The goal of the NFL Draft if pretty simple: Every year, all 32 teams go into the draft hoping that they can find several successful players who will be on the roster for years to come. The ideal situation comes when a team finds a diamond in the rough like the Patriots did with Tom Brady in 2000 and the 49ers did with Brock Purdy in 2022.
Although that's the fantasy, the reality is that there's a much more likely chance that your favorite team will end up drafting a total bust. Over the years, there have been dozens of busts and with the 2024 NFL Draft less than two weeks away, now seems like a good time to rank the 10 biggest busts since 1990.
Since we want these rankings to be slightly different than most bust rankings, here are the rules: To qualify for the bust list, you have to be at least a top-10 pick.
For instance, although Johnny Manziel flamed out of the NFL after being selected with the 23rd overall pick in 2014, it's not as ugly as the time Ryan Leaf flamed out of the NFL, and that's because Leaf was a higher pick who had much higher expectations.
Also, the team's decision-making process going into the pick will factor into these rankings.
Another rule here is that we're only going to list a maximum of one bust per team. If we didn't make that a rule, then this list would basically only be made up of former Bengals, Browns and Lions draft picks, and as fun as that list would be, we don't want to terrorize just those three fan bases. We want to embarrass as many teams as possible by pointing out their worst draft picks.
Also, one thing you will notice is that Tim Couch and David Carr didn't make the cut on this list. Being drafted by an expansion team as a quarterback puts you in a nearly impossible situation, so we're not going to pile on those two guys by adding them to this list when it's highly unlikely that any quarterback could have found success with the 1999 Browns or 2002 Texans.
Finally, we're not going to include anyone who was drafted within the past five years. Although Zach Wilson is already looking like a bust for the Jets, we'll give him two more seasons before we decide whether to add him to the bust list. The one exception to this rule is if the team that drafted you has already given up on you by getting rid of you, then you're fair game for this list (We'll call this the Trey Lance rule). If Wilson ends up getting traded this year (or getting cut), then he'll officially qualify for our "biggest busts" list. If that happens, we'd slot him in at No. 5, but for now, he's not eligible.
With that in mind, let's get to the list of biggest busts.
Honorable mention: LB Vernon Gholston, Jets (2008, sixth overall pick)
After watching Gholston rack up an Ohio State single-season record of 14 sacks in 2007 -- a record that stood until Chase Young broke it in 2019 -- the Jets drafted him with hopes that he would be able to bolster their pass rush. Unfortunately for the Jets, the only thing Gholston bolstered was his bank account. As a rookie in 2008, Gholston signed a contract that ended up paying him a total of $18 million, which is a lot to pay someone who never recorded a single sack in his career. Although the Jets thought they were paying for a pass rusher, Gholston didn't really end up doing much pass rushing. During his three seasons in New York, he tallied exactly zero sacks before the Jets finally ended up up dumping him following the 2010 season.
10. CB Justin Gilbert, Browns (2014, eighth overall pick)
Johnny Manziel might be the bust that most fans remember when it comes to the Browns' 2014 draft, but the pick of Justin Gilbert was arguably worse. The Browns went into the draft with the fourth overall pick, then traded down to No. 9, followed by another deal that eventually left them with the eighth overall pick. After all the wheeling and dealing, the Browns ended up drafting Gilbert, who played exactly 23 games for them over two years. Just before the 2016 season, the Browns traded him away to the Steelers, and let's be honest, nothing says "We've totally given up on you" quite like trading a player to a division rival. Although Gilbert was a total bust, the good news for him is that being a first-round pick pays well. The cornerback made a total of $10.66 million during his brief NFL career.
Browns honorable mention busts: Courtney Brown, (2000, first overall pick), Trent Richardson (2012, third overall pick)
9. WR Justin Blackmon, Jaguars (2012, fifth overall pick)
The Jaguars liked Blackmon so much that they actually traded UP to get him. The Jaguars went into the 2012 draft with the seventh overall pick, but moved up to No. 5 after making a trade with Tampa, and at this point, we can probably all agree that the Buccaneers won this trade. Although Blackmon had an impressive rookie season in 2012 (64 receptions, 865 yards), his career was derailed by multiple suspensions. After his rookie year, Blackmon only played in four games in 2013 and hasn't played since. Before the 2012 draft, one Pro Football Hall of Famer referred to Blackmon as Dez Bryant, but "with all his brain cells." It seems that Hall of Famer was wrong.
Jaguars honorable mention bust: Blaine Gabbert (2011, 10th overall pick)
8. DE Steve Emtman, Colts (1992, first overall pick)
Being a bust means you don't live up to expectations and Emtman definitely didn't live up to expectations after being selected with the first overall pick in the 1992 draft. Although most of the guys on this list caused their own downfall, Emtman's struggles in the NFL were mostly due to injuries. In three seasons with the Colts, Emtman missed a total of 30 games due to multiple injuries, including a torn patellar tendon during his second year with the team. Emtman's career with the Colts ended in ugly fashion when the team cut him following the 1994 season because he refused to take a pay cut. The Colts didn't feel he was living up to expectations, which was a fair assessment, because he definitely wasn't living up to expectations.
Colts honorable mention bust: Jeff George (1990, first overall pick)
7. QB Heath Shuler, Washington (1994, third overall pick)
Thirty years ago, Washington was in dire need of a starting quarterback so the team decided to draft two of them. In 1994, they took Shuler with the third overall pick and then they followed that up by taking another quarterback in the seventh round (Gus Frerotte). Although Shuler was the starter for 13 games over two seasons, he eventually lost the quarterback job to Frerotte. When you're the third overall pick and you lose your job to the 197th overall pick, that makes you a bust. Shuler was eventually traded to the Saints in 1997 and he lasted one season before he decided to quit football due to a foot injury.
6. RB Lawrence Phillips, Rams (1996, sixth overall pick)
Despite the fact that Phillips was accused of multiple crimes and suspended while at Nebraska, the Rams still decided to take a risk on him in the 1996 draft and decision ended up backfiring in a major way. Once he got to the NFL, Phillips was unable to stay out of trouble and the Rams ended up releasing him before he even finished his second season with the team. The uglier part here for the Rams is that they were so confident in Phillips that they traded away their starting running back (Jerome Bettis) on the day of the 1996 draft. As for Phillips, he was sentenced to 31 years in prison back in 2008 for convictions that included domestic violence, spousal abuse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft. The former NFL running back ended up taking his own life in January 2016.
5. WR Charles Rogers, Lions (2003, second overall pick)
Back in the early 2000s, the Lions apparently thought they could succeed in the NFL by using all their first round picks on wide receivers, and that run started with Charles Rogers, who ended up being a total bust. With the second pick in 2003, the Lions knew they were going to take a receiver and with a pick that high, there were only really two options: Rogers or Andre Johnson. Instead of taking Johnson -- who end up putting together a Hall of Fame career- the Lions decided to go with the hometown hero in Rogers, who went to high school in Michigan and attended Michigan State. Johnson ended up being selected by the Texans with the very next pick. Rogers would only play in 15 games over three seasons before dropping out of the NFL due to multiple issues including injuries and drug problems. Rogers died in November 2019 due to liver failure at the age of 38.
As for the Lions, they kept trying to land a receiver. From 2003 to 2006, the Lions used three of their four first round picks on wide receivers.
Lions honorable mention busts: Andre Ware (1990, seventh overall pick), Mike Williams (2005, 10th overall pick)
4. QB Trey Lance, 49ers (2021, third overall pick)
The 49ers thought they found their quarterback of the future when they drafted Lance, but instead, they gave up on him before he even got to his third year with the team. Lance only lasted two seasons in San Francisco, which is bad enough, but the thing that makes this pick even worse is what the 49ers gave up to get him.
Going into the 2021 NFL Draft, the 49ers had the 12th overall pick, but that changed after they pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Dolphins to get the No. 3 overall pick. To move up nine spots, the 49ers sent three first-round picks to Miami (2021, 2022, 2023) along with a 2022 third-round pick. That's a steep price to pay for anyone, but especially for a guy who only ended up starting four games for the 49ers before being traded to the Cowboys in August 2023.
The fact that the 49ers ended up finding Brock Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft will take some of the sting off of the Lance pick, but it doesn't change the fact that he ended up being a bust in San Francisco.
3. QB Akili Smith, Bengals (1999, third overall pick)
The Bengals were so horrible at drafting during the 1990s that we could probably have made an entire draft bust list consisting of just their picks, but we won't. Maybe next year. As for Smith, you could probably make the case that he should be even higher on this list and that's mainly because of what the Bengals gave up to get him.
The Bengals had the chance to trade out of the No. 3 spot in the draft for a deal that would have brought them an embarrassment of riches. Saints coach Mike Ditka was trying to trade up from the 12th spot so he could grab Ricky Williams. Ditka wanted Williams so badly that he offered the Bengals a total of nine picks so he could move up to third overall.
If the Bengals had accepted the deal, they would have landed New Orleans' first-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-round selections in 1999 (12th, 71st, 107th, 144th, 179th, and 218th), as well as New Orleans' first-round pick in both 2000 and 2001, along with a second-round pick in 2002.
How do you say no to that deal? I have no idea, but the Bengals did.
Mike Brown's explanation for turning down the offer?
"It was a generous offer, but we felt now is the time to get the quarterback. We've been saying that all along," Brown said back in 1999.
Someone clearly never explained to Brown how the draft works, because the Bengals could have used a few of their nine new picks from the Saints to trade back up and grab Smith, if that's who they really wanted.
In the end, they stayed put with the third overall pick and ended up taking the Oregon QB. During his four seasons with the Bengals, Smith only started 17 games and he went 3-14 in those games. He threw more than twice as many interceptions in his career (13) as he did touchdowns (5). Smith also completed under 50 percent of his passes (46.6 percent) during his time with the Bengals.
When you combine the missed opportunity on the trade along with the fact that the Bengals selected a bust, it makes the Smith pick easily one of the worst selections by any team in the NFL history.
Bengals honorable mention busts: David Klingler (1992, sixth overall pick), Ki-Jana Carter (1995, first overall pick), John Ross (2017, ninth overall pick)
2. QB Ryan Leaf, Chargers (1998, second overall pick)
You can't have a conversation about the greatest draft busts in NFL history without mentioning Ryan Leaf's name, so it's time we mention Ryan Leaf's name. After the Chargers made Leaf the second overall pick in 1998, it all went downhill from there and it went downhill fast. Basically, it was a disaster from start to finish. In three years with the Chargers, Leaf only started 18 games (he went 4-14) and he missed an entire season due to injury in 1999. By the end of the 2000 season, the Chargers decided they didn't want him anymore, so they released him. The most embarrassing thing about the Leaf situation for the Chargers is that they actually traded UP to get him. Going into the 1998 draft, the Chargers had the third overall pick. To move up to the second spot, the Chargers gave Arizona the third overall pick, a second round pick AND a first round pick in 1999. Oh, and the Chargers also gave the Cardinals two players. The Chargers got stuck with Leaf in a year where Peyton Manning went No. 1 overall to the Colts.
The reason the Leaf isn't at the top of this list is because every other team would have made the same pick. Leaf was viewed as a consensus top-two QB going into the draft and he was going to get picked high no matter what. If the Chargers didn't take him, someone else would have. Of course, the same can't be said for the the top quarterback on our list, who likely would have fallen out of the top-10 if the Raiders didn't take him.
1. QB JaMarcus Russell, Raiders (2007, first overall pick)
The Raiders only have themselves to blame for this pick and that's because they basically ignored every red flag in the book when they selected Russell with the first overall pick in 2007. For one, an NFC general manager literally told Raiders owner Al Davis that taking Russell would be a bad idea. It was also well known that Russell hated studying, something the Raiders found out first-hand after they drafted him.
The blank DVD JaMarcus Russell story that summaries his commitment to the NFL pic.twitter.com/kaAa4tPmit
— Gridiron Experts (@GridironExperts) July 22, 2013
Russell also hated conditioning, which made it hard for him to stay in shape. After drafting Russell, the quarterback thanked the Raiders by holding out for all of training camp during his rookie year. Although Russell eventually reported to the team in September 2007, he didn't make his first start until the Raiders' regular season finale in December. In three years with the team, Russell would start 25 games and go 7-18. The Raiders eventually cut Russell in May 2010. The final straw for the Raiders came when he showed up to mini-camp at 290 pounds, which was roughly 20 pounds over his playing weight.
Although Russell didn't make it in the NFL, he did earn nearly $40 million for his three seasons with the Raiders.
Overall honorable mention draft busts: Troy Williamson, Vikings (2005 seventh overall pick); Jason Smith, Rams (2009, second overall pick); Jake Locker, Titans (2011, eighth overall pick).
