Top 10 NFL Draft 'Busts' Of Kevin Colbert Era: No. 8 -- OLB Thaddeus Gibson, 4th Round

I agree with everything you say regarding the way we handled Gibson. We could have done a better job to protect him on the roster and his position was deep but top 8 Colbert bust…c’mon man! First it’s way to early to judge this kid. I promise he will be an impact player.

I just hope other 4th rounders such as
Danny Farmer in 2000
Mathias Nkwenti in 2001
Fred Gibson in 2004
Orien Harris in 2005
Daniel Sepulveda in 2006( way to draft a punter with knee issues in college)
And Keenan Lewis for that matter as stated above

Are on this list.

Those guys are what I call " busts "

Maybe we can change the list to the top ten players that Colbert drafted that did not pan out while a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers

If Alonzo Jackson doesn’t come in at number 1 you lose all credibility to me.

You’ve said it in every post that the word “bust” is to be taken VERY loosely. But I have to say I think this pick at #8 as a dissapointment has to be more on the FO than on Gibson. He was the low man on the totem pole, he was a young guy, but why draft him if he would be at the bottom of your deepest position?
I don’t like criticizing Colbert and the FO, It may be the most sound in the league, and they make VERY few mistakes in the drafting, but I’d have to say this is one of them. No, not every 4th round pick will be abel to stay on the roster, but why not draft a guy who at least has a chance of making it?

Gibson was the ready to play LB, Worilds needed time to develop.

We needed one OLB this year. We needed another to develop. Similar to drafting Woodley/Timmons, Woodley was going to be more ready to play our system, Timmons was going to take some time. Woodley was better than we expected, Timmons took more time than we thought he would.

This year Gibson looked to be a step in and play reserve OLB/ST right now guy, while Worilds was the athlete we could turn into a LB. The problem for Gibson was he lost to Worilds. When the guy with the upside beats the help right now guy the help right now guy has no purpose. We were right to cut him.

As for being on this list, Gibson didn’t last to the season, even though Arians loved his upside and potential as a deep threat. An argument is there, but I wouldn’t say it’s clear cut. I would say Gibson should be above Burress on this list.

I have trouble with the guy who’s #7 on the career Steelers receiving yards list being above people who never did anything for us because he was taken three rounds higher and left as a free agent. Plex still holds the Steelers all-time single game receiving record with 253 yards, and the 4th best season for receiving yards too. He left early, and he wasn’t popular but he was productive enough to warrant a first round pick, and enough to warrant being left off this list.

“Deciding to keep A. Smith on the active roster” with Gibson being just an innocent casualty. At Smith’s age I had some serious doubts he could make it back, and I thought losing a potential future starter on a whim that he could play again was too much of a cost.

No, Gibson didn’t produce for us as a 4th round pick, but this was 100% on Tomlin, Colbert, and to a lesser extent A. Smith. The kid did everything they asked of him, but just wound up without a spot because Smith didn’t go on IR. I know Smith wanted to come back, but at his age the odds were long that he’d return. With his recent history on injuries Smith himself should have known what his body was like and told the coaches he couldn’t make it. Save a chunk of the blame for the medical staff also who completely blew this one for the organization.

I had no problem with them using the pick on yet another OLB with Harrison’s age and Woodley’s contract situation. They hoped Worlids could replace Woodley if he wouldn’t sign, and after that they needed a backup.

T. Gibson is the poster boy for my pretend campaign not to trade down and stockpile picks next week, but rather trade up with fewer, but quality, picks. We’re at that lucky phase for any organization where we only need quality, not quantity; the FO dropped the ball with Gibson.

Does that make HIM a bust? No. Does that make his pick a bust? Most definitely. Perhaps renaming this column Top 10 NFL draft FUMBLES by Kevin Colbert would be more appropriate.

As you know, these bust labels are so hard to shake, it’s tough to hang it on young men like Gibson.

But dispatching altogether the possibility of any FA would be the wrong move for the FO to guide their approach. At least 3 of the positions can be filled in FA (IMO: OL, CB and punter) this year, though I’ve not yet seen a recent analysis of possible free agents, for obvious reasons.

Most observers believe that a court ruling could open up an accelerated FA window, and our FO could pounce on 1-2 positions, and then wait for the negotiated (settled? Court ordered?) regular FA to fill the rest.

I agree it is a deep draft, and it’s tempting to throw conventional wisdom out the window in these troubled times, but one thing I don’t believe the new CBA to change much is roster size, so a 9 or 10 player draft could bring us back quickly to hard choices à la Gibson.

he may not be a bust of a player but he sure was a bust of a pick seeing how he didn’t stick around and contribute here. Any Idea if Harbaugh wants to keep him on their defense?

Mr. Bean’s definition of “bust” I think that the label fits, especially as he readily admits that it is NOT a conventional definition. The comments about roster management are in all probability true, but I don’t remember a huge hue & cry here @BTSC over trying to keep Aaron on the active roster and potentially getting him back for the playoffs or SB. I remember a few comments about losing Gibson’s potential, but nothing like the out-pouring of love expressed here in this column and the condemnation of the FO. Lighten up people!