Russell was an absolute lock to go first overall because he was one of the best quarterback prospects of all time. He was the next evolution of the quarterback position — a guy poised to revolutionize QB play at the NFL level. The Raiders took him No. 1 overall.In his rookie season, Russell started just a single game. He threw twice as many interceptions (4) as touchdowns (2). Things improved a bit in his sophomore year, throwing 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions. However, Russell completed just 53.8% of his passes — a far cry from what teams expect from a No. 1 overall pick. Russell’s completion percentage plummeted to 48.8%, and he threw just three touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Ryan Leaf’s rookie year is arguably the worst in NFL history for a quarterback. And I’m not quite sure anyone will be able to surpass his level of futility. Leaf completed 45.3% of his passes, averaging a mere 128.6 yards per game. In 10 starts, Leaf managed to throw just two touchdowns. However, he did manage to throw the ball to the other team an absurd 15 times. One out of every 16.3 passes he threw went to someone not playing for the Chargers. Leaf missed the entire 1999 season before returning in 2000 to similar ineffectiveness. The Chargers threw in the towel in 2001. Leaf latched on with the Cowboys for one year. They took a shot. It didn’t work, and they let him go after the season. Leaf never played football again.
Trent Richardson is the only player who managed to be a first-round bust twice. As a rookie, the former Alabama RB ran for a mere 950 rushing yards on 267 attempts. Nothing about his debut season suggested he was anything more than a replacement-level talent, at best (we now know he was far, far worse). Somehow, despite being woefully inefficient, Richardson was voted 73rd on the NFL Top 100 list. After just 105 yards on 31 carries, Cleveland stole the Colts’ 2014 first-round pick. In a true “pay it forward” but in the worst way possible scenario, the Browns wound up using that pick in a package to trade up for Johnny Manziel, solidifying both teams wasting a first-round pick on Richardson. With the Colts, T-Rich played 29 games. He finished with 977 rushing yards on 316 attempts. His career ended with 2,032 rushing yards on 614 attempts at an average of 3.3 yards per attempt.
Akili Smith was a true prodigy — an athlete unlike we had really ever seen at the time at the quarterback position. He was supposed to do for the NFL what Michael Vick would do just two years later. Sadly, it just never clicked for Smith at the NFL level. He played just four NFL seasons. He started 17 games, winning only three, with five touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In his career, he completed 46.6% of his passes.
For fans of the New York Jets, 2008 was quite the year. There was so much hype surrounding this team. Vernon Gholston was going to be the anchor of New York’s DL for the next decade. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out so well for this colossal NFL Draft bust. Gholston played three years for the Jets, amassing 42 tackles and just a single QB hit. He did not record a sack in his 45 games played and was out of the league after the 2010 season at just 24 years old.
Justin Blackmon was the next big thing. As the heir to Dez Bryant at Oklahoma State, Blackmon was dubbed exactly that. He was a lock to achieve stardom at the NFL level, until he wasn’t. He actually had a strong rookie season, catching 64 passes for 865 yards and five touchdowns. By all accounts, he was going to live up to the hype. Before his rookie year even started, Blackmon was arrested for a DUI. After a clean rookie year, Blackmon’s off-the-field issues resurfaced in 2013. First, he earned himself a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Then, he got hurt. Finally, a few weeks after returning, during the team’s bye week, he again violated the substance abuse policy. Ahead of the 2014 season, Blackmon had more run-ins with the law. In 2015, he was denied reinstatement by the NFL, effectively ending his career.
Charles Rogers played just three professional seasons, totaling a mere 15 games. In those games, Rogers caught an unfathomably low 36 of 84 targets for 440 yards and four touchdowns. To make matters worse, with the very next pick, the Houston Texans selected Andre Johnson, one of the best receivers of the 2000s. In August 2024, Johnson will officially be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rogers, however, finds his name in the history books for a very different reason.
Tony Mandarich was nicknamed “The Incredible Bulk,” which is one of the greatest nicknames of all time. Sadly, Mandarich failed to live up to it. He was was bounced out of the league after just three seasons. He did try and mount a comeback five years later at age 30, but it went just as poorly as the first run. He lasted another three years before retiring for good.
Ki-Jana Carter had a long career. Although he was never anything resembling a starting-caliber running back, he did hang around the league for a total of seven seasons across nine years. His entire career essentially amounted to one very good season. He totaled 319 carries for 1,144 yards and 20 touchdowns in seven seasons, cementing himself as one of the biggest draft busts of all time.
In just three short years, Zach Wilson has cemented himself as one of the 10 worst picks in the history of the NFL Draft. Through two seasons, Wilson started 22 games. In an era where every decent quarterback is well over 60%, he posted a 55.2% completion percentage. This performance led to him losing his job in favor of 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers. As fate would have it, Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the 2023 season, thrusting Wilson back into the starting role. In what will likely go down as his last chance to prove himself, Wilson couldn’t have been worse.
