The NFL draft has become an amazing event for sports fans. It has turned normal everyday people into thinking that they can be an NFL GM. But with every draft comes bust selections. This list is a reminder to all NFL fans that for every great player taken there are about seven bad players selected that same year. There are a ton of names that I went through and I chose these 20 to head my list. Some honorable mentions will be at the bottom.
1. Ryan Leaf – QB – Chargers – 2nd pick in 1997
The quintessential bust. Leaf was a high pick who yielded no results, ended up setting the franchise back a few years and on top all that will forever be the the yin to Peyton Manning’s yang.
2. Andre Ware – QB – Lions – 7th pick in 1990
Get ready to see a good amount of Detroit Lions on this page. Ware was so bad that when I see him today as an ESPN analyst, I can’t take anything he says seriously.
3. Tony Mandarich – OT – Packers – 2nd pick in 1989
Taken after Troy Aikman, taken ahead of Barry Sanders. SI covered his path to draft bust immortality, starting with this cover and ending with this one.
4. Steve Emtmen – DL – Colts – 1st pick in 1992
My only question I have on Emtmen is how did he get a cameo in the “Little Giants” alongside Bruce Smith, Tim Brown, Emmitt Smith, and John Madden?
5. Tim Couch/Akili Smith – QB – Browns/Bengals 1st/3rd pick in 1999
Eight of the first eleven picks in 1999 draft made at least one Pro Bowl. The player taken between these two, Donovan McNabb was booed vehemently at the time.
6. Mike Mamula – DE – Eagles – 7th pick in 1995
At the 1995 combine, Mike Mamula did as many 225 lb reps as Tony Boselli, ran 4.63 forty, saved three nuns from a house fire, won a Golden Globe and laid the framework for the modern day internet. It was all downhill after that. Mamula is the go to cautionary tale for combine workout warriors.
7. The entire 1991 1st round (very few exceptions)
This could honestly go down as the worst first round of all time. Talk about a list of no names. Take a look for yourself. What makes it worse is that every team had a chance at Brett Favre, who went in round two.
8. Ki-Jana Carter – RB – Bengals – 1st pick in 1995
Injuries decimated Carter’s career and he himself became a symbol of the Bengals draft day futility. He played sevens total season in his career and had 1144 total rushing yards in that time. I refuse to write anymore on Ki-Jana because that would be a complete waste of my time and your brain waves.
9. Bryant Westbrook – DB – Lions – 5th pick in 1997
Lions # 2. Selected one pick ahead of Walter Jones. Eight ahead of Tony Gonzalez. Insult to injury, Sam Madison and Ronde Barber were selected in rounds two and three, respectively.
10. The Jets drafts from 1980 – 1998
11. Courtney Brown – DE – Browns – 1st pick in 2000
Probably the biggest bust of the 21st century. Brown was a beast at Penn State and injuries in the NFL were too constant for him to be productive.
12. Percy Snow – LB – Chiefs – 13th pick in 1990
For some reason my party shuffle on iTunes has started playing YMCA and all my thoughts on how bad Percy Snow was as a pro slipped my mind.
13. Rick Mirer – QB – Seahawks – 2nd pick in 1993
You know how Notre Dame is always in the preseason top 25 even though they won four games the previous year. Well Rick Mirer is no exception to the Notre Dame overrated rule. Seattle unfortunately had to learn this lesson the hard way.
14. Rae Carruth– WR – Panthers – 27th pick in 1997
Carruth’s career looked promising. In his rookie season he caught 44 passes for 4 touchdowns. But it is amazing what could happen in two years time. Carruth went from catching passes from NFL QB’s to catching you-know-what from inmates in jail. He isn’t expected out of jail until 2018. I will make sure that I am watching ESPN in R2D2 or whatever new level of high performance picture that my TV will be in at the time to see his release live. Some CFL team will definitely pick him up even if he is going to be 44 years old.
15. Peter Warrick – 4th – Bengals – pick in 2000
Warrick in my opinion is one of the best college WR’s ever. Only he couldn’t steal clothes to save his life. He bounced around from time to time and never became even close to the player people thought he would.
16. JJ Stokes – WR – 10th pick in 1995
No player on this list made me as sad as Mr. Stokes here. Coming out of UCLA I thought he was the second coming of Jerry Rice. I mean he had it all there on a platter for him. He was on a good team and playing behind the greatest WR to ever step on a field. Even by just watching Jerry Rice you should have been a decent pro. Unfortunately you were a bust and now I can finish wiping the tear that has run down my face.
17. Charles Rogers/Mike Williams – WR – Lions – 2nd pick in 2003/10th in 2005
It’s tough to place a finger on what made that seemingly can’t miss Rogers a bust, injuries, work ethic, Matt Millen having faith in him, it’s really hard to tell. Mike Williams was fat and didn’t play football for a year.
18. Heath Shuler – QB – 3rd pick in 1994
Shuler is now a US congressman. That’s all we really need to say about him.
19. Cedric Jones – DE – 5th pick in 1996
As a Jets fan, I’ve certainly (and rightfully) taken my fair share of grief from Giants fans about who the Jets have drafted, but all I can say to that is, at least my team never reached for a guy with one friggin’ eye.
20. Trev Alberts – LB – Colts – 5th pick in 1994
The pick that might have made Mel Kiper Jr. a star. We don’t want to rip too much into Alberts though since we know he’s a loyal Tirico Suave reader.
Honorable mention: Lawrence Phillips, Ricky Dudley, Curtis Enis, Gerard Warren, Keith McCants
I’m sure I left out some of your favorites (or maybe least favorites). Let us know who we missed.
