The Biggest NFL Draft Busts (by Team)

Over the years, the first round of the NFL draft has given us some of the greatest football players to ever play the game. Since 1967, Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, Dan Marino, Rod Woodson, Alan Page, Junior Seau, Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Bruce Smith, Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor, Barry Sanders, Warren Sapp, and Derrick Brooks were just a handful of the many Hall of Famers to have heard their names called on day one of the draft. Who will be joining them this year?

Those are just some of the many superstars that have been drafted in the first round and have done great things during their careers. But it is not always rainbows and cupcakes for some of theses teams. More often than naught, a team is going to draft a player who is not a Hall of Famer. They might be good, mediocre, or they could be a complete bust. That is just how it goes in the law of averages. Since we are all in the giving mood, and we love to watch the first round of the NFL draft each season, we decided to put together a list of each NFL team’s biggest offensive draft bust from first round history. We stuck with offense, because the statistics involved make it easier to determine who the real busts are.

Our formula was simple. If they were drafted in the first round after 1967, they qualified for the first cut. We then had to cut that list down tremendously and did it by eliminating anyone that made at least one Pro Bowl, All-Pro team, or earned any type of award during their career in the NFL.That pretty much cut our list down to just a handful of players from each team with Tampa Bay being the exception because they wasted the number one overall selection on their bust back in 1987. Do you remember then the Bucs drafted Bo Jackson?

Bo Jackson was still playing baseball in College when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers invited him to their facilities and flew him down on their team plane. This turned out to be against the collegiate rules and it caused him to be ruled ineligible for the rest of his senior season. Jackson believed they did it on purpose, to force him to play football and forgo his baseball career. So Bo told them he was going to play baseball if they picked him and that he was not going to ever play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They ignored him and he did exactly what he promised them by choosing to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals instead. Since Bo Jackson’s story is so unique, let’s assume he is the most talented draft bust ever, but who else made our list?

Arizona: Kelly Stouffer, QB

  • Year: 1987
  • Pick Selection: 6th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 22 (16)
  • Record: 5-11
  • Stats
    • Completions – Attempts, Completion % (Comp-Att, Comp%):  225-437, 51.5%
    • Passing Yards (Yds): 2,333
    • Yards per Completion (Yds/Comp): 10.4
    • Touchdowns (TD): 7
    • Interceptions (Int): 19
    • Carries (Car): 30
    • Rushing Yards (Yds): 75
    • Touchdowns (TD): 0
    • Receptions (Rec): 0
    • Receiving Yards (Yds):
    • Touchdowns (TD): 0
    • Total Yards (Yds): 75
    • Touchdowns (TD): 0

Atlanta: Joe Profit, RB

  • Year: 1971
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 23 (7)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 133-471-3
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 14-130-0
    • Total Yards: 601
    • Total TD: 3

Baltimore: Kyle Boller, QB

  • Year: 2003
  • Pick Selection: 19th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 67 (47)
  • Record: 20-27
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 861-1,519, 56.7%
    • Passing Yards: 8,931
    • Yds/Comp: 10.4
    • TD-INT Ratio: 48-54
    • Car-Yds-TD: 176-572-2

Buffalo: C.J. Spiller, RB

  • Year: 2010
  • Pick Selection: 9th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 89 (38)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 710-3,451-12
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 198-1,484-9
    • Total Yards: 4,935
    • Total TD: 21

Carolina: Rae Carruth, WR

  • Year: 1997
  • Pick Selection: 27th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 22 (20)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 7-27-0
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 62-804-4
    • Total Yards: 831
    • Total TD: 4

Chicago: Curtis Enis, RB

  • Year: 1998
  • Pick Selection: 5th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 36 (18)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 456-1,497-4
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 59-428-2
    • Total Yards: 1,925
    • Total TD: 6

Cincinnati: Akili Smith, QB

  • Year: 1999
  • Pick Selection: 3rd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 22 (17)
  • Record: 3-14
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 215-461, 46.6%
    • Passing Yards: 2,212
    • Yds/Comp: 10.3
    • TD-INT Ratio: 5-13
    • Car-Yds-TD: 70-371-1

Cleveland: Johnny Manziel, QB

  • Year: 2014
  • Pick Selection: 22nd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 15 (8)
  • Record: 2-6
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 147-258, 57%
    • Passing Yards: 1,675
    • Yds/Comp: 11.4
    • TD-INT Ratio: 7-7
    • Car-Yds-TD: 46-259-1

Dallas: Dennis Homan, WR

  • Year: 1968
  • Pick Selection: 20th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 46 (15)
  • Stats
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 37-619-2

Denver: Marcus Nash, WR

  • Year: 1998
  • Pick Selection: 30th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 11 (1)
  • Stats
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 4-76-0
    • Total Yards: 76
    • Total TD: 0

Detroit: Charles Rogers, WR

  • Year: 2003
  • Pick Selection: 2nd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 15 (9)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 2-17-0
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 36-440-4
    • Total Yards: 457
    • Total TD: 4

Green Bay: Rich Campbell, QB

  • Year: 1981
  • Pick Selection: 6th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 7 (0)
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 31-68, 45.6%
    • Passing Yards: 386
    • Yds/Comp: 12.5
    • TD-INT Ratio: 3-9

Houston: David Carr, QB

  • Year: 2002
  • Pick Selection: 1st
  • Games (Games Started): 94 (79)
  • Record: 23-56
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 1,353-2,267, 59.7%
    • Passing Yards: 14,452
    • Yds/Comp: 10.7
    • TD-INT Ratio: 65-71
    • Car-Yds-TD: 305-1,328-9

Indianapolis: Art Schlichter, QB

  • Year: 1982
  • Pick Selection: 4th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 13 (6)
  • Record: 0-6
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 91-202, 45%
    • Passing Yards: 1,006
    • Yds/Comp: 11.1
    • TD-INT Ratio: 3-11
    • Car-Yds-TD: 22-161-1

Jacksonville: Justin Blackmon, WR

  • Year: 2012
  • Pick Selection: 5th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 20 (18)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 3-22-0
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 93-1,280-6
    • Total Yards: 1,302
    • Total TD: 6

Kansas City: Todd Blackledge, QB

  • Year: 1983
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 46 (29)
  • Record: 15-14
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 424-881, 48.1%
    • Passing Yards: 5,286
    • Yds/Comp: 12.5
    • TD-INT Ratio: 29-38
    • Car-Yds-TD: 81-325-2

LA Chargers: Ryan Leaf, QB

  • Year: 1998
  • Pick Selection: 2nd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 25 (21)
  • Record: 4-17
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 317-655, 48.4%
    • Passing Yards: 3,666
    • Yds/Comp: 11.6
    • TD-INT Ratio: 14-36
    • Car-Yds-TD: 59-127-0

LA Rams: Lawrence Phillips, RB

  • Year: 1996
  • Pick Selection: 6th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 35 (20)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 424-1,453-14
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 34-219-1
    • Total Yards: 1,672
    • Total TD: 15

Miami: Yatil Green, WR

  • Year: 1997
  • Pick Selection: 15th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 8 (1)
  • Stats
    • Rec: 18
    • Yards: 234
    • Yds/Rec: 13.0
    • TD: 0

Minnesota: Troy Williamson, WR

  • Year: 2005
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 49 (24)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 6-58-0
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 87-1,131-4
    • Total Yards: 1,189
    • Total TD: 4

New England: Hart Lee Dykes, WR

  • Year: 1989
  • Pick Selection: 16th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 26 (16)
  • Stats
    • Rec: 83
    • Yards: 1,344
    • Yds/Rec: 16.2
    • TD: 7

New Orleans: Larry Burton, WR

  • Year: 1975
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 42 (24)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 5-4-0
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 44-804-7
    • Total Yards: 808
    • Total TD: 7

New York (G): Derek Brown, TE

  • Year: 1992
  • Pick Selection: 14th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 105 (33)
  • Stats
    • Rec: 43
    • Yards: 401
    • Yds/Rec: 9.3
    • TD: 1

New York (J): Blair Thomas, RB

  • Year: 1990
  • Pick Selection: 2nd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 64 (36)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 533-2,236-7
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 71-513-2
    • Total Yards: 2,749
    • Total TD: 9

Oakland: JaMarcus Russell, QB

  • Year: 2007
  • Pick Selection: 1st Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 31 (25)
  • Record: 7-18
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 354-680, 52.1%
    • Passing Yards: 4,083
    • Yds/Comp: 11.5
    • TD-INT Ratio: 18-23
    • Car-Yds-TD: 40-175-1

Philadelphia: Kevin Allen, OT

  • Year: 1985
  • Pick Selection: 9th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 16 (4)

Pittsburgh: Tim Worley, RB

  • Year: 1989
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 48 (25)
  • Stats
    • Car-Yds-TD: 455-1,792-8
    • Rec-Yds-TD: 35-253-0
    • Total Yards: 2,045
    • Total TD: 8

San Francisco: Ken MacAfee, TE

  • Year: 1978
  • Pick Selection: 7th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 29 (25)
  • Stats
    • Rec: 46
    • Yards: 471
    • Yds/Rec: 10.2
    • TD: 5

Seattle: Rick Mirer, QB

  • Year: 1993
  • Pick Selection: 2nd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 80 (68)
  • Record: 24-44
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 1,088-2,043, 53.3%
    • Passing Yards: 11,969
    • Yds/Comp: 11.0
    • TD-INT Ratio: 50-76
    • Car-Yds-TD: 242-1,130-9

Tampa Bay: Bo Jackson, RB

  • Year: 1986
  • Pick Selection: 1st Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 0 – Never Signed

Tennessee: Jake Locker, QB

  • Year: 2011
  • Pick Selection: 8th Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 30 (23)
  • Record: 9-14
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 408-709, 57.5%
    • Passing Yards: 4,967
    • Yds/Comp: 12.2
    • TD-INT Ratio: 27-22
    • Car-Yds-TD: 95-644-5

Washington: Heath Shuler, QB

  • Year: 1994
  • Pick Selection: 3rd Overall
  • Games (Games Started): 29 (22)
  • Record: 8-14
  • Stats
    • Comp-Att, Comp%: 292-593, 49.2%
    • Passing Yards: 3,691
    • Yds/Comp: 12.6
    • TD-INT Ratio: 15-33
    • Car-Yds-TD: 67-198-1