New York Jets: Vernon Gholston Named Biggest Bust in Franchise History
By Nick Ziegler
The New York Jets have had had a lot of busts in the NFL Draft. However, who was the worst pick in the history of the franchise?
One of the reasons for the struggles of the New York Jets over the years has been because of some of their failures in the NFL Draft.
Generally, the teams that draft well are the ones that have success in the NFL. The Jets don’t have too look much further than the New England Patriots in their own division. The Patriots have been one of the best franchises in the NFL Draft, and that is why they have dominated the AFC East.
Recently, NFL Nation writers picked the biggest draft bust for each team. For the Jets, Rich Cimini chose outside linebacker Vernon Gholston as the biggest bust in franchise history. Here’s what Cimini had to say about Gholston.
"OLB Vernon Gholston | No. 6 overall, 2008The Jets have had many busts in their inglorious drafting history, but Gholston stands alone. He was a pass-rushing linebacker who didn’t record a single sack in his career, which lasted only three seasons. The Jets got fooled by his amazing combine workout and his deceiving stats at Ohio State. Gholston was finished by age 25, but he made $18 million in his brief, ill-fated career. — Rich Cimini"
The choice of Gholston by Cimini is certainly a good one. As the sixth overall pick, Gholston played in just three seasons in the NFL. Coming out of college, Gholston was projected to be a good pass rusher as an outside linebacker. However, he didn’t do anything for the Jets.
Seeing players like Jerrod Mayo, Branden Albert, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, and Aqib Talib were drafted after Gholston in the first round is hard to see. The Jets missed so badly with the sixth overall pick, which is certainly a disappointment.
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While Gholston was one of the biggest busts in Jets history, he will also go down as one of the biggest busts in NFL history.