Poll: Which Top 10 Pick Has The Highest Bust Potential?
The NFL Draft is just barely in the rear view mirror, which means that teams are full of hope for their young rookies. But, of course, the NFL Draft is largely a crapshoot, and not every player will realize their full potential. 
This year’s draft had talent, but lacked a true consensus on the top player. Many evaluators pegged defensive end Nick Bosa as the player with the highest ceiling in the 2019 class, but other saw Alabama’s Quinnen Williams as the “safest bet.” The 49ers pounced on Bosa with the No. 2 pick while the Jets (and former GM Mike Maccagnan) were delighted to land Williams at No. 3 overall.
Leading up to the draft, much of the attention was on Oklahoma quarterback (and one-time MLB hopeful) Kyler Murray. When Murray announced that he would ditch the Oakland A’s, his stock exploded – Murray was considered a borderline first-round prospect in the winter, but wound up as the Cardinals’ choice at No. 1 overall. Murray has the speed that teams crave at the QB position, but questions persist about his size and overall lack of experience as a full-time starter.
The Cardinals’ long flirtation with Murray brought us the expected result, but the Raiders gave us the real first shock of the draft when they tapped Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 overall. Not to be outdone, the Giants snagged Duke’s Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall. Heading into the draft, neither player was thought to be anywhere near Top 10 consideration, but Mike Mayock and Dave Gettleman were unwilling to trade down and risk losing out on their guys.
The domino effect created by those picks allowed the Bucs to grab inside linebacker Devin White (No. 5 overall), the Jaguars to land outside linebacker Josh Allen (No. 6), the Lions to snag top tight end T.J. Hockenson, the Bills to draft defensive tackle Ed Oliver (No. 9 overall), and the Steelers to finish out the Top 10 with linebacker Devin Bush. Most of those picks were warmly received, but nothing is certain in the draft.
Which Top 10 pick do you think has the highest bust potential? Click below to cast your vote (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comment section.
Which Top 10 Pick Has The Highest Bust Potential?
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Daniel Jones 36% (1,439)
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Kyler Murray 33% (1,320)
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Clelin Ferrell 10% (387)
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Nick Bosa 6% (244)
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T.J. Hockenson 4% (166)
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Josh Allen 4% (146)
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Ed Oliver 3% (123)
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Devin Bush 2% (97)
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Quinnen Williams 1% (57)
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Devin White 1% (31)
Total votes: 4,010
Zane Beadles Retires
Veteran offensive lineman Zane Beadles is retiring, as Beadles himself announced on Twitter. After nine years in the league, the 2012 Pro Bowler has decided to call it a career.
Beadles, 32, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Broncos in the 2010 draft. He promptly became a fixture at left guard, and started all 16 games there from 2011-13.
He parlayed his strong tenure with the Broncos into a five-year, $30MM deal with the Jaguars after the 2013 season, and his streak of durability continued in Jacksonville, as he started all 16 games for the Jags from 2014-15. But he wasn’t overly effective, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as one of the worst guards in the league in 2015. Jacksonville released him in March 2016.
He quickly caught on with the 49ers and, once again, started all 16 games in the 2016 season. But in 2017, he lost his starting job, and though he played in all 16 games, he started just five, with four of those coming at right tackle as an injury replacement.
He was released by San Francisco last May and signed with the Falcons a few weeks into the 2018 campaign. He was signed to serve as an experienced backup but ended up starting the final five games for the club at right guard.
The Utah product leaves the game with no Super Bowl ring but with just shy of $24MM in career earnings. He put out the following statement on Twitter:
“I can’t thank the people who helped me get there and stay there enough for their support. I am excited for the next chapter for my family and I. I know the lessons learned living the crazy life this great game requires will propel us forward into more greatness.”
We at PFR wish Beadles the best in retirement.
49ers’ Robbie Gould To Skip Minicamp
49ers’ kicker Robbie Gould will not attend the team’s mandatory minicamp, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Gould’s situation is different than most, however, as he has not yet signed his franchise tag. 
The saga between the Niners and their kicker has been going on for some time. Gould was slapped with the franchise tag earlier this offseason with the understanding that the two sides would eventually agree to an extension. However, a new deal still hasn’t materialized, much to the dismay of the kicker.
“The bottom line is, I’m unsure if I want to play there anymore,” Gould said earlier this year. “At this point, I have to do what’s best for me and my family back home.”
Later, Gould’s agent indicated that if Gould were to report at all, he would not show up before the club’s season opener. GM John Lynch has said that he wants to sign Gould to a multiyear deal, but there apparently has been much progress on that front.
At one point, the Niners expressed interest in Stephen Gostkowski before he re-signed with the Patriots, so they’ve at least contemplated a future without Gould. They may have to scour the open market again if the standoff continues.
This Date In Transactions History: Issac Bruce
On this date in 2010, the 49ers shipped Issac Bruce to the Rams. However, this wasn’t an ordinary trade. The deal was facilitated in order to allow Bruce, 37 at the time, to retire with his original franchise. 
Bruce started his career with the Rams in 1994, the team’s final season in Los Angeles. The second-round pick played sparingly as a rookie, but he broke out as an NFL sophomore in St. Louis with 119 catches, 1,781 yards, and 13 touchdowns, all of which went down as his career bests. In his 14 illustrious years with the Rams, Bruce amassed four Pro Bowl trips and eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in eight different seasons.
“Sixteen years was enough for me,” Bruce said at his farewell press conference. “I think a lot was done. But that second training camp practice (in two-a-days) may have played a part in it. I was ready to move on and do something else other than playing football.”
After so many productive seasons in the NFL, Bruce had little left to prove. Bruce was the leading wide receiver in the Rams’ “Greatest Show On Turf” Super Bowl-winning season and left the team as its all-time receiving leader with 14,109 yards. His second act with the Niners was not quite as flashy with 835 yards in his first SF season and 264 yards in his 2009 finale.
“The two years I was away, I kept tabs on this organization,” Bruce said. “I played against this organization, I played against its players. The funny thing is I found myself encouraging them when things didn’t look bright for them. I looked down and saw myself in a different colored uniform. It was honestly just to me personally — it just wasn’t right.”
So, with the trade, Bruce returned back to the Rams and became the last member of the Rams’ first Los Angeles run to hang ’em up. Later, his No. 80 jersey was retired by the team.
Bruce was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third time in 2019, but he remains a candidate for induction down the road.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On 49ers' Decision To Extend Staley
Both the 49ers and Joe Staley realized this offseason they wanted to pursue an extension. The 49ers did so after watching the left tackle’s 2018 film, while Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes Staley — once on the fence about playing into another decade — also decided he wanted to keep going.
Talks accelerated last week, Maiocco adds, and although Staley’s two-year extension was announced Wednesday night, the 34-year-old lineman agreed to a new deal on Monday. So any Mike McGlinchey-to-left tackle plans will be tabled for the foreseeable future.
- No word has emerged from Los Angeles about the Rams working on a Jared Goff extension, and Albert Breer of SI.com expects the team to wait a year. The Rams are interested in extending Goff, however, and it would behoove them to do an extension before a near-$23MM fifth-year option kicks in next season. It would also cost the Rams upwards of $30MM in 2021 to tag their two-time Pro Bowl quarterback. While the Rams do have big expenses on this year’s payroll — with Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Dante Fowler in contract years — the quarterback landscape will look different a year from now. Carson Wentz and the Eagles are moving toward a deal, and Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes may well be attached to long-term contracts by this time next year. Assuming he does not regress after making significant strides in 2018, Goff’s price figures to go up.
49ers, Joe Staley Agree To Extension
Joe Staley is no longer in a contract year. The longtime 49ers left tackle agreed to a two-year extension to stay with the team through 2021, the 49ers announced Wednesday night.
Back in April, the six-time Pro Bowler had not yet decided about playing beyond the 2019 season. Evidently, he now has. This new deal will tether Staley to the 49ers through his age-37 season. At the 49ers’ state of the franchise event, Staley indicated a desire to play for only one NFL team (video link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Staley’s two-year extension includes $27.6MM in new money, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). With the add-on, the veteran can now make $36.15MM total over the next three years.
The 34-year-old lineman has started all 174 regular-season games he’s played since being a 2007 first-round pick. He sits 13th on the 49ers’ all-time games-played list and is on the cusp of climbing into the top 10. Staley playing out this extension would give him a chance to trail only Jerry Rice on this list. Among non-quarterbacks currently on NFL rosters, only Larry Fitzgerald has started more games (232) for the team that drafted him than Staley.
Despite being in his 12th season in 2018, Staley graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 overall tackle. And that lofty grade represented a slight dip from his performances for most of this decade. The 49ers are clearly comfortable beginning their full-fledged Jimmy Garoppolo era with their longest-tenured player serving as his top protector.
The 49ers now have Staley, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, guards Laken Tomlinson and Mike Person, and center Weston Richburg signed through at least 2021. Staley was set to count $10.95MM against the 49ers’ cap this season; that number can be expected to go down due to this extension.
NaVorro Bowman To Retire
Longtime NFL linebacker NaVorro Bowman will retire as a member of the 49ers, San Francisco announced today. Bowman spent seven-plus seasons with the 49ers, but didn’t play in the NFL last year.
Bowman, now 31 years old, was a third-round selection in the 2010 draft. After serving primarily as a special-teamer during his rookie campaign, Bowman became a starter in 2011 and didn’t look back. Pairing with Patrick Willis to create the league’s best linebacker tandem, Bowman earned first-team All-Pro honors 2011-13, posting at least 140 combined tackles in each season.
Unfortunately, in what likely became the defining moment of his career, Bowman suffered a brutal knee injury in the 2013 NFC Championship Game, tearing both his ACL and MCL in the process. The Penn State product missed the entirety of the 2014 season, and while he returned in 2015 and was again named first-team All-Pro, he never quite regained his pre-injury form.
A torn Achilles tendon prematurely ended Bowman’s 2016 season, and spelled the near end of his 49ers career. Five games into the 2017 campaign, San Francisco released Bowman after he voiced displeasure at a nearly-completed trade to the Saints. Bowman latched on with the Raiders, and put up 89 tackles over the final 10 games of the year.
Bowman was expected to draw interest during the 2018 offseason, and PFR had him ranked as the second-best off-ball linebacker on the market. The Packers reportedly considered adding Bowman following an injury to their linebacker corps, and he scheduled a workout with the Browns in October 2018, but no deal was ever reached.
Bowman will end his career with more than $44MM in earnings. PFR wishes him well as he enters retirement.
Jimmie Ward Injury Induces Position Switch
- After converting college safety Tarvarius Moore to cornerback his rookie year, the 49ers recently moved him back. Jimmie Ward‘s broken collarbone prompted this change, with The Athletic’s Matt Barrows noting (subscription required) Moore was stationed at corner as recently as last week. DC Robert Saleh praised Moore’s versatility. Fellow 2018 safety draftee D.J. Reed is also recovering from offseason surgery, so Moore’s latest position switch might not be permanent.
- Given a starting role by two teams thus far in his career, Carlos Hyde is again set to work as a backup. The Chiefs plan to use Damien Williams as their starter over the former 49ers and Browns first-stringer, OC Eric Bieniemy said (via 610 Sports’ Brandon Kiley, on Twitter). Summoned into action because of Kareem Hunt‘s midseason exit and a Spencer Ware injury, Williams averaged 5.1 yards per carry during the regular season and scored four playoff touchdowns. Coming into his surprise promotion, Williams averaged 3.6 yards per tote in four seasons as a Dolphins backup. A year after signing a three-year, $15.25MM deal with the Browns, Hyde is attached to a one-year, $1.5MM Chiefs pact.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/29/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed off waivers: DL Pita Taumoepenu (from 49ers)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kofi Amichia
- Waived: OL Landon Turner
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Chidi Okeke
Oakland Raiders
- Waived/Injured: FB Ryan Yurachek
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Marcelias Sutton
- Waived/Injured: RB Adam Choice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Frank Herron
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: OL Trevon Tate
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Chunky Clements
- Waived: DT Johnny Robinson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: TE John Phillips
- Waived: QB T.J. Linta
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Matthew Dayes
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Dolphins: LB James Burgess
- Placed on NFI List: RB Jalin Moore
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: G Chaz Green
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Devin Ross
- Waived: G Johnny Gibson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Dontae Johnson
- Waived: LB Pita Taumoepenu
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: DL Dee Liner
Washington Redskins
- Signed: T Brian Wallace, T Jylan Ware
- Waived: T Adam Bisnowaty, T Juwann Bushell-Beatty