NFL Draft busts: 15 of the worst picks ever made

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During the NFL Draft, teams are hoping to find cornerstone players. But sometimes, they select guys who flame out. Here are 15 such players who really failed.

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JaMarcus Russell is the prime example as to why you don't draft someone based on a fantastic pro day. The LSU product could throw the ball over a building, but, well, that's about all he could do. Weight issues and work ethic questions were two main factors in him being unable to develop, and he never found a second chance in the NFL.

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When someone says the phrase “draft busts,” Ryan Leaf's name is one of the first that comes to mind. Combine his putrid 14:36 TD:INT ratio with the fact that Peyton Manning went right before Leaf and in so tying their legacies together forever, and it's not really hard to understand why.

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This 6-foot-6, 315-pound specimen of a man was plastered on the front of Sports Illustrated billed as “the best offensive line prospect ever.” Well, that was because he was doing steroids in college. After receiving the highest salary ever for a rookie offensive lineman, Mandarich’s drug and alcohol problems eventually forced him out of the league. Oh yeah, and here are the other four players drafted in the top five that year: Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders. Yeesh.

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To Tim Couch's credit, he did help the Browns reach the playoffs in 2002 and leading the Browns to the playoffs is almost worth a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame on its own. Unfortunately for him, that one year will forever be overshadowed by injuries and mediocrity, and he'll still live on as a monumental bust and one of the worst first overall picks ever.

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Brian Bosworth's hair was Pro Bowl quality. Brian Bosworth's play, though, was not. Seattle drafted “The Boz” in the 1987 Supplemental Draft but only got two seasons out of him before injuries forced him to retire. Bo Jackson probably got more from the linebacker than the Seahawks did, honestly.

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Rich Campbell wasn’t a top-five pick, but he lands near the top of this list as the only quarterback selected within the top 10 of a draft since the NFL/AFL merger that never started a game. Stuck behind Lynn Dickey on the depth chart, he never showed Packers coaches enough to get a chance at handling the reins himself. Hard to be a bigger bust than that.

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As if the pain from missing on QB Joey Harrington with the No. 3 pick the year prior wasn't enough, Lions fans were treated to another bust in Charles Rogers. The Michigan State star didn't even record a season's worth of games in the pros due to injuries and drug problems. He finished his career with just four touchdown catches and retired after three seasons.

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It’s one thing to be a bust after being taken in the first round, but it’s a whole different thing entirely when you’re a bust after being taken with a franchise’s first draft pick ever. The expansion-team Seahawks were hoping to embark on their first NFL season in 1976 with a dominant pass rusher in Steve Niehaus. He appeared in just 36 games for Seattle and dropped off the first-string by his second year.

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1999 was not a banner year for quarterback selections (although Donovan McNabb did go No. 2). Akili Smith entered the league a couple of slots after Couch and put together an even less successful career. A signal caller who goes that high is normally expected to lay claim to the starter spot at some point, but Smith never really earned it and left the NFL in 2005 with just five TD passes.

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Sometimes, Heisman Trophy winners continue to shine in the NFL. Other times, they turn out like Andre Ware. The quarterback played three seasons in Detroit, and for his career, threw for five touchdowns. By comparison, he tossed 44 as a college junior at Houston.

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The Cardinals drafted Larry Stegent with high expectations after a successful three-year career at Texas A&M. However, Stegent suffered a knee injury in his first preseason game and missed his entire rookie season. When he returned the following year, he wasn’t the same player and was forced to retire without a single NFL carry to his name.

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Washington thought it was getting a budding superstar when it selected Heisman runner-up Heath Shuler out of Tennessee. He parlayed a lengthy holdout into a seven-year deal before posting a 4-9 record over two seasons with 13 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions. Shuler did end up succeeding in Washington another way, though: He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 and served for six years representing North Carolina’s 11th Congressional district.

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Kevin White was a stud at West Virginia. He finished his senior season with 1,447 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, landing him the distinction of being the second receiver off the board in 2015. He would catch just 25 passes in the NFL (though he finished the 2020 season on the 49ers’ practice squad) while several wide receivers drafted behind him such as Stefon Diggs, Tyler Lockett and DeVante Parker went on to have successful careers.

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His head coach said he was only useful “if you want someone to stand around and kill the grass.” If only that were it. Kevin Allen not only struggled on the field but tested positive for cocaine during his second training camp and later pleaded guilty to sexual assault. He was a player the Eagles couldn’t wait to get rid of by the end of his tenure.

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Trent Richardson, the beast back from Alabama, had trouble consistently getting back to the line of scrimmage on carries after looking solid as a rookie, let alone delivering on his position in the draft. He then busted again with the Colts, who traded a first-round pick for him. A rare double bust.

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