Every NFL Draft has busts. No team gets every pick right and even the best pre-draft research and scouting doesn't mean you'll be drafting someone who is a guaranteed star. We've seen plenty of teams think that taking a quarterback in the top five is a guaranteed path to a future Super Bowl, only for the team to be looking for a new quarterback not long after.
Sometimes, the busts are surprising, but other times there are signs ahead of time that a player might wind up not living up to his draft status.
Here are three top draft prospects with bust potential.
Jalen Milroe - QB - Alabama
None of the quarterbacks in this class are sure things. Cam Ward might have a bit too much of that gunslinger mentality. Shedeur Sanders might be a sitting duck in the pocket. Jaxson Dart is Jaxson Dart. Tyler Shough spent approximately two decades in college.
But if we're talking about the range of outcomes and who could wind up with the lowest floor, there's one clear answer: Alabama's Jalen Milroe.
The biggest issue with Milroe is that he's incredibly inconsistent as a passer. Milroe completed 64.3% of his pass attempts last season, which isn't too far off of Cam Ward's 67.2% mark, but Ward did that on 454 attempts. Milroe was a fairly low-volume guy, attempting 319 passes in the same number of games. It's concerning, then, that Milroe tossed more interceptions than Ward did.
It's also concerning that Milroe had four games last season where he didn't throw a touchdown pass. He relied heavily on his rushing ability, scoring 20 rushing scores, four more trips to the end zone on the ground than via his arm.
Milroe is the most athletic quarterback in this class by a wide margin, but can athleticism alone propel him to a long NFL career? Because while there are Lamar Jackson comparisons when it comes to Milroe's rushing ability, the two aren't even in the same ballpark as passers at this point. Without massive improvement, Milroe will struggle to be a positive when he's on the field.
Shemar Stewart - EDGE - Texas A&M
It's always a little scary to draft someone who is almost universally viewed as a project, but that's what a team is doing by taking Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart in the first round.
Athletically, Stewart is a gifted prospect. He's huge and fast and theoretically can wreak havoc on an NFL field, but that's the big issue: so much of Stewart's NFL impact is theoretical.
Because here's what teams are going to want him to do: get to the quarterback.
And here's what he was unable to do in college: get to the quarterback.
Stewart never recorded more than 1.5 sacks in a season in college. He has all the potential in the world, but he wasn't able to turn that potential into production. He has a ton of stuff to clean up as far as his tackling and his pass rushing technique goes and there's simply no way to guarantee he's actually able to clean those things up.
Assuming Milroe isn't picked until Day 2, Stewart will go down as the riskiest Round 1 option this year.
Matthew Golden - WR - Texas
Look, I'm personally a big fan of Matthew Golden, though mostly that's because he spent the early part of his college career at my alma mater, Houston, before transferring to Texas for his final season. I think he can be a good NFL receiver.
But a number of people are skeptical of his massive rise up draft boards this spring, so let's talk about that.
This wide receiver class feels particularly weak. Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan is the best prospect, but you could easily argue that no one else has a Round 1 grade.
That's led to Golden becoming the assumed No. 2 option at the position. He showcased a lot of speed at the combine and he has the vertical ability to make acrobatic catches and impact the game down the field.
However, he struggled to produce consistently before arriving at Texas and there's plenty of reason to think he's best as a No. 2 receiver in the NFL, not a No. 1. He's not the strongest guy in the world and you can't make a living solely off highlight reel plays. He has to block. He has to avoid dropping routine catches.
Which leads to an important question: Is drafting a guy who probably tops out as a good No. 2 — and that's assuming things work out with him in the NFL — a good use of a late first-round pick? I personally think Golden will be fine at the next level, but "fine" isn't a resounding endorsement. He's the best non-McMillan guy in a draft where spending a first on a non-McMillan receiver is probably a bad use of draft capital.