5 Biggest Draft Busts in Recent History

Every year in the NFL Draft there are a handful of players that were held to high expectations and heavily disappointed fans. Here is my list of some of the top 5 busts in recent NFL history.

1).

JaMarcus Russell - QB - Raiders

The Raiders selected QB JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. Coming out of college, Russell had a fairly large amount of red flags. For starters, a NFC general manager literally told Al Davis, the Raiders owner, that drafting Russell was a bad idea. It was also clear that JaMarcus hated studying and watching film, which the Raiders found out pretty quickly after he was drafted. Russell also hated conditioning, which of course led to him being out of shape. Russell would start 25 games in his career and went 7-18 in those games. He was eventually cut from the team in May 2010.

2).

Ryan Leaf - QB - Chargers

I can’t sit here and make a list of the biggest draft busts in recent history without putting Ryan Leaf on it. The Chargers took Ryan Lead with the second overall pick in the 1998 draft thinking that he would be the next great quarterback to go through the league. His career went the exact opposite of that. He ended up starting 18 games for the Chargers, accumulating a record of 4-14 in those games and he missed the entire 1999 season due to an injury. He was eventually cut from the Chargers in 2000 after the team decided to move on from him. The most embarrassing part of the situation: The Chargers actually traded two players to move up to the number two spot in the draft so that they could take Leaf.

3).

Charles Rogers - WR - Lions

In the early 2000’s, the Lions apparently thought that drafting wide receivers with their first round picks was the smartest thing to do. That all started when they selected wide receiver Charles Rogers with the second overall pick in the 2903 draft. At the time, the Lions were locked in on picking a receiver, and were down to two options - Andre Johnson, who might end up in the hall of fame, or Charles Rogers, who they ended up picking. Rogers would end up only playing 15 games before retiring from the NFL due to injuries and drug problems. Rogers unfortunately passed away in 2019 due to liver failure.

4).

Justin Blackmon - WR - Jaguars

The Jaguars went into the 2012 draft with the seventh overall pick, but liked wide receiver Justin Blackmon so much that they decided to trade up to the fifth overall pick to secure him. Blackmon actually had a decent rookie season with over 800 yards, but that would unfortunately be the peak of his career. His career was derailed by suspensions, starting in his second year. He only ended up playing 4 games in 2013, and hasn’t played a game since.

5).

Justin Gilbert - CB - Browns

Last up on the list, we have cornerback Justin Gilbert, who was selected by the Browns in 2014 with the eighth overall pick. Of course, when you mention the 2014 draft to browns fans, they immediately think of Johnny Manziel, but Gilbert was arguably an even worse pick. Gilbert played just 23 games for the team before they dealt him to a division rival in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nothing says “We’ve given up on you” like trading you to a division rival.