Biggest NFL Draft busts of all time, ranked

There were plenty of NFL Draft busts vying for the last spot in the top 10 on this list, and Bryce Young was even on his way to earning this spot before a late-season resurgence in 2024. Andre Ward is the player who deserves to be here, though. Ward had a prolific collegiate career at Houston. He set 27 records during a Heisman-winning season where his Houston team had one of the best offenses in college football history.

Ware’s play style wasn’t made for most teams at the NFL level in the ’90s, but the Detroit Lions did use the “run-and-shoot offense” that Ware used in college. He still failed in the pros, though, largely because he was never given much of a chance to make an impact on the field.

Ware only played in 14 NFL games, and he only started six of those. He finished his career with just 1,112 passing yards, a threshold he only needed a few games to surpass in college. Ware’s style was likely only going to work in Detroit, and because he failed there, no other NFL team gave him another opportunity.

9. Trent Richardson (RB): Cleveland Browns, 2012 – No. 3

For decades, NFL teams prioritized drafting running backs high in the draft because of their importance to an offense. That philosophy started to change soon after Trent Richardson busted out of the NFL. Richardson was in the spotlight in college as a star running back for an Alabama team that couldn’t be stopped. His bruising running style was supposed to translate to the next level, so the Browns took him third overall in 2012.

Of course, being drafted by the Cleveland Browns around this time was a death sentence. The team drafted bust after bust in the 2000s and 2010s, and Richardson ended up being perhaps the biggest of them all.

Justin Gilbert barely did anything in the NFL, but the Browns didn’t take him as early as they did Richardson. Johnny Manziel was a massive name in college, but he fell to the 20s in the 2014 NFL Draft because most assumed his style wouldn’t work in the NFL. Richardson was the biggest bust of them all because everyone assumed that he would be an NFL star. Instead, Richardson didn’t even last two seasons in Cleveland before the Browns traded him, and his career was over after three seasons.

Richardson did rush for 11 touchdowns as a rookie, which is a positive, but he did almost nothing after that. The Browns were able to recoup a first-round pick in the Richardson trade, which really makes his bust status a double whammy because his failure also drastically affected the Indianapolis Colts team that traded for him.

8. Lawrence Phillips (RB): St. Louis Rams, 1996 – No. 6

Lawrence Phillips had all of the talent in the world, but off-the-field issues prevented him from ever reaching his potential. Phillips’ characters issues and trouble with the law led to him getting suspended in college, but the issues didn’t stop once he got to the professional level.

The running back wasn’t able to turn his life around, and he ended up passing away in prison while serving a 31-year prison sentence. His NFL resume only included 1,453 total yards on the ground, and the St. Louis Rams released him after just two seasons.

7. Heath Shuler (QB): Washington Redskins, 1994 – No. 3

The Washington Redskins took Heath Schuler third overall in 1994 to fill their void at the quarterback position, but he wasn’t the signal-caller that earned Washington’s starting gig long term. Instead, Gus Frerotte quickly beat him out as the team’s starter.

Frerotte was Washington’s seventh-round pick in 1994, which really illustrates how much of a bust Shuler was. Shuler only started 22 games total, and he had over double the amount of interceptions (33) as touchdown passes (15).

6. Akili Smith (QB): Cincinnati Bengals, 1999 – No. 3

The 2024 NFL Draft saw six quarterbacks taken in the first round, which is somewhat rare but not unheard of. There have been five instances when an NFL Draft had five-plus quarterbacks taken in the first round. Those classes have all had different results from those quarterbacks.

The 1983 class will forever be remembered as one of the best ever because of the success the quarterbacks had, while the 2021 class is already looking like a failure. The 1999 NFL Draft is closer to the 2021 class. Plenty of players at other positions emerged as stars, but most of the quarterbacks – excluding Donovan McNabb – didn’t find success.

Number one pick Tim Couch just narrowly missed out on this list, but Akili Smith does find himself as the sixth-biggest draft bust ever. Smith only had one solid season in college, and he didn’t pick it up in the pros. Smith only threw five touchdowns over his four-year career.

5. Trey Lance (QB): San Francisco 49ers, 2021 – No. 3

Trey Lance has a case as the biggest NFL Draft busts over the last decade. The red flags were prevalent for Lance as a prospect. He only started 17 games at an FCS school, albeit the best FCS school in the nation in NDSU, but the San Francisco 49ers gambled on his raw traits despite his lack of experience.

The Niners owned the third pick in 2021, and they took Lance over other quarterbacks, including Mac Jones and Justin Fields. Like Lance, Jones and Fields busted out with the team that took them in the first round and are already on new teams, as is the case with Zach Wilson, the quarterback taken directly ahead of Lance.

The entire 2021 quarterback class was highly anticipated but has completely flopped, with the exception being first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback hasn’t even met the lofty expectations that were put on him as a prospect yet, either. Lance has been by far the worst of the bunch, though. The quarterback wasn’t able to win the starting job as a rookie. He sat behind Jimmy Garoppolo and only started two games, with the 49ers predominantly using Lance in a wildcat role.

San Francisco was ready to try Lance out as the starting quarterback in year two, but he suffered a season-ending injury after only two games. In year three, former Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, and former draft bust Sam Darnold surpassed Lance on the depth chart. The Niners decided to cut their losses and traded Lance to the Cowboys, where he has done next to nothing. Lance didn’t play a single snap in 2023, and he only started one game in 2024 despite Dak Prescott being hurt for much of the year. Now Lance is signed on with the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Lance still has time to develop into something, but so far, he is on the trajectory to be one of the biggest NFL Draft busts ever, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear path to him ever becoming a starter in the league. As it stands, the former No. 3 pick only has five career starts spread across four different seasons.

4. Ki-Jana Carter (RB): Cincinnati Bengals, 1995 – No. 1

While the Browns and Lions are the teams notorious for an inability to draft in the 21st century, it was the Cincinnati Bengals that made a bunch of poor draft decisions in the ’90s. Ki-Jana Carter is the worst non-quarterback to ever be taken first overall.

Carter’s collegiate career at Penn State was impressive enough that the Bengals traded up to the No. 1 pick to ensure they could take him. He ended up being the last running back taken at the top of the draft.

Carter’s career was slowed down before it even got started. He was hurt during the preseason of his rookie year, and injuries would limit him for the rest of his career. He made a number of comeback attempts, but he never had more than 464 yards in a season, and his drawn-out seven-year career ended with 1,144 total rushing yards.

3. Charles Rogers (WR): Detroit Lions, 2003 – No. 2

The Lions took a receiver in the first round of three-straight drafts and a fourth one over a five-year span. Charles Rogers was the first of the pass-catchers selected during that stretch, and his failure was a big reason the team continued to address the position.

Rogers was a massive flop. He only lasted three seasons in the league with nine starts, 36 receptions, and 440 yards to his name. Rogers wasn’t that impressive on the field, but recurring clavicle injuries and a 2005 suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy ultimately ended Rogers’ career not long after it began.

The Lions planned on taking a receiver in the first round in 2003, but they chose the wrong one. The very next pick was Andre Johnson, a player who put together a Hall of Fame career.

2. Ryan Leaf (QB): San Diego Chargers, 1998 – No. 2

The first pick in the 1998 NFL Draft was Peyton Manning, a player who became one of the best NFL players ever. Ryan Leaf was the quarterback in the running with Manning to go first in 1998, and the Indianapolis Colts most definitely got that pick correct. Leaf and Manning will forever be connected, and Leaf’s career went in the exact opposite direction of Manning’s. The Washington State product cared more about partying and off-the-field stuff than he did about becoming an NFL player.

Leaf made many questionable decisions and spent plenty of time in trouble with the law. His on-field product was just as bad, though. Leaf only threw for 3,666 yards and 14 touchdowns during his career. His rookie year saw him complete 45.3 percent of his passes and throw only two touchdowns, and he missed his sophomore campaign with injury.

Many consider Leaf to be the biggest draft bust ever, but he takes second place on this list because the Chargers drafted him second overall, whereas the next guy on this list was a No. 1 pick. After three seasons, the San Diego Chargers moved on from their should-have-been prized possession, and Leaf then spent one year with the Dallas Cowboys before finding his way out of the league.

1. JaMarcus Russell (QB): Oakland Raiders, 2007 – No. 1

JaMarcus Russell is the biggest draft bust in NFL history, and it was all his own doing. Russell was the first overall pick in 2007, but he had poor work ethic and no drive to be great. His size/strength/athleticism combination gave him endless potential, but Russell instead made poor decision after poor decision.

Russell infamously was given blank game tapes for watching film, but he never realized they were blank because he didn’t turn them on. He also ballooned to nearly 300 pounds before his third year in the league.

To make matters worse for the Raiders, his selection came before the rookie pay scale was created, so the team was forced to give him a six-year $68 million contract after he held out of training camp his rookie year. The Raiders gave Russell every chance to thrive, but he just didn’t have it in him. He won only seven games in his career and was out of the league after year three.