Draft:National Football League Draft busts

*	First overall pick
†	Second overall pick
+	Picked in the first round
‡	Heisman Trophy winner					In sports lore, there exists a superstitious curse for Heisman Trophy winners entering the NFL.

Player	Draft class	Position	Team drafted	College	Pick	Summary	Teams played for	Seasons played
Terry Baker*‡	1963	Quarterback	Los Angeles Rams	Oregon State	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, Heisman Trophy Winner. Threw 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Released after two seasons.	Los Angeles Rams	2
Steve Spurrier+	1967	Quarterback	San Francisco 49ers	Florida	Round 1 pick 3	Third overall pick, selected before hall-of-fame quarterback Bob Griese. Threw for 40 touchdowns and 60 interceptions.	San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9
Mike Phipps+	1970	Quarterback	Cleveland Browns	Purdue	Round 1 pick 3	Third overall pick, Member of the 1969 NCAA All American team. Lack of development saw him benched for Brian Sipe 3 seasons later. Traded for a first round pick in 1977 which became hall-of-famer Ozzie Newsome. Released after 2 seasons with the Bears.	Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears	11
Walt Patulski*	1972	Defensive end	Buffalo Bills	Notre Dame	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, managed 21.5 sacks before career-ending injury as a part of the Cardinals.	Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals	5
Gary Beban	1973	Quarterback	Los Angeles Rams	UCLA	Round 2 pick 30	Revered All American, draft rights were traded to Washington several weeks later. Benched for hall-of-famer Sonny Jurgensen.	Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos	3
Steve Niehaus†	1976	Defensive tackle	Seattle Seahawks	Notre Dame	Round 1 pick 2	Second overall pick, holds the Seahawk rookie record for sacks in a season with 9½, traded to Minnesota before injuries ended his career.	Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings	3
Steve Little+	1978	Kicker	St. Louis Cardinals	Arkansas	Round 1 pick 15	Played with a 48% field goal completion rate, cut after 2 seasons.	Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills	2
Tom Cousineau*	1979	Linebacker	Buffalo Bills	Ohio State	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, opted instead to play in the CFL until 1982 before signing with the Browns. Cousineau managed 6.5 sacks before being released by the Browns after 1985.	Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers	5
Jack Thompson+	1979	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	Washington State	Round 1 pick 3	2x first team all Pac 8. Drafted to replace Ken Anderson, though poor play and injuries prevented him from further play as the Bengals declined to renew his contract after 1982.	Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5
Russell Erxleben+	1979	Kicker	New Orleans Saints	Texas	Round 1 pick 11	Held NCAA record for longest kick, highest pick ever drafted on a kicker.	San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9
Johnny "Lam" Jones†	1980	Wide receiver	New York Jets	Notre Dame	Round 1 pick 2	Fastest 100m dash time out of any receivers present at the draft. Despite this, Jones only averaged 20 receptions per season until the Jets traded him to the 49ers, who ultimately cut him after one season.	New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys	7
Rich Campbell+	1981	Quarterback	Green Bay Packers	California	Round 1 pick 6	Played in only 7 games before being traded to the Raiders.	Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Raiders	4
Art Schlichter+	1982	Quarterback	Baltimore Colts	Ohio State	Round 1 pick 4	The Colts traded up with the Rams to draft Schlichter, though he had a widely known gambling addiction. Later became the first NFL Player in 19 seasons to be banned for involvement with gambling. Threw 3 touchdowns to 11 interceptions before being released by Indianapolis.	Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills	4
Todd Blackledge+	1983	Quarterback	Kansas City Chiefs	Penn State	Round 1 pick 7	Drafted 10 picks ahead of hall-of-fame Quarterback Dan Marino. Benched in favor of Bill Kenney in Kansas City, remained a backup for his short career.	Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers	6
Kenny Jackson+	1984	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles	Penn State	Round 1 pick 4	National Champion with Penn State, only managed 126 receptions.	Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Oilers	7
Mike Junkin+	1987	Defensive tackle	Cleveland Browns	Duke	Round 1 pick 5	Picked ahead of hall-of-fame cornerback Rod Woodson and pro-bowler Jerome Brown.	Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs	2
Brian Bosworth+	1987	Linebacker	Seattle Seahawks	Oklahoma	Supplemental draft round 1	Larger than life image generated much anticipation for Bosworth's playing abilities, 2x Butkus award winner. Despite decent play, Bosworth failed to live up to his own expectations, amplified by media attention. Injuries later ended his career after only 2 seasons as he chose to pursue an acting career.	Seattle Seahawks	2
Aundray Bruce*	1988	Outside linebacker	Atlanta Falcons	Auburn	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, 1987 Citrus Bowl MVP. Most recent linebacker selected first overall in NFL history.	Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Raiders	10
Tony Mandarich†	1989	Offensive tackle	Green Bay Packers	Michigan State	Round 1 pick 2	Picked between four hall-of-fame players such as Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Cut after 3 seasons with Green Bay.	Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts	5
Jeff George*	1990	Quarterback	Indianapolis Colts	Illinois	Round 1 pick 1	Notorious for his toxic personality among numerous teams, spent much of his career as a backup.	Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears	15
Blair Thomas†	1990	Running back	New York Jets	Penn State	Round 1 pick 2	Part of a supposed curse among Penn State running backs. Spent a majority of his career injured.	New York Jets, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers	5
Andre Ware‡	1990	Quarterback	Detroit Lions	Houston	Round 1 pick 7	1989 Heisman Trophy Winner	Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars	5
Dan McGwire+	1991	Quarterback	Seattle Seahawks	San Diego State	Round 1 pick 16	Threw for 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.	Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins	4
Todd Marinovich+	1991	Quarterback	Los Angeles Raiders	USC	Round 1 pick 24	Dealt with numerous off-field issues stemming from his public feud with his father. Arrested on numerous occasions for	Los Angeles Raiders	2
Steve Emtman*	1992	Defensive End	Indianapolis Colts	Illinois	Round 1 pick 1	2x Pac 10 defensive player of the year, struggled with injuries throughout his career.	Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins	5
David Klingler+	1992	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	Houston	Round 1 pick 6	Career passer rating of 65.1 with 52% completion rate.	Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers	6
Rick Mirer†	1993	Quarterback	Seattle Seahawks	Notre Dame	Round 1 pick 2	Predicted by Bill Walsh with heavy comparisons to Joe Montana. Picked behind future pro-bowl QB Drew Bledsoe. Played 3 seasons in Seattle before being traded for a first round pick to the Chicago Bears. Remained as a backup for the duration of his career.	Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions	11
Heath Shuler+	1994	Quarterback	Washington Redskins	Tennessee	Round 1 pick 3	Career passer rating of 65.1 with 52% completion rate.	Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders	5
Ki-Jana Carter*	1995	Running back	Cincinnati Bengals	Penn State	Round 1 pick 1	Suffered 4 season-ending injuries since drafted, including his 1995 rookie season.	Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints	9
Kyle Brady+	1995	Tight end	New York Jets	Penn State	Round 1 pick 9	Picked over Warren Sapp much to the anger of Jets fans, underwhelming play led to the Jets choosing not to renew his contract after 3 seasons.	New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots	12
Cedric Jones+	1996	Defensive end	New York Giants	Oklahoma	Round 1 pick 5	Lack of impact on-field resulted in the Giants declining his fifth year option after the 2000 season.	New York Giants, St. Louis Rams	5
Lawrence Phillips+	1996	Running back	St. Louis Rams	Nebraska	Round 1 pick 6	Draft pick received by the Rams following the infamous Jerome Bettis trade. Numerous off-field incidents led to several high-profile arrests, culminating in the Rams releasing Phillips during the 1997 season due to misconduct.	St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers	3
Ryan Leaf†	1998	Quarterback	San Diego Chargers	Washington State	Round 1 pick 2	Picked behind future hall-of-fame Quarterback Peyton Manning. Analysts predicted Leaf's athletic capabilities to surpass Manning, though personal issues later led Leaf to play immensely poorly in his only three seasons with the Chargers. Widely considered one of the most notable draft busts in league history.	San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks	4
Andre Wadsworth+	1998	Defensive end	Arizona Cardinals	Florida State	Round 1 pick 3	Spent 2 seasons with Arizona before injuries ended his career.	Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets	3
Lawrence Phillips+	1998	Running back	Chicago Bears	Penn State	Round 1 pick 5	Numerous injuries and underwhelming play led to the Bears releasing Enis after 3 seasons.	Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns	3
Tim Couch*	1999	Quarterback	Cleveland Browns	Kentucky	Round 1 pick 1	Aided the expansion Browns franchise to their first postseason appearance since rejoining the league in 1999. Despite this, Couch's career ended due to injury and poor play which saw him benched for backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb.	Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars	6
Akili Smith+	1999	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	Oregon	Round 1 pick 3	Held out of his rookie training camp due to a contract dispute, later ruled out for the duration of the 1999 season stemming from an injury during a preseason game. Released by Cincinnati prior to the 2003 season with 5 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.	Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6
Cade McNown+	1999	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	UCLA	Round 1 pick 12	Part of a 3-way trade between the Bears, Redskins, and Saints to trade up for a quarterback. Later held out for a $6.1 million signing bonus which strained his relationship with his teammates. Poor onfield play later resulted in the Bears trading McNown to the Miami Dolphins prior to the 2001 season.	Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers	3
Courtney Brown*	2000	Defensive end	Cleveland Browns	Penn State	Round 1 pick 1	Highest rated defensive prospect in the draft at the time, dealt with numerous injuries that diminished his playing time.	Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos	5
Peter Warrick+	2000	Wide receiver	Cincinnati Bengals	Florida State	Round 1 pick 4	Never managed above 700 yards receiving in each of his only 5 seasons in the league, later released prior to the 2005 season.	Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks	5
Ron Dayne‡	2000	Running back	New York Giants	Wisconsin	Round 1 pick 11	1999 Heisman Trophy winner, all time NCAA rushing record holder. Managed 770 rushing yards his rookie season, though never managed above 700 thereafter.	New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans	7
David Carr*	2002	Quarterback	Houston Texans	Fresno State	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick by expansion Texans franchise in 2002. Later set an NFL record for most times sacked, released after the 2006 season and spent the remainder of his career as a backup.	Houston Texans.	10
Joey Harrington+	2002	Quarterback	Detroit Lions	Oregon	Round 1 pick 3	Cover Athlete for NCAA Football 2003, Later picked in the first round by Detroit. Organizational mismanagement in Detroit saw a lack of development from Harrington as he threw over 12 interceptions to under 12 touchdowns each season in Detroit; later traded to Miami prior to the 2005 season.	Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints	6
Charles Rogers†	2003	Wide receiver	Detroit Lions	Michigan State	Round 1 pick 2	Picked ahead of future 7x pro-bowl receiver Andre Johnson. Rogers later received numerous suspensions from the league for violating substance use protocol. Released prior to the 2006 season.	Detroit Lions	2
Cedric Benson+	2005	Running back	Chicago Bears	Texas	Round 1 pick 4	Picked fourth overall, later held out his rookie training camp for a larger signing bonus. Later benched for most of the 2005 season, never fully developed for Chicago as he was later released in 2009 after numerous off-field legal issues.	Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers	7
Matt Leinart+	2006	Running back	Arizona Cardinals	USC	Round 1 pick 11	2x National Champion, 2004 Heisman trophy winner. Later benched for future hall-of-fame quarterback Kurt Warner. Released after four seasons.	Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills	7
Tye Hill+	2006	Cornerback	St. Louis Rams	Clemson	Round 1 pick 15	Member of the 2006 All-Rookie team before suffering numerous injuries during the 2007 season in which the Rams traded Hill to the Falcons.	St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions	4
Jamarcus Russell*	2007	Quarterback	Oakland Raiders	LSU	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, later held out through training camp for the largest rookie contract in league history worth up to $68 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed. Personal issues and lack of motivation led to poor play on field as Russell threw 18 touchdowns to 23 interceptions before being released by the Raiders prior to the 2010 season.	Oakland Raiders	3
Vernon Gholston+	2008	Defensive end/ Outside linebacker	New York Jets	Ohio State	Round 1 pick 6	Member of 2007 NCAA All-America team. Lackluster play for the Jets saw Gholston released prior to the 2011 season.	New York Jets, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams	4
Jason Smith†	2009	Offensive tackle	St. Louis Rams	Baylor	Round 1 pick 2	Numerous injuries led to Smith being traded to the Jets after 3 seasons with the Rams.	St. Louis Rams, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints	4
Aaron Curry+	2009	Linebacker	Seattle Seahawks	Wake Forest	Round 1 pick 4	Signed a six-year, $60 million contract including $34 million guaranteed, the largest non-quarterback rookie contract. Underwhelming play led to Curry being benched for then-rookie K. J. Wright.	Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants	4
Mark Sanchez+	2009	Quarterback	New York Jets	USC	Round 1 pick 5	Member of the 2009 All-Rookie team, part of 2 playoff pushes for the Jets which saw them appear in the AFC Championship game in back-to-back seasons. despite this, Sanchez' play declined severely after 2010, ultimately leading to less time onfield before being released prior to the 2014 season.	New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins	9
Jake Locker+	2011	Quarterback	Tennessee Titans	Washington	Round 1 pick 8	Dismal play saw him benched for most of his duration in the league, Locker later retired prior to the 2015 season due to lack of interest.	Tennessee Titans	4
Blaine Gabbert+	2011	Quarterback	Jacksonville Jaguars	Missouri	Round 1 pick 10	Benched during his second season in Jacksonville, poor play later saw him traded to San Francisco where it declined even further. Remains a 3rd string backup for the Kansas City Chiefs.	Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs	(currently active)
Christian Ponder+	2011	Quarterback	Minnesota Vikings	Florida State	Round 1 pick 12	Severe lack of development saw Ponder benched for Matt Cassel, and later Sam Bradford before being unsigned in free agency.	Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers	5
Trent Richardson+	2012	Running back	Cleveland Browns	Alabama	Round 1 pick 3	Seen as the highest rated running back of the draft, later missed time due to injuries before being traded to Indianapolis.	Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens	4
Justin Blackmon+	2012	Wide receiver	Cleveland Browns	Oklahoma State	Round 1 pick 5	Member of the 2012 All-rookie team, later suspended indefinitely due to violating league substance use policy, has not played since 2013.	Jacksonville Jaguars	2
Luke Joeckel†	2013	Offensive tackle	Jacksonville Jaguars	Texas A&M	Round 1 pick 2	Rated one of the worst guards in the NFL during his first 2 seasons, plagued by injury before being waived by Jacksonville.	Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks	4
EJ Manuel+	2013	Quarterback	Buffalo Bills	Florida State	Round 1 pick 16	Benched after 3 seasons despite signing a $8.88 million contract with Buffalo.	Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs	6
Justin Gilbert+	2014	Cornerback	Cleveland Browns	Oklahoma State	Round 1 pick 8	Missed his first 2 games due to injury, later traded to Pittsburgh after 2 seasons with Cleveland for a sixth round pick.	Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers	2
Johnny Manziel‡	2014	Quarterback	Cleveland Browns	Texas A&M	Round 1 pick 22	2012 Heisman Trophy winner. Manziel later received widespread media exposure for his own personal misconduct which immensely affected his onfield play. Manziel was later cut by the Browns prior to the 2016 season. Widely considered one of the biggest busts in league history.	Cleveland Browns	2
Jameis Winston‡*	2015	Quarterback	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Florida State	Round 1 pick 1	First overall pick, 2013 Heisman trophy winner. Winston struggled with consistent play and legal issues which contributed to him falling out with his teammates. In 2019 he notoriously had a "30-30" season in which he threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints	(currently active)
Marcus Mariota‡†	2015	Quarterback	Tennessee Titans	Oregon	Round 1 pick 2	2014 Heisman Trophy winner. Mariota suffered from injury and a lack of development at the NFL level, though he has remained a backup quarterback since 2018.	Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles	(currently active)
Paxton Lynch+	2016	Quarterback	Denver Broncos	Memphis	Round 1 pick 26	First quarterback selected by Denver following the retirement of hall-of-famer Peyton Manning. Lynch failed to develop and was cut prior to the 2018 season.	Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers	3
Mitchell Trubisky†	2017	Quarterback	Chicago Bears	North Carolina	Round 1 pick 2	Picked over pro-bowl quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Desean Watson. Failed to develop as a starting QB.	Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers	(currently active)
Josh Rosen+	2018	Quarterback	Arizona Cardinals	UCLA	Round 1 pick 10	Pretentiously claimed there were "nine other mistakes picked ahead of me" following being drafted by the Cardinals. Rosen played poorly throughout his short duration with the Cardinals before being traded for another first round pick (became first overall pick Kyler Murray) from Miami.	Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings	4
Clelin Ferrell+	2018	Defensive end	Las Vegas Raiders	Clemson	Round 1 pick 4	Cut from raiders after 3 seasons.	Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers	(currently active)
Henry Ruggs+	2020	Wide receiver	Las Vegas Raiders	Alabama	Round 1 pick 4	Arrested and charged with manslaughter following his involvement in a fatal drunk-driving crash which took the life of another motorist. Ruggs was later cut by the Raiders following the arrest and is currently serving time.	Las Vegas Raiders	2
Trey Lance+	2021	Quarterback	San Francisco 49ers	North Dakota State	Round 1 pick 3	Injuries and lack of development saw him benched for Jimmy Garoppolo. Lance was later traded to Dallas prior to the start of the 2023 season.	San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys	(currently active)