I can't blame McShay for this one as I made it too:
The 10 biggest misses by NFL Draft experts
2. Gabbert >> Newton: Gabbert is now a backup in San Francisco after three horrendous seasons in Jacksonville, while Newton is coming off a breakout season in which he led the Panthers to the playoffs.
Actually I'm blaming McShay for my errant pick at #1 in the 2010 SBN blogger's mock draft. Yeah, that's the ticket. I feel so much better now.
This is #1 for me as far as being a classic:
9. Mel Kiper ranks Jimmy Clausen as the fourth-best player in the 2010 draft
"I had him as the fourth-best player," Kiper said in a post-draft conference call, after Clausen plummeted into Round 2. "That’s my rating. That’s my opinion, and I’ll stand by it. We’ll see what happens three years from now."
Well what happened Mel is a big fat zero...but is a bust. It's time to own it Mel! Fess up before its too late.
Finally, we all remember this guy and his analysis of Newton:
10. Nolan Nawrocki rips Cam Newton’s character and calls him a bust
The Pro Football Weekly expert has become the face of particularly harsh draft projections, especially when it comes to quarterbacks in recent years. Some might even call him a troll scout. Nawrocki’s most infamous scouting assessment came when talking about future Panthers QB Cam Newton, who he said would destroy a locker room: Can provide an initial spark, but will quickly be dissected and contained by NFL defensive coordinators, struggle to sustain success and will not prove worthy of an early investment. An overhyped, high-risk, high-reward selection with a glaring bust factor, Newton is sure to be drafted more highly than he should and could foreclose a risk-taking GM’s job and taint a locker room.
I think it's safe to say he was wrong on this and continues to be wrong. Honestly I don't think he has been given enough crap about being so wrong. Newton has had his maturity issues but he is certainly no 'bust' and he certainly is no locker room 'tainer'. His work ethic actually is having the very opposite effect.
A shining example just happened yesterday. He gave a press conference on the first day of OTAs in a walking boot while recovery from surgery. Many players in the same situation would not show up yet there is Newton trying to be as involved as he can. Drafted too high? Ha! If the Panthers had passed on him he would have went #2.
Hopefully these types of media-inspired evaluations designed to draw any press, whether good or bad, will diminish as players like Newton show them up. You missed big time Nolan but you aren't the first pundit to miss obviously. Hopefully you'll be one of the last.