Biggest bust in nfl history
Brad Muster (23rd overall pick, ), Rashaan Salaam (21st in ), Curtis Enis (5th in ) and Cedric Benson (4th in ) all bombed in. 15 of the biggest NFL quarterback busts in history · A hard pass · Sam Darnold · Ryan Leaf · JaMarcus Russell · Matt Leinart · David Carr. 15 of the biggest NFL quarterback busts biggest bust in nfl history history · A hard pass · Sam Darnold · Ryan Leaf · JaMarcus Russell · Matt Leinart · David Carr. Las Vegas Raiders: QB JaMarcus Russell, No. 1 overall () One of the biggest busts in league history, Russell was a colossal failure in.
50* biggest NFL draft busts of last 50 years: Trey Lance, other 2021 QBs already infamous
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Playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in league history, Carr took an NFL record 76 sacks as a rookie. While he managed to stay on the field, Carr played like a quarterback that knew his life was in danger. He was sacked times in his first five seasons. Carr is an all-time draft bust, but the Texans are responsible for his failure.
Of course, it was hard to blame Detroit for taking Charles Rogers at the time. Coming off consecutive seasons with more than 1, receiving yards and plus touchdowns, Rogers looked like a future All-Pro receiver. Rogers suffered two broken clavicles in his first two seasons and the team allowed him to return home to regroup and rehab.
It proved to be his downfall, marking the start of substance-abuse issues that pushed him out of the NFL. Meanwhile, Andre Johnson slipped to the No. The domino effect of the NFL Draft is fascinating. History likely would have played out very differently if not for the NFL Draft. Related: NFL stadium rankings The Colts traded up to snag George with the No. He threw 46 interceptions and lost 35 games across 49 starts.
The Bengals snagged Carter with the No. It was hard to blame them at the time, given he came out of Penn State as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy following a remarkable season. Sadly for Cincinnati, things went off the rails quickly. Carter tore a ligament in his knee in his first preseason game and his explosiveness was never the same after that.
He suffered a torn rotator cuff in , followed by a broken wrist in and a dislocated kneecap in It also featured a clash between two incredible quarterbacks. Everyone had a preference between Leinart and Vince Young. Biggest bust in nfl history After struggling as a rookie, posting a record, Leinart struggled just to get back on the field.
Kurt Warner kept the starting job and never felt an ounce of pressure. The Jets saw enough, grabbing him with the No. Related: NFL Draft picks by team. All of the raw ability translated into a wasted roster spot and a burned draft pick. Gholston could barely touch the field as a rookie and failed to record a sack in 45 games with the Jets. The organization had enough, cutting bait with the pass rusher who generated just one quarterback hit.
While betting on athleticism can pay off, the risks can get general managers fired. The course of football history always changes on draft night. Young dreamed of staying in Texas and many believed the Houston Texans would select him with the No.
In fact, Houston holding the No. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year, finishing with an record as a rookie then going in However, clashes with Fisher, poor accuracy and maturity issues derailed his reputation. Somehow, Jay Cutler had the best career out of all the quarterbacks in this class. 
Jackson warned the Buccaneers not to take him, making it clear they would waste the top pick on the running back.
After Tampa Bay cost Jackson his collegiate eligibility in his final baseball season, Jackson kept to his word. The Buccaneers took the star running back with the No. Top pick Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been far closer to average than the generational prospect he was labeled to be. Yet he seems Canton-caliber compared to draftmates Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones, who will all be on teams different from the ones that drafted them next season if, as expected, the Jets soon part ways with Wilson.
And while the indictment of the NFL draft's arms may smack of recency bias, some of its members have truly earned a spot on this list of the 50 hugest busts of the past 50 years. Some words about the methodology: This ranking and analysis are certainly interspersed with opinion.
But I tried not to view these wayward picks in a vacuum — taking into account what teams sacrificed to take a player, either in terms of trade currency or whom they opted not to select, when evaluating each bust. Some deals themselves are included since many prevented teams from choosing superior options.
Naturally, extra weight was given to quarterback gaffes. Lastly, I tried to have some fun and creativity in select spots to keep you and me engaged, so try not to get too bent out of shape if that guard or defensive back your team took in the top 10 before he petered out didn't warrant a mention. It seems patently obvious who was superior more than a quarter-century after the fact, but he was very much in the conversation to be this draft's No.
Meanwhile, the Bolts set themselves back years by taking Leaf in 18 starts for the club with a What cements his infamy is the price San Diego paid to simply swap its initial No. But the freight the Cardinals commanded, aside from the switch, was a second-rounder, an additional first-rounder in and two veterans WR Eric Metcalf and LB Patrick Sapp.
Mandarich's steroid-fueled body and poor work ethic didn't hold up against professional competition, and he later descended into drug and alcohol abuse. Any value he later provided at guard might have helped the Colts but obviously didn't do the Pack any good. But this context truly frames his failure: Mandarich was the only player selected in the top five that year who didn't wind up in the Hall of Fame.
Troy Aikman went No. But Russell, who began his career with a lengthy holdout, never fulfilled the hype generated by his howitzer arm and legendary pro day. He lasted just three seasons, losing 18 of 25 starts and compiling an abysmal Who could Oakland have taken instead. He looked like Uncle Rico, threw like him, too Navigating into the top spot for George forced Indianapolis to surrender Pro Bowl OT Chris Hinton, future Pro Bowl WR Andre Rison and a first-round pick in to Atlanta — where George wound up himself in after wearing out his welcome with a bad attitude and record for the Colts, who passed on three eventual Hall of Famers in the first round more on them later.
Never particularly popular in the locker room, George played for five different teams — and did post better numbers, if not many more wins, later in his career. San Francisco surrendered four picks, three of them first-rounders, to get into position for a guy who was basically a one-year starter at North Dakota State. In fairness to Lance, incumbent QB Jimmy Garoppolo, subsequent injuries and a shoddy development plan that HC Kyle Shanahan largely blamed himself for derailed Lance before he had a legitimate chance to prove himself in Silicon Valley.
But the Niners saw enough to pull the plug after two years, opting to give the reins to seventh-rounder Brock Purdy and sending Lance to Dallas for a Round 4 pick. Now queue up the unfortunate QB corollaries — and brace yourself, Jets fans, as this is merely the first of many mentions. The NYJ effectively threw in the towel on Wilson in after trading for four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers … then were quickly forced to turn back to the BYU product, who again miserably failed in his third attempt to produce at a level commensurate with his draft billing.
The mistake is magnified by the fact the Jets could have augmented the roster in around then-QB Sam Darnold with Chase, Sewell, Surtain or Parsons, among others, all available. Recently traded to Pittsburgh , maybe a passer with titillating ability resurrects his career with the Steelers. But not before the Bears sent four draft selections two first-rounders to the Giants to get Fields three years ago … then almost completely failed to put a legitimate supporting cast around him for two seasons.
Bad player. Bad dude. And St. Louis should have known better. Phillips averaged 3. After going in , Gang Green most definitely earned the No. And you can argue that newly acquired coach Bill Parcells could have done more to entice Manning to go pro, but that's neither here nor there. However after Manning was off the table, Parcells dealt down from No.
Then Parcells dropped from No. Athletic bilbao vs real betis prediction Ugh and ugh. His talent obviously justified the selection, but team brass should have taken Elway seriously when he threatened to play baseball rather than for Baltimore. In the end, he launched his Hall of Fame career in Denver while the Colts were left with Hinton, backup QB Mark Herrmann, a first-round pick in spent on G Ron Solt and, in a year's time, a one-way, franchise-wide ticket to Indianapolis.
The team shipped three first-round picks and one in Round 2 to the Rams for the chance to take RG3. The rest is unfortunate history, both for Griffin personally and the organization at large. Washington is still trying to pick up the pieces. On the opposite end of the RG3 coin. Some decent and not-so-decent players there, but obviously not a group that came anywhere close to salvaging the NFL in The Gateway City, much less providing the bedrock for a perennial powerhouse.
Basically the defensive version of RG3 — a rookie of the year before suffering a serious knee injury and ultimately falling out of favor with the organization. Atlanta also thought it was getting the next Taylor. Bruce was no better than a sub package guy, including spot duty at tight end. There were five Hall of Famers picked elsewhere in Bruce's draft and a pretty good pass rusher Neil Smith directly after him.
Such a storm was brewing in Cincinnati in the draft, when the Bengals were still reeling from their fizzling investment in Dave Klingler. Akili Smith had notoriously underproduced in college, specifically in relation to his low academic scores and terrible performance on the Wonderlic test. Just as the Bengals were casting around for a quarterback, Smith had a career season at Oregon, launching him into the national spotlight.
Not enough due diligence led a desperate Cincinnati to take him number three overall in the draft. Those low academic scores belied underlying issues with his ability to learn the playbook and he wound up being released after a record over three seasons. Three exhibition games was enough to convince the Calgary Stampeders to cut him loose.
Three years and just 13 starts later, the Redskins traded Shuler to the Saints, who let him go after a foot injury derailed his hopes there. Two surgeries and a trade to Oakland later, and that same foot injury saw Shuler retire from the NFL. Tickets go on sale Dec. His NFL career the very definition of a bust, Shuler went back to school and completed his degree in psychology before getting elected to the US House of Representatives in as a conservative-leaning Democrat.
The only non-quarterback on our list, Brian Bosworth was a force of nature at Oklahoma. To this day he is the only player to ever win the Butkus Award more than once, and Bosworth was one of only a handful of defensive players to seriously be mentioned in Heisman discussions.