Top 3 Draft Busts of Reid Era
Don’t get me wrong, I think Andy Reid is a great coach. He has taken this team to levels that few have in the past and with a consistency that most Eagles fans did not think was possible before he arrived. With the exception of a few seasons, this Eagles team has been dominant under his lead and drafting skills. He has had primarily good drafts each year but there will always be a few busts. Here are my top 3 Eagles draft busts since Reid arrived as head coach.
3. Todd Pinkston (pick #36 in 2000)
This guy had some ups and downs but way more downs. One of the ups was that the Eagles made it to the playoffs every year that he started. The down side of that was that it had nothing to do with him. Todd Pinkston only caught 14 touchdowns in his five years with the team and seven of them were in one season.
He was also not known for his toughness. He sat out for half of the Super Bowl with “cramps” and took part in the infamous play in which he slowed down and backed of from a very catchable pass from McNabb. The Eagles made the mistake of giving him a huge 5 year contract after the 2002 season and he never played well again.
2. Freddie Mitchell (pick #25 in 2001)
To further strengthen the Eagles WR core the year after selecting Todd Pinkston, the Birds selected Freddie Mitchell in the first round. That was the highlight of his career. Despite showing no signs of skill throughout his time with the Eagles, he continued to give himself nicknames such as FredEx, First Down Freddie and The People’s Champ. He even went as far as to not autograph his football cards for kids because he didn’t want people selling them (sorry Freddie but I don’t think there is any demand for those).
To further prove that he was a bust Reggie Wayne, Chad Ochocinco and Steve Smith were all selected after him in the same draft. He did catch the ball in the incredible “4th and 26″ play but I say he was in the right place at the right time.
1. Kevin Kolb (pick #36 in 2007)
Some people may disagree here but this was a dumb pick. Obviously McNabb still has a lot left in the tank and I see him being the teams starting QB for at least 2-3 more years which means (barring McNabb injury) we won’t even get to see him start a game until his 5th season.
At first I just didn’t like the draft pick. I thought it was a bad idea to take a QB when there were other obvious needs. But I still wanted to give him a chance to prove he was worthy of sticking around until Donovan was gone. So far he has not impressed me at all. In 7 career appearances he has a QB rating of 21.8 with 4 interceptions and no touchdowns. I know he is young and hasn’t really had a chance to show anything yet but this guy has the potential to be even more of a bust than he already is. I’m not too excited.
