Top 10 Draft Busts Since 1980 - Brian Brohm

by Brandon on Apr 5, 2011 7:00 AM CDT

Green Bay Packers Bust #9: QB Brian Brohm. Drafted No. 56 overall in 2008. Just so you know, this list isn't GM Ted Thompson's Top 10 draft busts, though the first two have started out that way. The good news for him is that this is his last one.

Brohm is the only one of my Top 10 busts who wasn't drafted in the 1st round, and not a lot was expected of him since QB Aaron Rodgers was already named the starter. But anytime a quarterback fails, it adds a bit more sting to it. Plus, he was supposed to be this NFL ready player, having stayed in college for his senior season, and spending years being tutored by his ex-NFL quarterback brother.

Instead Brohm wasn't even close to ready, and was beaten out for the backup job by an equally unprepared rookie. While Matt Flynn has shown improvement throughout every training camp, and from year-to-year, Brohm didn't show any improvement, and he was released after training camp. It's a rare feat for a non-injured 2nd round pick to be released after one season for the Packers. He did end up on the Packers practice squad for a few weeks, but that doesn't change the fact that he was released and he went unclaimed to get there.

While I still had hopes for him, he's proven in two seasons with the Bills that he didn't deserve them. His stats were awful when he was given a chance, and his actual performance might have been even worse, as his completions were largely from checkdown and dump-off passes. His accuracy down field was always awful, and part of it might have to do with his high release point. Why is the ball practically over his head? Because he might only be 5-11 according to Bill Barnwell so he had to stretch to throw it over the line.

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why is Brohm ahead of Harrell?

they both did nothing but Harrell was a much higher draft pick

by tmoneyttime1 on Apr 5, 2011 7:50 AM CDT reply actions

Mostly because Harrell has been injured and hasn’t technically busted, he just never gets the chance whereas Brohm was once talked about as a potential first rounder who slid to the second and was then outplayed by a 7th rounder despite having a GREAT coach working with him. I think its probably accurate.

The Green Bay Packers...Putting bad coaches out of their misery since 2010

by TrevorR on Apr 5, 2011 9:54 AM CDT up reply actions

What's the definition of a bust?

It was always to my understanding that only a 1st Rounder could be a bust, while the other rounds were guys that either made it or didn’t pan out. Even with that said, if you want to call him a 2nd Round Round Bust, why is he behind any 1st Rounder? We can go on and on about 2nd Round Busts, 3rd Round Busts, and heck, even 4th Round Busts. CB Pat Lee is a bust too, so he has to be #8. Sorry, but I don’t classify anyone a bust persay if they aren’t drafted in the 1st Round. The reason why it’s a bust is because it’s the 1st Round and pretty much the most important round. You invest so much into that 1st Rounder, and you put a lot of expectations on that player. The Packers didn’t invest much into Brohm or any other 2nd Rounders for that matter. Brian Brohm is not a Top 10 Bust. He’s simply a player that didn’t pan out.

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Nuff said....

by Jabooty on Apr 5, 2011 9:09 AM CDT reply actions

Couple factors.
1. Brohm is a QB. Expectations are higher and a 2nd round pick on a QB is a pretty big pick
2. He was thought to be a first round possibility (I saw him in the 20s in many mocks that year and then he slid to us.
3. He couldn’t have had a better situation to be successful (McCarthy, sitting behind a young talented starter, great WRs all around, etc)
4. If he would have gone out in 2007, he was projected as high as the #1 pick in the draft by many experts.

I wouldn’t want to go past a 2nd round pick though for something like this.

The Green Bay Packers...Putting bad coaches out of their misery since 2010

by TrevorR on Apr 5, 2011 9:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Well said.

Fire Slocum

by packallday555 on Apr 5, 2011 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks.

The Green Bay Packers...Putting bad coaches out of their misery since 2010

by TrevorR on Apr 8, 2011 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions

True story...

My ex-boss who is a die hard Packer fan but was never really a student of the game, was a huge believer in Brian Brohm. So much so that he ordered a custom Brohm jersey from NFL.com. He hated Rodgers. He truly thought after the first few games of the 2008 season that Brohm was the answer to all that ailed the Packers. I’m forwarding this article to him to rub some more dirt in his face many years after the fact.

"Flopped out my old fella."
-- New Zealand lawn bowler David File, on exposing himself to teammates because they were playing poorly

by Prince Fielder is Skinny on Apr 5, 2011 12:30 PM CDT via mobile reply actions