Every NFL Draft is about hope. Even if it is not considered a strong class, 2026 is no different. The Las Vegas Raiders are set to fully embrace 2025 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who is fresh off leading the Indiana Hoosiers to their first football national championship.
John Harbaugh has New York Giants fans brimming with excitement after the organization was able to flip disgruntled defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the 10th overall pick in the upcoming draft. That gives the Giants a chance to pick two new cornerstones at No. 5 overall and No. 10 overall. The Kansas City Chiefs hope they can revive their dynasty with a couple of first-round picks, including the ninth overall pick on Thursday night.
However, for as much joy as the draft brings the NFL’s 32 teams, it can bring just as much sorrow when a prospect’s potential isn’t realized — thus making them a certified bust. It’s a certainty that a number of teams will be disappointed with their 2026 first-round picks in a year or two because that’s life. Not every college hotshot pans out.
That’s why looking back to see how brutal the first round of the NFL draft can be is a helpful dose of medicine to enter Thursday night with a healthy, balanced perspective. In this piece, we’ve compiled the list of every team’s biggest draft bust ever. Enjoy the whiffs in order to smell the optimism come opening night in Pittsburgh days from now.
Arizona Cardinals: RB Larry Stegent
Draft year, round, pick: 1970
Overall pick: 8
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1971)
Career stats with franchise: 1 catch for 12 yards, 1 fumble in 7 career games including 1 start
Running back Larry Stegent was a three-time All-Southwest Conference running back for Texas A&M, but his production didn’t translate to the NFL level after being selected inside the top 10 when the Cardinals were still located in St. Louis. A big factor was that he suffered a knee injury in his first preseason game, and medical technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today.
Atlanta Falcons: RB Joe Profit
Draft year: 1971
Overall pick: 7
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1971-1973)
Career stats with franchise: 61 carries for 197 yards rushing, 3 rush TD; 3 catches for 22 yards in 15 career games including 3 starts
Running back Joe Profit was a football pioneer in many regards, just not on the field for the Atlanta Falcons. He became the first black football player in the Gulf States Conference, which is now known as the Sun Belt Conference, during his days at the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM). Profit shined brightly, becoming the conference all-time rushing leader with 2,818 yards on the ground.
Profit also became the first Falcons running back to receive a multi-year, six-figure contract. As a pro, he never finished as one of Atlanta’s top two leaders in rushing. Profit was on pace to do so in 1971, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. His career was never the same afterwards.
Baltimore Ravens: WR Breshad Perriman
Draft year: 2015
Overall pick: 26
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (2016-2017)
Career stats with franchise: 43 catches for 576 yards and 3 touchdowns on 101 targets in 27 career games including 4 starts
Wide receiver Breshad Perriman’s health and ineffectiveness prevented him from getting on the same page with quarterback Joe Flacco. He suffered a partially torn PCL injury in his knee that ruined his rookie season, and he was only able to earn one start in 2016 despite playing in all 16 games. A concussion Perriman suffered in October of the 2017 season limited him to 11 games played and 3 starts. After the 2017 season, Baltimore declined his fifth-year option, and they then released him at the end of the 2018 preseason.
Buffalo Bills: WR Perry Tuttle
Draft year: 1982
Overall pick: 19
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (1982-1983)
Career stats with franchise: 24 catches for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns on 46 targets in 16 career games including 4 starts
Wide receiver Perry Tuttle is a Clemson legend. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 1982 Orange Bowl to help clinch a national championship. However, things just never clicked for him in the NFL. He was just a few years too early as Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly wouldn’t arrive as Buffalo’s starting quarterback until 1986.
❌ Why draft picks bust: The common threads
| Category |
What went wrong |
Examples |
| Injuries |
Careers derailed early by health issues |
Kevin White; Steve Niehaus; Larry Stegent |
| Off-field issues |
Suspensions, legal trouble, personal issues |
Justin Blackmon; Isaiah Wilson; Dion Jordan |
| Underperformance |
Couldn’t translate talent to the NFL |
Derek Brown; Brian Jozwiak |
| Bad team context |
Placed in losing or unstable situations |
David Carr (expansion Texans) |
| Evaluation misses |
Teams misjudged talent or traits |
Tony Mandarich; Vernon Gholston |
| Never played |
Never suited up for drafting team |
Bo Jackson; Ted Gregory |
Carolina Panthers: CB Rashard Anderson
Draft year: 2000
Overall pick: 23
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (2000-2001)
Career stats with franchise: 1 interception, 5 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble return touchdown and 75 tackles in 27 games played including 9 starts
Rashard Anderson played standout level football at Jackson State where he helped the Tigers win the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title as well as the 1999 SWAC Eastern Division crown. The Panthers made him the 23rd overall pick of the draft in 2000, and following the 2001 season, a year in which he started 9 of his 16 games and recovered three fumbles — including taking one back for a touchdown — he appeared to be turning the corner. However, he was suspended for an entire season in the spring of 2002 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Anderson’s suspension extended into 2003 after he did not meet the requirements to be reinstated. When he was finally cleared to play again in 2004, Anderson was released and no other NFL team picked him up.
Chicago Bears: WR Kevin White
Draft year: 2015
Overall pick: 7
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (2016-2018)
Career stats with franchise: 28 catches for 397 yards and no touchdowns on 48 targets in 14 career games including 5 starts
Wide receiver Kevin White’s NFL career was never able to take off thanks to injuries. As a rookie he suffered a stress fracture in his shin in organized team activities (OTAs), and he never suited up in 2015 after having surgery that required a steel rod to be inserted into his tibia. Another left leg injury derailed him in 2016 when he fractured his fibula just four weeks into the season. Fast forward to 2017, and he fractured his left shoulder blade in Week 1 versus the Atlanta Falcons. Three years, three seasons ending on injured reserve.
The highlight of his career came in Week 7 of the 2018 season against the New England Patriots. He reeled in a 54-yard heave from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky as time expired, but he came up a yard short of the game tying touchdown in a 38-31 defeat. That was an encapsulation of his Bears career — just not enough production. Chicago let him walk in free agency in 2019.
Cincinnati Bengals: QB Akili Smith
Draft year: 1999
Overall pick: 3
Seasons played with franchise: 4 (1999-2002)
Career stats with franchise: 46.6% completion percentage, 2,212 passing yards (100.5 passing yards per game), 5 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 52.8 passer rating in 22 games including 17 starts for a 3-14 record; 70 carries for 371 yards rushing and 1 rushing touchdown
Akili Smith balled out in his senior year at Oregon: led the Pac-10 in completion percentage (58.8%), passing yards (3,307), passing yards per attempt (10.2), passing touchdowns (30) and passing efficiency rating (170.4). Nationally, he led college football in passing yards per attempt while ranking fifth in passing touchdowns and second in passing efficiency rating. Those efforts netted him the 1998 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year award, and the Cincinnati Bengals drafting him third overall in the 1999 NFL Draft.
Smith missed a chunk of his first training camp because of rookie contract negotiations going sideways, but he did eventually sign with the Bengals on Aug. 24. Perhaps that factored into him never looking comfortable with the playbook and eventually being benched for his final two seasons from 2001 to 2002 in which he played in just three games, starting two of them.
Cleveland Browns: LB Mike Junkin
Draft year: 1987
Overall pick: 5
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (1987-1988)
Career stats with franchise: 36 total tackles, 1 pass defensed, 0 interceptions in 15 games played including 7 starts
Not only did the Cleveland Browns select linebacker Mike Junkin fifth overall, but they traded up to do so. Cleveland attempted to transition Junkin to a new position, moving him from inside linebacker where he thrived at Duke to outside linebacker. His rookie year was cut short by a players’ strike and a wrist injury. The Browns moved him back to inside linebacker, but a knee injury caused him to miss some time, and when he returned, he briefly lost his starting job.
After Cleveland fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer, Schottenheimer traded a fifth-round pick to the Browns to take Junkin with him to the Kansas City Chiefs. Junkin narrowly beat out quarterback Brady Quinn, the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, for this dubious honor thanks to being selected 17 picks higher than the former face of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Dallas Cowboys: LB Billy Cannon Jr.
Draft year: 1984
Overall pick: 25
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1984)
Career stats with franchise: 5 total tackles, 1 pass defensed, 0 interceptions in 8 games played
Billy Cannon Jr. never lived up to his Heisman Trophy-winning father’s name. After being selected 25th overall in 1984 out of Texas A&M, Cannon had a spinal condition that was aggravated when he tackled New Orleans Saints running back Wayne Wilson. Cannon suffered damage to two vertebrae near his neck, which caused him to experience temporary paralysis in his arms and legs. He retired to avoid the risk of permanent paralysis.
He actually filed a lawsuit against the Cowboys claiming they were negligent in allowing him to play after he told Dallas he had previously experienced numbness in his upper body when tackling. Dallas later ended up settling the suit in 1992.
Denver Broncos: DT Ted Gregory
Draft year: 1988
Overall pick: 26
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1988)
Career stats with franchise: 0 games played, traded before his rookie year
This is the only draft bust that never actually took the field for their respective team. After Ted Gregory earned All-American accolades in his final season with Syracuse in 1987, the Denver Broncos took the defensive tackle 26th overall. Gregory was listed as 6 feet, 1 inch, but upon his arrival in Denver, he was shorter than head coach Dan Reeves, who was actually that height.
In training camp, Gregory suffered a knee injury, which led to the team trading him to the New Orleans Saints for backup edge rusher Shawn Knight before the season began. The selection of Gregory was such a disaster that Denver instituted a policy of needing to meet with possible high draft picks before the draft, something the franchise hadn’t done previously.
Detroit Lions: DE Reggie Rogers
Draft year: 1987
Overall pick: 7
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (1987-1988)
Career stats with franchise: 20 tackles, 1.0 sacks in 11 games played including 2 starts
Reggie Rogers was an All-American at the University of Washington, but he never got his act together in Detroit. Rogers played only six games as a rookie because of mental health issues. His 1988 campaign ended after his car hit another car, killing three teenagers. The worst part was he had a blood alcohol content of 0.15, 0.5 above the state of Michigan’s legal limit of 0.10 back then. Rogers broke his neck in the collision, and he was convicted of vehicular homicide, which is why he spent 13 months in prison. The Lions, of course, waived him.
Green Bay Packers: OT Tony Mandarich
Draft year: 1989
Overall pick: 2
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1989-1991)
Career stats with franchise: 31 starts in 45 games played
Offensive tackle Tony Mandarich, who was nicknamed “The Incredible Bulk” and called the best offensive line prospect ever prior to the 1989 NFL Draft by Sports Illustrated, failed to live up to the hype and then some. He was a unanimous first team All-American at Michigan State who was a two-time Big Ten Lineman of the Year, but he ended up becoming the poster boy for steroid use and underperformance at the NFL level.
The double whammy of his selection is every other top-five pick from his 1989 draft class is now a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Quarterback Troy Aikman went first overall to the Dallas Cowboys, a player the Cowboys could have certainly used but couldn’t have selected. Running back Barry Sanders went third overall to the Detroit Lions followed by linebacker Derrick Thomas going fourth overall to the Kansas City Chiefs and cornerback Deion Sanders being selected fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Green Bay, who ended up appearing in consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990’s including winning it all to conclude the 1996 season, may have left some Vince Lombardi trophies on the table by selecting Mandarich over the likes of Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders.
Houston Texans: QB David Carr
Draft year: 2002
Overall pick: 1
Seasons played with franchise: 5 (2002-2006)
Career stats with franchise: 60% completion percentage, 13,391 passing yards (176.2 passing yards per game), 59 passing touchdowns, 65 interceptions, 75.5 passer rating, 249 times sacked, 68 fumbles with a 22-53 record
David Carr was the first ever draft pick in Houston Texans history after the NFL created them via expansion in 2002, but he fell flat on his face. He’s a great guy, having worked with him at NFL Network years ago, but his professional football career flopped in a big way behind a porous offensive line. In Carr’s five seasons as the Texans’ starting quarterback from 2002 to 2006, he was sacked 249 times and fumbled the football 68 times. If both of those figures sound high, it’s because Carr is responsible for both the most times sacked and the most fumbles in a player’s first five seasons in NFL history.
Indianapolis Colts: QB Art Schlichter
Draft year: 1982
Overall pick: 4
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1982, 1984-1985)
Career stats with franchise: 45% completion percentage, 1,006 passing yards (77.4 passing yards per game), 3 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 42.6 passer rating, 28 times sacked, 8 fumbles with an 0-6 record
Gambling problems derailed Art Schlichter’s NFL career after the Colts selected him fourth overall out of Ohio State in the 1982 NFL Draft. Schlichter became the first NFL player to be suspended for gambling since the league suspended Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for betting on NFL games in 1963. His punishment was a suspension that lasted the 1983 season, but he was then released during the 1985 season after concerns of another gambling relapse.
Jacksonville Jaguars: WR Justin Blackmon
Draft year: 2012
Overall pick: 5
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (2012-2013)
Career stats with franchise: 93 catches for 1,280 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns on 180 targets in 20 games including 18 starts
Justin Blackmon was one of the most dominant wide receivers in college football history at Oklahoma State. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which honors the best wide receiver in college football, in each of his last two seasons of college football in 2010 and 2012. Blackmon and Michael Crabtree are the only players to ever take home that piece of hardware twice. Blackmon went off for 186 yards receiving and 3 receiving touchdowns on just 8 catches to help the Cowboys and quarterback Brandon Weeden outduel eventual 2012 first overall draft pick quarterback Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinals. Blackmon had superstar written all over him.
However, his life fell apart off the field in the NFL. Blackmon produced a nice rookie year, registering 865 yards receiving and 5 receiving touchdowns on 64 catches, but he came unglued in his second season in 2013. He was hit with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy before undergoing groin surgery. During Jacksonville’s bye week, he was suspended again for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Blackmon went to rehab, and in the spring of 2015, the league declined to reinstate him. Blackmon getting arrested for DUI back in Oklahoma in December of 2015 was the nail in the coffin of his NFL career, and he never returned to action again.
Kansas City Chiefs: OL Brian Jozwiak
Draft year: 1986
Overall pick: 7
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1986-1988)
Career stats with franchise: 3 starts in 28 games played
Some would argue quarterback Todd Blackledge, the seventh overall pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, should be in this spot because he caused Kansas City to decline to draft two Hall of Famers in Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. However, he at least registered 24 starts and played in 40 games.
Another seventh overall pick, offensive lineman Brian Jozwiak, failed to even start five games for the Chiefs. Jozwiak started only three games in three years with Kansas City — one a year to be exact — before he suffered a career-ending hip injury in 1988.
Las Vegas Raiders: QB JaMarcus Russell
Draft year: 2007
Overall pick: 1
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (2007-2009)
Career stats with franchise: 52.1% completion percentage, 4,083 passing yards (131.7 passing yards per game), 18 passing touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 65.2 passer rating, 70 times sacked, 25 fumbles with a 7-18 record
Quarterback JaMarcus Russell might be the biggest, or at least the most notorious, bust in NFL history given he was a first overall pick and because of the stories that came to light from his time with the Raiders. Russell fell asleep in team meetings, disappeared from the last day of organized team activities with the Raiders in 2009 without an explanation and reportedly formed an addiction to “purple drank.”
That’s on top of the team suspecting he wasn’t watching the game plan DVDs the coaching staff sent Russell home to study. To prove it, they gave him a blank disc and then asked him to provide his thoughts on it. Russell reportedly reported it looked good to him. There may never be another bust quite like Russell given we now live in an era when anyone can be filmed at any time thanks to smartphones.
Los Angeles Chargers: QB Ryan Leaf
Draft year: 1998
Overall pick: 2
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1998, 2000-2001)
Career stats with franchise: 48% completion percentage, 3,172 passing yards (151.0 passing yards per game), 13 passing touchdowns, 33 interceptions, 48.8 passer rating, 53 times sacked, 20 fumbles with a 4-17 record
Believe it or not, there was a debate prior to the 1998 NFL Draft about whether Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning should be the first overall pick to the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts clearly made the right call with Manning. Leaf was third in Heisman Trophy voting behind Manning and winner Charles Woodson. A shoulder injury and a team issued suspension for yelling at general manager Bobby Neathard and a coach derailed him early on. A lack of discipline in his off-field interactions and on-field play made him one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history.
Los Angeles Rams: OT Jason Smith
Draft year: 2009
Overall pick: 2
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (2009-2011)
Career stats with franchise: 26 starts in 45 games played
Jason Smith put Baylor football back on the NFL radar after being an All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection in 2009. The Rams made him the first Baylor first-round pick since 1996 by taking him second overall. Smith initially lined up at right tackle while moonlighting at left tackle — his projected long-term position. A concussion caused him to miss half of his rookie year, and then he was beat out for the left tackle job by Robert Saffold. Smith suffered a concussion and a neck injury six games into 2011 and that ended his Rams career.
They flipped him to the New York Jets where he played all 16 games without a start, and that was the last time he took the field in the NFL. An old school bust. Simply couldn’t cut it in the pros.
Miami Dolphins: DE Dion Jordan
Draft year: 2013
Overall pick: 3
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (2013-2014)
Career stats with franchise: 46 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 3 passes defended, 7 quarterback hits
Miami not only selected Dion Jordan third overall out of Oregon, but they traded up from No. 12 to No. 3 to go get him. After his first two seasons, he was handed a four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Another violation stretched that suspension to six games. Jordan then was hit with a year-long suspension in 2015 thanks to his third offense. Despite being conditionally reinstated in 2016, Jordan didn’t play in a single game in that year, so Miami released him after a failed physical in March of 2017.
Minnesota Vikings: WR Troy Williamson
Draft year: 2005
Overall pick: 7
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (2005-2007)
Career stats with franchise: 79 catches, 1,067 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns on 167 targets in 39 games, including 22 games started
The Vikings received the 2005 seventh overall pick, a 2005 second-round pick and linebacker Napoleon Harris from the Raiders in exchange for 28-year-old Randy Moss. Wide receiver Troy Williamson, a former state champion track athlete out of South Carolina, caught the Vikings’ attention with his speed. In the 2006 offseason, he reported he had poor depth perception while struggling with drops. Fast forward to 2007, and Williamson dropped a wide open pass that could have gone for a 70-plus yard touchdown in a game Minnesota lost 22-19 in overtime. The Vikings ended up missing the postseason by one game in 2007 with an 8-8 record while Washington earned the last wild card spot at 9-7. Minnesota waved the white flag on Williamson by trading him to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth round pick.
New England Patriots: WR Hart Lee Dykes
Draft year: 1989
Overall pick: 16
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (1989-1990)
Career stats with franchise: 83 catches, 1,344 receiving yards, 7 receiving TD on 176 targets in 26 games including 15 games started
Injuries to both knees cut Hart Lee Dykes’ career short after just two seasons. He also missed six games in 1990 after suffering an eye injury in a fight at a nightclub. Dykes never came close to making good on his potential.
New Orleans Saints: DE Shawn Knight
Draft year: 1987
Overall pick: 11
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1987)
Career stats with franchise: 10 games played without a start
Shawn Knight flashed plenty of promise in his final season at BYU with 16 sacks. However, he immediately fell out of favor as a rookie in New Orleans. Knight revealed late to training camp, and that was basically it during his time with the Saints. Following his rookie year, he was dealt for another all-time bust in defensive tackle Ted Gregory.
New York Giants: TE Derek Brown
Draft year: 1992
Overall pick: 14
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1992-1994)
Career stats with franchise: 11 catches, 87 receiving yards, 0 receiving TD on 27 targets in 45 games including 7 games started
Derek Brown was a massive bust. No major injuries, just pure underperformance. In his final season with the Giants, he was mostly a special teams player. What a fall from grace for a first-round pick selected in the first half of the draft.
New York Jets: DE Vernon Gholston
Draft year: 2008
Overall pick: 6
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (2008-2010)
Career stats with franchise: 42 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, no sacks in 45 games including 5 starts
Vernon Gholston is an awe-inspiring bust as an edge rusher who didn’t register a single sack. His outstanding NFL Scouting Combine performance (4.67 40-yard dash, 35 1/2″ vertical jump, 10′ 5″ broad jump, 7.12 three-cone drill, 4.4-second 20-yard shuttle and 37 bench press reps) fooled the Jets into making him a top 10 pick. Gholston never played a snap in the NFL at the age of 25 or older.
Philadelphia Eagles: OT Kevin Allen
Draft year: 1985
Overall pick: 9
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1985)
Career stats with franchise: 16 games played including 4 starts
Kevin Allen failed to keep it together off the field, which is in part why he struggled on the field. Allen tested positive for cocaine upon arriving at training camp in 1986, which helped lead to his release just a few months later. Shortly after that, Allen was hit with a rape charge and eventually pled guilty to a first-degree sexual assault charge.
Pittsburgh Steelers: DE Huey Richardson
Draft year: 1991
Overall pick: 15
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (1991)
Career stats with franchise: 5 games played without a start
Huey Richardson didn’t register a tackle or a sack with Pittsburgh after the Steelers selected the Florida Gators All-American to boost their pass rush. Head coach Bill Cowher gave up on him after just one season, flipping him to Washington for a seventh-round pick. That’s just a smidge better than an outright release.
San Francisco 49ers: QB Jim Druckenmiller
Draft year: 1997
Overall pick: 26
Seasons played with franchise: 2 (1997-1998)
Career stats with franchise: 40.4% completion percentage, 239 passing yards (39.8 passing yards per game), 1 passing touchdown, 4 interceptions, 29.2 passer rating, 4 times sacked in 6 games played including 1 start
Jim Druckenmiller was one of the San Francisco 49ers’ big swings to pull another rabbit out of the hat and replace Hall of Famer Steve Young with another strong quarterback after the former successfully succeeded Hall of Famer Joe Montana. San Francisco gave up on him in 1999, trading him away to the Miami Dolphins for two late-round picks. He never took another snap in the NFL.
Seattle Seahawks: DL Steve Niehaus
Draft year: 1976
Overall pick: 2
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1976-1978)
Career stats with franchise: 10.5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery in 36 games played including 20 starts
Steve Niehaus got off to a roaring start in Seattle with 9.5 sacks in 14 games to finish third in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 1976. However, knee injuries derailed his career, and he registered just one more sack across his final two seasons as a Seahawk. The franchise traded him away in 1979 to the Minnesota Vikings for the corpse of Carl Eller, at the age of 37, and a 1980 eighth-round pick, when such a thing existed.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: RB Bo Jackson
Draft year: 1986
Overall pick: 1
Seasons played with franchise: 0
Career stats with franchise: 0
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ biggest bust is one who never actually joined their team. Tampa Bay upset Jackson by giving him a flight to come work out for them during his senior baseball season at Auburn. Jackson felt deceived because he reported the team told him they OK’d the visit with the NCAA when that clearly was not the case. He became a Raider a year later after his draft rights to the Buccaneers expired in 1987. The Buccaneers literally lit the first overall pick on fire by mismanaging their relationship with Jackson.
Tennessee Titans: OL Isaiah Wilson
Draft year: 2020
Overall pick: 29th
Seasons played with franchise: 1 (2020)
Career stats with franchise: 1 game played
Isaiah Wilson played just four snaps for the Tennessee Titans after being selected 29th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Wilson was arrested for a DUI, and that was after he earned a trespass warning while attending a party. Wilson was suspended by the Titans for breaking team rules. Following his suspension, he was put on the reserve/non-football illness list with “personal issues.” They traded Wilson to the Miami Dolphins as part of a seventh-round pick swap. One of the fewest snaps on this entire list for a first-round pick.
Washington Commanders: QB Heath Shuler
Draft year: 1994
Overall pick: 3
Seasons played with franchise: 3 (1994-1996)
Career stats with franchise: 47.7% completion percentage, 2,403 passing yards (126.5 passing yards per game), 13 passing touchdowns, 19 interceptions, 58.3 passer rating, 25 sacks, 5 fumbles in 19 games including 13 starts (4-9 record)
Heath Shuler’s lowlight was the 1994 season when he averaged 13.8 yards per completion and a 45.3% completion percentage. After starting 13 games in his first two years, Gus Frerotte, a 1994 seventh-round pick, beat out Shuler for the starting quarterback job. That resulted in Washington trading him away to the New Orleans Saints in 1997 in exchange for a 1997 fifth-round pick and a 1998 third-round pick.
