Troy Stratford was a 4th round pick in 1987. He had a damn good rookie year (won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors). Getting anything out of a 4th round pick is a bonus let alone a Rookie of the Year season. Yes, the rest of his career was mediocer to say the least but calling a 4th round pick a bust is not fair...a fourth rounder even making the team is considered a success in my opinion.
Randall Hill was turned into a first round pick (Troy Vincent). Yes, he was a bust but he did'nt bust for us...he was traded for a Pro Bowl corner essentially.
Eric Green was a free agent signing...he was a mega bust but not a "drafted bust".
Ferrell Edmonds was a 3rd rounder. He went to 2 Pro Bowls and had a decent career. Again, calling a third round pick who had a half decent career and went to a few Pro Bowls is unfair in my opinion. Getting production out of a 3rd rounder is great...getting Pro Bowls out of a 3rd rounder is even better.
The All Time Bust list? I'll only list from '84 to 1995. I won't get into the J.J. era because I consider his drafting a success (for the most part). Shula is the one who had the best player in league history and faled for years to surround him with anything.
Only players taken in the first three rounds can be considered busts in my opinion...although even third rounders get a little bit of wiggle room.Take a look at the Don Shula defensive selections....and people wonder why Dan never won a ring.
When you look at this list it makes you wonder why we did'nt go 2-14 every year. We never added any quality young players. It also (in my opinion) makes you realize just how good Dan and the Mark's Brothers really were.
1984: We got nothing out of this draft accept a bad safety (Bud Brown) in the 11th round.
1st: Jackie Shipp LB
2nd: Jay Brophy LB
1985: Yet another poor draft. We did get production out of Ron Davenport and Fuad Reveiz. Little and Moyer never did anything and Hampton showed early flashes but eventually disappeared.
1st: Lorenzo Hampton RB
3rd: George Little DT
3rd: Alex Moyer LB
1986: Trade our #1 for Hugh Green (DAMN it to the Meadowlands turf for tearing up his knee) and got John Offerdahl in the 2nd. Other then that we got nothing accept a reciever who could'nt catch (James Pruitt) and a great special teamer (Reyna Thompson) who did'nt play that way until Parcells got a hold of him.
3rd: T.J. Turner
1987: Other then a good year from Troy Stratford this has to be considered one of the worst drafts in team history. Bosa was always hurt and Graf was just a bad player. The Scott Schwedes selection was the first of MANY attepts by Don Shula to find a third reciever.
1st: John Bosa DT
2nd: Rick Graf LB
2nd: Scott Schwedes WR
1988: I'm not including Jarvis Williams on this list only because he started a few years. I only think he started because we had nothing else...he was'nt any good. Ferrell Edmonds was a productive player, Jeff Cross was a late round steal and Harry Galbreath started a couple of years. Considering the 3 drafts before this one this was a good draft...even though it was bad.
1st: Eric Kummerow LB/DE
1989: Many of you would consider this draft a success because of Louis Oliver. I tend to think differently. Oliver was O.K. for a few years. I don't consider him a great player by any means though...he could'nt cover anybody. Sammie Smith was awful, Jeff Uhlenhake started for a year or two, Stoyo was a dependable kicker for years.
1st: Sammie Smith RB
1990: We got a potential Hall of Fame tackle (Webb) and a multi Pro Bowler at guard (Sims). Scott Mitchell had an o.k. career seeing he was only a 4th rounder. Oglesby was terrible.
3rd: Alfred Oglesby DE
1991:Randall Hill was a bust but he turned into a first round pick so that is a success. Arron Craver was a usable player for a time. Bryan Cox was a steal in the 5th round. Gene Williams started some games at guard.
1st: Randall Hill WR
1992: Perhaps the best draft of this 10 year stretch. Troy Vincent was been a very good player for years (although he walked due to Don Shula's cap mismanagment). Marco Coleman had some good years as well. Larry Webster was a productive player for a few years (not in Miami though) and Dwight Hollier was useful.
2nd: Eddie Blake DT
1993: O.J. McDuffie was a good player. It's too bad he got hurt. Terry Kirby was a good reciever out of the backfiled and was really developing until he got hurt in Minnesota. Ronnie Bradford was alright for a few years (not in Miami though). Chris Gray has started a ton of games in the league.
No busts 1994: Hit and miss. Tim Bowens was defensive rookie of the year and played at a high level for a decade. Tim Ruddy was a decent player for a few years. Sean Hill was a decent special teamer and Brant Boyer is still in the league. Aubrey Beavers was just straight up terrible.
2nd: Aubrey Beavers LB
1995: God awful. The only players worth a damn we drafted did'nt play well for us. Norman Hand was a very good defensive tackle for a while and Pete Mitchell was a useful tight end for awhile. Andrew Greene and Billy Milner could be the 2 worst draft picks in team history.
1st: Billy Milner OT
2nd: Andrew Greene OG