NFL DRAFT’S BIGGEST BUSTS
PART TWO
22. Buccaneers’ decision to trade down in 1978
Confident in RB Ricky Bell, the No. 1 pick in 1977, Tampa Bay sent the top pick of ‘78 to Houston for TE Jimmie Giles and four selections, including a firstand second-rounder. The Oilers? Hello, Earl Campbell.
23. QB Josh Rosen, 10th overall 2018, Cardinals
Arizona traded a first-, third- and fifth-round pick to move up five spots to snatch him 10th overall in 2018. He flopped as a rookie and was replaced by Kyler Murray atop the 2019 draft ... when Rosen also burned the Dolphins, who gave up a Round 2 pick to rescue him from the desert before he failed in Miami. Like Darnold, Rosen was a victim of circumstances, but the Cards wouldn’t have reset had they picked Jackson in 2018 instead.
24. CB Jeff Okudah, 3rd overall 2020, Lions
No corner has ever been picked higher. But heading into his fifth season – when many first-rounders are collecting during lucrative option years – Okudah is resetting with his third team (Houston). He’s missed 29 games in his career to date. Worse, quarterbacks have a 103.6 passer rating when targeting the former Ohio State star. Oh, and just to repeat, Justin Jefferson, Justin Herbert, CeeDee Lamb and Tristan Wirfs were among the players taken later in Round 1 that year.
25. P Russell Erxleben, 11th overall 1979, Saints
Groan. Known for his record 67-yard field goal in college with Texas, he proved neither the kicker nor punter New Orleans envisioned. Erxleben is the highest-drafted special teamer of the common draft era (since 1967), going two spots ahead of Hall of Famer Winslow. Erxleben landed in prison later in life for securities fraud.
25a. K Steve Little, 15th overall 1978, Cardinals
Taking a kicker in Round 1, especially in an era when the position was far less reliable, could be forgiven. But not if your guy misses 14 of 27 field goal attempts in three seasons ... and when you could’ve had Ozzie Newsome or Doug Williams.
26. OLB Vernon Gholston, 6th overall 2008, Jets
He played 45 games for New York. He registered nary a sack.
27. QB Kelly Stouffer, 6th overall 1987, Cardinals
He held out his rookie season and got traded to Seattle. Lucky for the Cards, given Stouffer (7 TD passes, 19 interceptions in five seasons) would make subsequent Seahawks franchise QB Rick Mirer — continue reading — look like an All-Pro.
28. WR Troy Williamson, 7th overall 2005, Vikings
Minnesota basically traded Randy Moss to Oakland in order to get this guy ... who finished with 153 fewer TDs than Moss.
29. TE Kyle Brady, 9th overall 1995, Jets
New York could have had Warren Sapp. Or Ty Law. Or Derrick Brooks. But in typical J-E-T-S fashion, they screwed it up royally. (And the availability of Law and Brooks didn’t deter the Jets from taking DE Hugh Douglas 16th overall.)
30. QB Sam Bradford, 1st overall 2010, Rams
He certainly wasn’t a bad player, and many forget he was Offensive Rookie of the Year. But his injury history at Oklahoma was predictive. The six players selected after Bradford? Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Eric Berry, Russell Okung and Joe Haden, with Earl Thomas off the board at No. 14. Bradford later cost Minnesota a firstand fourth-rounder in 2016 to replace Teddy Bridgewater but didn’t get the Vikings to the postseason and lost his job to Case Keenum the next year.
31. Browns’ haul for Julio Jones
Cleveland dealt the sixth pick in 2011 to Atlanta — Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff was widely panned for paying so much to get Jones — and ultimately wound up with NT Phil Taylor, WR Greg Little, FB Owen Marecic and QB Brandon Weeden.
32. Browns’ 2012 draft
As bad as Weeden (22nd overall) was, RB Trent Richardson, the No. 3 pick, was worse based on relative value. Cleveland sent Minnesota four picks to swap from fourth to third overall. Even when the Browns flipped Richardson to the Colts for a first-round pick in 2013, they eventually wound up with Johnny Manziel.
32a. Browns’ 2014 draft
Manziel (22nd overall) was dreadful. CB Justin Gilbert, the No. 8 pick, was a bigger blunder given his slot.
33. QB Brady Quinn, 22nd overall 2007, Browns
Not only did he add to Cleveland’s litany of quarterback washouts, he cost the Browns a first- and second-round pick in order to trade up for him. (In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s a QB death knell to get drafted by Cleveland at No. 22.)
34. QB Akili Smith, 3rd overall 1999, Bengals
Just abject in four seasons (3-14 record, 5 TD passes, 13 INTs). The next four players taken were Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt and Champ Bailey. No. 12 selection Cade McNown, Chicago’s QB failure that year, looked all-world relative to Smith.
35. WR Charles Rogers 2nd overall 2003, Lions
Sadly, he couldn’t evade drugs or injuries. Also, future Hall of Famer Andre Johnson went to the Texans with the next pick.
36. QB Heath Shuler, 3rd overall 1994, Washington
He was a better congressman than quarterback — and wasn’t even the best passer Washington picked in 1994, seventh-rounder Gus Frerotte proving superior.
37. DE Andre Wadsworth, 3rd overall 1998, Cardinals
Often forgotten in the aftermath of the Manning-Leaf debate atop that year’s draft, but some scouts considered Wadsworth a better prospect than both quarterbacks. Knee injuries sapped his vast potential after just three seasons. Hall of Famer Charles Woodson was chosen next.
38. QB Rick Mirer, 2nd overall 1993, Seahawks
That year’s Drew Bledsoe consolation prize, Mirer was wretched in four years with Seattle (20-31 record, 65.2 passer rating). Oh, and Hall of Famers Willie Roaf and Bettis were available in the top 10.
39. QB Mitchell Trubisky, 2nd overall 2017, Bears
Another botched move by Chicago atop a draft in an ill-considered bid to fix the century-old organization’s ongoing quarterback conundrum. To simply swap the No. 2 and No. 3 overall selections, the Bears had to give the 49ers a third- and fourth-rounder plus a future third-rounder (used on eventual All-Pro
LB Fred Warner in 2018). GM Ryan Pace then picked Trubisky, who was middling at best while starting for two Bears playoff teams — the 2018 edition was Super Bowl-caliber otherwise — when he could have had Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson.
39a. DL Solomon Thomas, 3rd overall 2017, 49ers
For all the capital the Niners inhaled in the Trubisky deal, they flubbed much of it by taking the disappointing Stanford star before trading the 2017 thirdround pick ... which the Saints used on perennial Pro Bowl RB Alvin Kamara.
40. Raiders’ 2020 draft
As much trouble as former GM Mike Mayock ran into in early rounds, this was the class that ultimately might have gotten him fired. First-rounders Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette (the latter obtained as part of the Khalil Mack trade years before) were both released in 2021 amid serious off-field incidents, an inebriated Ruggs involved in an auto accident that killed a woman and her dog. Third-rounder Lynn Bowden Jr. was traded to Miami before his rookie season and has never amounted to much in the NFL. Fellow third-rounder Tanner Muse never played for the Raiders, either, while WR Bryan Edwards lasted just two seasons in Las Vegas. The best of the bunch is Round 4 G John Simpson, who blossomed with the Ravens.
40a. Raiders’ 2019 draft
With three first-rounders, this was supposed to be the year that Mayock set the Silver and Black up for years of success. But the immediate criticism of DE Clelin Ferrell, taken fourth overall, proved justified. S Johnathan Abram didn’t make it through his fourth season with the franchise. RB Josh Jacobs was a productive player, but not one the team deemed worthy of a multi-year contract extension. Round 2 CB Trayvon Mullen was also an ex-Raider after three seasons. (Qualifying note: Mayock found DE Maxx Crosby and WR Hunter Renfrow on Day 3, not they were able to save his job in the final analysis.)
40b. OL Alex Leatherwood, 17th overall 2021, Raiders
Mayock did get one more crack at the draft ... and took the Alabama lineman much earlier than most observers had him projected. Unable to handle right tackle in the NFL, Leatherwood moved to guard but was waived prior to the 2022 season — by the regime that succeeded Mayock.
41. Raiders’ 2011 trade for QB Carson Palmer
Can’t blame this on Mayock. Oakland gave up a first- and second-rounder to pry the former No. 1 pick out of Cincinnati and quasi-retirement. A three-time Pro Bowler, Palmer was 8-16 in 11⁄2 seasons with the Silver and Black and was shipped to Arizona — where he reverted to star form — for the net gain of a Round 6 choice in 2013.
42. DE Mike Mamula, 7th overall 1995, Eagles
It’s bad enough that Philly got duped into taking the original scouting combine superstar. Adding to the ignominy, the Eagles traded the 12th pick to Tampa Bay (the Bucs used it on Warren Sapp) plus two second-rounders to elevate into this mistake.
43. Colts’ 1992 draft
Indianapolis owned the top two picks and selected DE Steve Emtman and LB Quentin Coryatt. Emtman was beset by injuries, and Coryatt was a pedestrian performer. This would rank higher, but the ‘92 draft was short on talent and hasn’t produced one Hall of Famer – despite running 12 rounds – though Dallas’ Darren Woodson might eventually reach Canton.
44. RB Ki-Jana Carter, 1st overall 1995, Bengals
In fairness, he ripped up his knee in his first preseason game and was never the same. Of note, it could have been much worse for Cincinnati. Expansion Carolina only charged the Bengals the fifth and 36th overall picks to move up for Carter, sweetheart terms by today’s standards. Yet it worked out OK for the Panthers, who took QB Kerry Collins.
44a. DT Dan ‘Big Daddy’ Wilkinson, 1st overall 1994, Bengals
He was average at best for Cincinnati, which could have avoided the Carter gaffe in 1995 by taking Marshall Faulk No. 1 in 1994.
45. Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, Ken O’Brien
If you drafted a quarterback in the first round of the 1983 draft, you had a 50% shot at getting a Hall of Famer — Elway, Jim Kelly or Dan Marino. Otherwise, you got one of these guys, all taken with Marino (27th overall) still available.
45a. DT Gabe Rivera, 21st overall 1983, Steelers
For whatever reason, Pittsburgh bypassed hometown hero Marino, who would have made a mighty fine acquisition with Terry Bradshaw heading into his final season. Driving drunk, Rivera was paralyzed in a car accident midway through his rookie season.
46. Bears’ post-Walter Payton first-round RBs
Brad Muster (23rd overall pick, 1994), Rashaan Salaam (21st in 1995), Curtis Enis (5th in 1998) and Cedric Benson (4th in 2005) all bombed in the years following Sweetness’ retirement after the 1987 campaign.
47. Cowboys’ 2000 trade for WR Joey Galloway
In one of owner Jerry Jones’ most notorious moves, Dallas sent two firstrounders to Seattle for the speedy receiver. Galloway averaged fewer than 50 yards per game in four years in Big D, while the Seahawks snagged future MVP Shaun Alexander.
48. WR Treylon Burks, 18th overall 2022, Titans
Rather than pay WR A.J. Brown, now a perennial Pro Bowler and legitimate 1,500-yard receiver, Tennessee traded him to Philadelphia for a pair of picks, including this first-rounder used on Burks. It’s still early, but the Arkansas product has produced just 49 catches for 665 yards and one TD in two seasons — a period when the Titans felt the need to acquire WRs DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, the latter getting a huge contract this year.
48a. WR Jalen Reagor, 21st overall 2020, Eagles
Philadelphia was compelled to trade for Brown on the first night of the 2022 draft after the disastrous selection of Reagor, who was Burks-esque through two seasons with 64 receptions for 695 yards and three TDs before being shipped to Minnesota for a cheesesteak. However the real cardinal sin associated with Reagor was that the Vikings drafted Jefferson with the next selection.
49. QB J.P. Losman, 22nd overall 2004, Bills
He followed Eli Manning, Rivers and Roethlisberger as the fourth Round 1 passer in 2004. Oops. Oh yeah, Buffalo also gave up a first-, second- and fifthrounder to get Losman when it could have simply waited to grab future Pro Bowler Matt Schaub in Round 3.
50. QB Blaine Gabbert, 10th overall 2011, Jaguars
Aside from quarterbacks not named Cam Newton, this was an epic draft. Jacksonville didn’t get a crack at Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones or Tyron Smith but could’ve taken J.J. Watt, Robert Quinn, Mike Pouncey, Ryan Kerrigan, Cam Jordan or Mark Ingram (among others — even Andy Dalton) instead of Gabbert. The Jags also gave up a second-rounder to move up six spots for Gabbert. Oy.
50a. QB Jake Locker, 8th overall 2011, Titans
Aside from quarterbacks not named Cam Newton, this was an epic draft. Tennessee didn’t get a crack at Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson or Julio Jones but could’ve taken Tyron Smith, J.J. Watt, Robert Quinn, Mike Pouncey, Ryan Kerrigan, Cam Jordan or Mark Ingram (among others – even Andy Dalton) instead of Locker. Oy.
50b. QB Christian Ponder, 12th overall 2011, Vikings
Aside from quarterbacks not named Cam Newton, this was an epic draft. Minnesota didn’t get a crack at Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones, Tyron Smith or J.J. Watt but could’ve taken Robert Quinn, Mike Pouncey, Ryan Kerrigan, Cam Jordan or Mark Ingram (among others — even Andy Dalton) instead of Ponder. Oy.