, he can’t win big games. This past year he got blown out in the Alamo Bowl by BYU and got dismantled to a mediocre Kansas Jayhawks team when they had a chance to secure a Big 12 Conference regular season title. While Sanders is great at using his legs and is a very accurate passer, I believe any team that drafts him, especially in round one to be their franchise quarterback, will be looking for another one in the coming years.
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EDGE James Pearce Jr.
Pearce is a freak. He fits every metric and all of the criteria to be an absolute game-changer on the defensive side of the ball. But there are concerns about his work ethic and character.
In mock drafts last year, Pearce was a top player, but this past year for the Tennessee Volunteers was extremely underwhelming. His productivity against the run severely dipped which was concerning for scouts. NFL teams would look past that because they can teach that up, but what is hard to teach is maturity and character concerns. With the Volunteers he had many off the field issues, didn’t get along with teammates, and at some points was unplayable because of his effort.
https://twitter.com/NFLRookieWatxh/status/1892778865069871175
While he has the body to be a great NFL player, he has the brain of a bust. Which will prevail and what team will take the risk on him, only time will tell.
WR Luther Burden III
A year ago Burden was considered a top wide receiver prospect in the 2025 draft by many top scouts and analysts after an amazing sophomore season at Missouri. Then he followed it up this past year with a very underwhelming junior campaign where his numbers dipped and his draft stock dropped.
After putting up 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns in his sophomore season he had just over 600 yards and six scores in 2024 as the team’s No. 1 offesnive option. While he is a dynamic playmaker and a yard after catch (YAC) monster, the NFL will have to worry which Burden they will be getting if they are to take the high-risk, high-reward receiver in the first round.
QB Jalen Milroe
Milroe, the former Alabama Crimson Tide starting quarterback, surprisingly was one of 17 players to get a green room invite for the NFL Draft. Players that are chosen to attend the draft in person are usually players the NFL is certain will be drafted in the first round.
There wasn’t a lot of hype for Milroe after this past season, with some scouts even wondering if he would make the switch to running back in the NFL. So, with him getting the invite to the green room the NFL knows something most of the public does not and that there must be a few teams keen on making him their franchise QB. I think that would be a massive mistake that could set an NFL franchise back years.
He is an athletic specimen but is not regarded as a top-three quarterback in a very weak quarterback class by many experts. Some don’t even have him as a top-five quarterbacks. While he moves well, he is inaccurate, doesn’t have the strongest arm and has major turnover concerns. All of which makes him a very risky prospect to take in round one and is why I believe he will bust if taken that high.
