Top 10 NFL Draft Busts

NFL Draft time is always fun because it allows us to judge athletes who have ability while we have none and criticize NFL executives who make more in a week than we make in a year. And there’s no better a group to ridicule than that of NFL Draft busts. They had a shot once but they pissed it away and now we get to laugh at them forever.


1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU – Drafted #1 in 2007 by the Oakland Raiders. Career Stats: 4,083 pass yards, 18 TD, 23 INTs.

Russell may rank this high on my list in part because he is the most recent big time bust but his ever rising weight, terrible passing and cough syrup addiction make him an obvious #1. It’s hard to outshine Todd Marinovich as a washout Raider QB but at least Todd had an excuse – he was rebelling against a helicopter dad. Russell was obviously rebelling against decent play and behavior.

2. Akili Smith, QB, Oregon – Drafted #3 in 1999 by the Cincinnati Bengals. Career Stats: 2,212 pass yards, 5 TDs, 13 INTs.

Joey Harrington gets a lot of mentions on bust lists but he was hurt by mismanagement in Detroit and showed signs of life in Miami, but Smith was the Oregon QB whose career was over practically before it started.


3. Penn State Running Backs and Defensive Linemen

The Penn State running backs (Blair Thomas, Ki Jana Carter and Curtis Enis) are often listed as a package deal after two decades of futility by the three PSU backs that resulted in less than 5,000 combined rushing yards. But the Penn State defensive linemen have to be nearing their teammates’ level of failure. It all started with Courtney Brown in 2000 (19 career sacks), continued with Aaron Maybin (zero sacks in two years with the Bills) and with one tackle in his rookie season Jared Odrick of the Dolphins may be joining the Pitiful Lions club soon.


4. Mike Williams, WR, USC – Drafted #10 in 2005 by the Detroit Lions. Career Stats: 109 catches, 1,290 yards, 4 TDs.

This could have just as easily been Charles Rogers but his journey wasn’t as funny. Big Mike found his way to this spot after suing the NFL for the chance to be drafted after his sophomore year, losing that lawsuit and then sitting out the 2004 college football season. In that year he got rusty, lived on potato chips and quickly became a tight end sized laughing stock in Detroit.


5. Steve Emtman, DT, Washington – Drafted #1 in 1992 by the Indianapolis Colts. Career Stats: 134 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 INT.

Injury problems were mostly to blame for Emtman’s NFL failure as he played in only 50 games in eight years but injuries are a part of the game. He also makes this list because he was one of the biggest defensive stars in college football history leading Washington to a share of national title in 1991.

6. Brian Bosworth, LB, Oklahoma – Drafted in the Supplemental Draft by the Seattle Seahawks in 1987. Career Stats: 24 games, 4 sacks.

“The Boz” is a special case because he didn’t actually go in the NFL Draft but rather in a subsequent Supplemental Draft. A draft that he made a mockery of by writing letters to a majority of the NFL’s then 28 teams to inform them he wouldn’t play for them. Despite insisting he wouldn’t play for the Seahawks they drafted him anyway and signed him to a record contract (worth slightly more than $1 million a year at the time). Bosworth, a bit of a loudmouth, then sued the NFL to wear his college number (44) and lost that case. His last big NFL moment came when he promised to shut down Bo Jackson in a game againt the Raiders. Bo then ran for 200+ yards, 3 TDs and plowed Boz at the goaline for a score. Only a piss poor acting career followed after that.




7. Lawrence Phillips, RB, Nebraska – Drafted #6 in 1996 by the St. Louis Rams. Career Stats: 1,453 yards, 14 TDs.

Phillips has the dubious distinction of being the only attempted murderer to make the bust list as he sits in a California prison doing 30+ years for weapons charges, domestic abuse and trying to run over three kids in his car after a pick-up football game. He wasn’t exactly a choir boy before being drafted either as he sat out most of his junior season at Nebraska after beating his girlfriend and throwing her down a flight of stairs. While he was never a decent human, Phillips was probably the best college running back I ever saw play but his off the field issues and apathy about pass blocking (leading to one of Steve Young’s many concussions) ruined his career.


8. Tony Mandarich, T, Michigan State – Drafted #2 in 1989 by the Green Bay Packers.

Mandarich was a beast coming out of MSU and considered to be one of the most solid offensive lineman to come out of the draft in years, but when he immediately dropped weight in the NFL many assumed his career at MSU might have been steroid fueled. He crapped out after three seasons.


9. Troy Williamson, WR, South Carolina – Drafted # 7 in 2005 by the Minnesota Vikings. Career Stats: 87 catches, 1,131 yards, 4 TDs.

The Vikings were looking to replace Randy Moss in the ’05 Draft and went with the Gamecock burner Williamson who ran a low 4.3 at the NFL Combine. Williamson’s problem wasn’t speed in the NFL but he was nagged by a vision problem and caught the ball worse than Stone Hands from ‘Necessary Roughness.’

10. Ryan Leaf, QB, Washington State – Drafted #2 in 1998 by the San Diego Chargers. Career Stats: 3,666 pass yards, 14 TDs, 36 INTs.

This list wouldn’t be complete without my boy Ryan Leaf. He’ll forever be dogged because of his failure and his relationship to future NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who went first in the ’98 Draft. Many experts, including yours truly, thought Ryan Leaf was actually a better QB than Manning and would have a better career. Instead he quickly melted under media scrutiny in San Diego, screamed at reporters and fans and threw picks. Leaf tried to revive himself in Tampa and Dallas but it was for naught. Most recently he served as QB coach and Golf coach at West Texas A&M University in Canyon but lost his job after being arrested for crawling into a WTAMU player’s window to steal his painkillers.