The New Top Five Ravens Draft Busts With Perriman Added

There is no denying it that Breshad Perriman was a huge bust for the Baltimore Ravens.  Now before I begin I must say that I wrote a three part article on the Ravens top five draft busts years back.  Since relaunching MSB, that series of articles got lost, but is still somewhere on my computer in a giant file that would not upload.  In that series was an in depth look at five Ravens draft picks that completely bombed.  That list included in this order if I remember correctly.  Also adding Matt Elam to this list.  Two of the top first round draft busts have come after winning the Super Bowl in 2012.

  1.  Sergio Kindle:  Linebacker second round pick out of Texas in 2010.  Kindle provided one tackle for the Ravens and was the Ravens first pick in that draft.  ONE TACKLE
  2. Dan Cody:  Linebacker second round pick out of Oklahoma in 2005.  Cody also only provided ONE TACKLE for the Ravens.
  3.  Travis Taylor:  Wide Receiver tenth overall pick out of Florida in 2000.  Taylor showed some glimpses of greatness but only had 15 total touchdowns for the Ravens in five years.  Taylor being a top ten overall pick is the Ravens highest drafted bust.
  4. Mark Clayton:  Wide Receiver first round (22nd overall) Oklahoma in 2005.  Clayton had some solid years but only had 12 career touchdowns for the Ravens.  Clayton had talent but the Ravens offense overall was terrible during those years.
  5. Kyle Boller:  Quarterback first round (19th overall) California 2003.  Most fans would point at Boller right away and call him the Ravens largest bust but on this list he was the most successful.  With adding Elam and Perriman, Boller has no place in the top five.  Boller while bad actually won games for the Ravens.  Boller had 45 passing touchdowns for the Ravens and two rushing touchdowns. Boller’s other stats may not have been great but at least he produced something.

Perriman ranks towards the top, with only 576 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his career.  Perriman’s numbers are not even close to Clayton’s or Taylor’s.  Perriman in his career had a sub 50% catch rate.  Perriman was an offensive cancer for the Ravens, not just dropping balls but turning good passes into interceptions.  Perriman lacked toughness and hands despite having the speed and size of that of an elite receiver.

All the players on the list had red flags during the draft.  Perriman’s red flag was his hands. The thing is Perriman is a son of a former football player so he was coached all his life.  Perriman was not going to learn how to catch.  Former Ravens receiver, Torrey Smith had similar questions, but Smith was an intelligent raw athletic player.  Smith was a track and field athlete converted to a football player.  Smith had room to grow and did.  Perriman was also injury prone which did not help his growth and development.

If I was to rewrite that list and add Elam the guy who was drafted to replace Ed Reed after the Ravens won the Super Bowl.  Elam started 26 games and had just one interception and 88 tackles at safety.  Elam was released by the Ravens and had off the field issues.

With Perriman and Elam here is the new Ravens top five draft bust list.

  1. Sergio Kindle:  Off the field issues and still one tackle, Kindle was nothing more than an embarrassment for the Ravens
  2. Dan Cody:  Injuries are to blame for him being on this list.
  3. Breshad Perriman:  First round wide receiver with three total touchdowns enough said.
  4. Matt Elam:  Elam was drafted to replace Ed Reed but could easily be replaced by a number of undrafted players the Ravens currently have on their roster.
  5. Travis Taylor:  I almost want to put Terrance Cody on this list instead of Taylor but Taylor holds a top ten draft pick status.
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Brian Hradsky

The owner of MSB, I created this website while in college and it has never died.

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