Who's the worst NFL draft choice ever???

[M0J0]

Let's get some nominees has to be a first round choice.

Todd Marijuanavich, QB; Raiders; Andre Ware, QB, Detroit; Jim Drukenmiller, QB, 49ers; Steve Emtman, DT, Colts; Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Bengals;


My selection for the worst of all time goes to drum roll please: daadadadadadadadadadadada Aundrey Bruce, DE, Falcons

[Razorback]

Tony Mandrich OT, Green bay
Blair Thomas RB, NY Jets
Akili Smith QB, Bengals
Ryan Leaf QB, SD
Trev Alberts LB, Indy
hard call on all posted so many bad ones.

[Elminster]

Oooh...I can supply one!
#4 in 2002- Mike Williams, OT, Texas
Biggest OL bust since Tony Mandarich....but I think either Mandarich or Leaf are the worst. Mandarich because everyone else in the top 5 turned out phenomenal and Leaf...because...well...he's Ryan Leaf...

[JimHart]

Marinovich and Druckenmiller were too low in the first round to be considered for "worst draft pick ever".

I would think the winner of such a dubious title would have to be taken in the top 5 or 6.

Ki-Jana Carter, Tony Mandarich, Curtis Enis, Lawrence Phillips, Blair Thomas, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf (my vote for worst ever!), Mike Croel, Andre Wadsworth, Michael Westbrook, all have to be considerd IMO.

[NightHawk11and81]

I believe it's unfair to consider Mandarich the worst draft pick ever because he did have a productive career. Leaf, Phillips, Enis, Blair Thomas, Marinovich, Smith, Couch, and Bruce did absolutely nothing. If Mandarich had been picked in the second round, he would have been remembered as a solid NFL player who did exactly what he was supposed to, have a productive career. His career is looked at negatively because expectations were set too high, and that is not fair to him.

[JimHart]

I believe it's unfair to consider Mandarich the worst draft pick ever because he did have a productive career. Leaf, Phillips, Enis, Blair Thomas, Marinovich, Smith, Couch, and Bruce did absolutely nothing. If Mandarich had been picked in the second round, he would have been remembered as a solid NFL player who did exactly what he was supposed to, have a productive career. His career is looked at negatively because expectations were set too high, and that is not fair to him.

Aundray Bruce did quite well once he left the Falcons. He even made the Pro Bowl as a Raider.

[jdw49]

cant judge a player currently playing to be worst cause he could become good/decent like courtney brown. And carter and leaf cant be included because of injuries carter's knee and leafs risk(took all his acurrance away in his second year in the league) i would say blair thomas

[the wild cards]

has to be a #1 pick Tim Couch

[WhyNotTheCards?]

has to be a #1 pick Tim Couch


Rashan Salaam??....or my personal favorite HEATH SHULER!!!!!!

[Mibrilane #56]

And carter and leaf cant be included because of injuries carter's knee and leafs risk(took all his acurrance away in his second year in the league)
:confused:

[azpower]

Aundre bruce was good on Tecmo bowl.

[Nah_The_Yum]

Jay Cutler

[NightHawk11and81]

Aundray Bruce did quite well once he left the Falcons. He even made the Pro Bowl as a Raider.

In that case, take him off my list. I didn't know that, well done, JimHart!

[Reckon]

Trung Candidate - RB, St. Louis Rams, 2000

[BullheadCardFan]

Ryan Leaf is the worst ...

[lileyho240]

Mike Williams Wr from USC..over weight *******

[Saturn5]

WR Clyde Duncan or

QB Kelly Stouffer

[Saturn5]

Tony Mandarich (born September 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_23), 1966 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966) in Oakville, Ontario (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakville%2C_Ontario)) was a former football player of the NFL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL). He is most remembered as the first round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers) in 1989, second overall behind Troy Aikman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Aikman).
A decade before the epic failure of Ryan Leaf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Leaf), Mandarich was largely considered to be the biggest bust of any draft pick in American football history. The Packers drafted him early in the draft, even while future superstars like Barry Sanders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Sanders) and Deion Sanders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deion_Sanders) were still available.
Tony had an older brother, John, who was instrumental in his development as an athlete, including sponsoring his younger brother's transfer to a stateside high school before Tony's senior year. John was a gregarious, sweet-natured giant who made his own reputation in professional football, in the Canadian League, before his tragically early death from cancer in 1993.
Drafted as an offensive linesman, Mandarich never lived up to the very high expectations set for him, and spent most of his first year on the Packers on special teams. He was also known for having attitude issues, and after three seasons of lackluster performance on a four-year contract, Mandarich was cut by the Packers.
The question of steroid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_steroid) use has been discussed as a possible factor in Mandarich's spectacular failure. This accusation is one that Mandarich has consistently denied. He instead blamed himself, in a 2003 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Journal-Sentinel) article: "I wanted to create as much hype as I could for many different reasons — exposure, negotiation leverage, you name it. And it all worked, except the performance wasn't there when it was time to play football."
Mandarich returned to football for three years between 1996 and 1998 with the Indianapolis Colts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Colts). He had a more successful, if not particularly noteworthy, career with the Colts before retiring from football in 1998.
From September 2004 until September 2005, Mandarich served as an NFL analyst for the The Score (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Score) TV sports network in Canada. He was fired in October 2005 and currently resides in Arizona (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona).
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tony_Mandarich&action=edit&section=1)]

[azcards05]

Trung Candidate - RB, St. Louis Rams, 2000

You cant think of anyone worse than that? You sure you know your football?.... :eyes:

Id have to go with Ryan Leaf... Tim Couch... Akili Smith... and just think of all the busts on our side...

[Joe84]

How about Bryant Johnson?

[kjbad]

What, no Kellen "Soulja" Winslow, Jr.? How can you pass over a modern classic?

If you really want to go old school, Google Andre Hines. I think his entire NFL career lasted 10 games.

[M0J0]

What, no Kellen "Soulja" Winslow, Jr.? How can you pass over a modern classic?

If you really want to go old school, Google Andre Hines. I think his entire NFL career lasted 10 games.

Can't go with that ***** because he could still be a good player.

[Saturn5]

Kelly Stouffer was a #1 draft pick and never played a down for the cardinals, and only played 22 games for the hags. Career marks of 7 TD's and 19 Ints. averaging about 100 yds a game passing.

Clyde Duncan was a #1 pick and #17 overall in 1984. One of George Boone's shining moments. He caught a grand total of 4 passes for 39 yds.

[KidStallyn]

Definately Ryan Leaf.....But here's a good one.....Heisman trophy winner.....Eric Bienemy!

[NJCardFan]

Wow, Saturn and i actually agree on something. Considering that Louis Lipps was taken after Duncan in '84 that mkes him a good choice. Ron Solt was also taken after Duncan.

Steve Pisarkiewicz is another terrible first rounder and taken by the Cards at 19 in '77 with Robin Cole, Stanley Morgan, and Tommy Kramer taken after him. Shows how much of a genius Coryell really wasn't.

But Ryan Leaf has to be the worst #1 pick of all time especially considering San Diego traded up with us to get him then, of course, we go and get Andre Wadsworthless instead of drafting Charles Woodson, Kyle Turley, Fred Taylor, Duane Starks(even though we got him anyhoo a few years later), Tra Thomas, Keith Brooking, Randy Moss, among others taken after him but at the time Wadsworth was considered a great prospect so I don't put him into the same class as Duncan. But Leaf on the other hand...

[the wild cards]

Tim Couch was a #1 draft pick. By the time he was cut by CLE he had earned 32 million dollars.

[Saturn5]

Wow, Saturn and i actually agree on something. Considering that Louis Lipps was taken after Duncan in '84 that mkes him a good choice. Ron Solt was also taken after Duncan.

Steve Pisarkiewicz is another terrible first rounder and taken by the Cards at 19 in '77 with Robin Cole, Stanley Morgan, and Tommy Kramer taken after him. Shows how much of a genius Coryell really wasn't.

But Ryan Leaf has to be the worst #1 pick of all time especially considering San Diego traded up with us to get him then, of course, we go and get Andre Wadsworthless instead of drafting Charles Woodson, Kyle Turley, Fred Taylor, Duane Starks(even though we got him anyhoo a few years later), Tra Thomas, Keith Brooking, Randy Moss, among others taken after him but at the time Wadsworth was considered a great prospect so I don't put him into the same class as Duncan. But Leaf on the other hand...

Actually Coryell wasn't picking. good ole George Boone was.

That was one of the reasons Coryell was run out of town. He disagreed with the terrible draft picks the Cards were making.

A gigantic blunder by the Cardinals choosing to side with boone over one of the best coaches of his time. And he continued to prove it in San Diego, while the once great Cardinals quickly collapsed.

[cardinals4ever]

Ryan Leaf

Akili Smith

& half of our picks !!! ( not lately :toot: )

[Da Bloody Bird]

Tim Couch was a #1 draft pick. By the time he was cut by CLE he had earned 32 million dollars.


I got a Couch Jersey in his rookie season for cheap authentic $45 dollars. Looks cool with my brown dickies. LOL

[RaiderHater]

Tim Couch was a #1 draft pick. By the time he was cut by CLE he had earned 32 million dollars.

****!!! That was a lot of wasted money. Tim Couch was a pretty bad pick. Hands down, Ryan Leaf was the worst pick.

[LouDawg]

Brian Bosworth.

[JollyRoger]

Brian Bosworth.

I can still see Bo Jackson running him over.

[SULLY]

Dag Nabbit you stole the one i was going to use. what about Carlos Rogers?

[donnasaurus]

Randy Duncan - QB - Iowa - All American in 1958 - Runner-up for the Heisman, MVP Big Ten - drafted 1st in 1959 by GB Packers - Went to Vancouver Canada instead of signing with GB (for more money). Got on Dallas Texans roster in 1961. Threw 67 passes for a 36% completion record. That's the only year he played in the NFL. I'd say that's a big time bust and wasted first rounder.

How can you name Aundray Bruce who played for 11 yrs as a bust? He may not have lived up to expectations, but dang, he was doing something right.

[NJCardFan]

Hmmm, another resurrected thread. But to add to my previous list from last year:

Lam Jones...or Jam Jones, can't really remember which one it was who the Jets took as their #1 pick one year.

Rick Mirer hasn't been mentioned. I remember the draft when ESPN and Kuiper had football cards made up with Drew Bledsoe and Mirer each in a Patriots and Seahags uniform and all the speculation of who would get who.

I believe that Ricky Williams should be considered for the Saints. The fact that Ditka gave away his entire draft that day to get Williams and it took the Saints years to recover.

[prellsta]

I think the poster meant Charles Rogers, not Carlos Rogers. But a very good case can be made for Charles Rogers. I don't even think he's in the league right now, unless he's still serving some suspension.

And Kellen Winslow isn't a bust. He just pulled about a 85 catch 900 yard year.

Heh...how about Leeland Mcelroy (I guess he was just a 2nd round pick)? Lawrence Phillips is probably my vote.

[SULLY]

I think the poster meant Charles Rogers, not Carlos Rogers. But a very good case can be made for Charles Rogers. I don't even think he's in the league right now, unless he's still serving some suspension.

And Kellen Winslow isn't a bust. He just pulled about a 85 catch 900 yard year.

Heh...how about Leeland Mcelroy (I guess he was just a 2nd round pick)? Lawrence Phillips is probably my vote.

thank you for correcting me. as im not a big lions fan. oh well hes still # 1

[BullheadCardFan]

Brian Bosworth and Ryan Leaf

[NJCardFan]

The Cards have had some beauts over the years. Clyde Duncan/Mike Ruether(taken in the 1st round same year), Steve Little(K picked in the 1st round), John Lee(K picked in the 2nd round), Thomas Jones, Tony Sacca(2nd round), Eric Hill/Joe Wolf(taken in 1st round same year), Anthony Bell, Curtis Greer..the list is endless. No team in the history of sport has screwed up drafts more than this team. Either their top pics become busts or do end up doing well only to leave for greener pastures.

[RipperEagle]

1. Ryan Leaf
2. Andre Wadsworth
3. Charles Rogers
4. Victor Bailey
5. Freddie Mitchell

[Heucrazy]

1. Ryan Leaf
2. Andre Wadsworth
3. Charles Rogers
4. Victor Bailey
5. Freddie Mitchell

Not Fredex!!! Why he's the people's champ!!!!!!!:oops:

[RipperEagle]

Not Fredex!!! Why he's the people's champ!!!!!!!:oops:

He was GREAT on 4th and 26, but as an overall 1st round pick he has sucked the big one.

Man, KC cut him: KC has like no true WR's.

I was also going to put Pinkston on this list but I kept it at 5.

[ARZCardinals]

Maurice Clarrett drafted 3rd round....jail bird

Calvin Pace - 1st round...Ahahahahahahahaha!!!

Wadsworth - what's he worth, nothing...man he was hyped as the second coming of Reggie White...had the work ethic of mrs. white.

Marinivich was a big bust too, but no more so than Robert Gallery

Rolando Hill- Ha ha, couldn't cover a hotdog with a bun.

[Elminster]

Mike Williams, the tackle. Fat and lazy describe him perfectly. He spent this year on IR with the Jaguars.

Another of my favorites Bills selections is Eric Flowers. He was drafted a DE, but was extremely weak and undersized. A switch to linebacker proved he wasn't sufficiently strong for even that. Apparently, he went to the Texans and was cut, and now is a back up....on an arena league team.

[Tha rizzock]

Ryan leaf by farrrrr..........................

[NJCardFan]

Hey Ripper, I'm surprised you didn't mention Mike Mamula. I thought he was the very essance of bad draft picks for the Eagles especially since they traded up to get him. Then of course you had Antione Davis, Kevin Allen, and John Reaves as bad 1st rounders as well.

[RipperEagle]

Hey Ripper, I'm surprised you didn't mention Mike Mamula. I thought he was the very essance of bad draft picks for the Eagles especially since they traded up to get him. Then of course you had Antione Davis, Kevin Allen, and John Reaves as bad 1st rounders as well.

All things considered, Mamula did give us something I suppose: far more then one trick pony Mitchell, the Essence Victor Bailey, and that useless I always stuck around Todd Pinkston.

[AZFAN777]

My nominee for worst draft pick ever?

How about all 160+ teams that passed on Tom Brady?

How bout Ron Dayne? Mr. Record Book in college, mr backup in the pros. I know there are worse, but I just wanted to throw something new out there!

[SunDevilDon]

I'm going somewhere different on this one.

Double WHAMMY. Quenton Coryatt AND Steve Emtman (sp) BOTH in the first round by the Colts several years back!!!

Blair Thomas stands out in my mind, as well as Ki-Jana Carter and another PSU boy, Curtis Enis.

[Tiz]

Marinovich and Druckenmiller were too low in the first round to be considered for "worst draft pick ever".

I would think the winner of such a dubious title would have to be taken in the top 5 or 6.

Ki-Jana Carter, Tony Mandarich, Curtis Enis, Lawrence Phillips, Blair Thomas, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf (my vote for worst ever!), Mike Croel, Andre Wadsworth, Michael Westbrook, all have to be considerd IMO.

Ki-jana wasn't a bad pick just got hurt. Michael westbrook was actually productive early on too he just had an attitude problem but he still beat up Stephen Davis LOL.

I'd probably go with Phillips he didn't come close to playing to potential and spent his entire short lived career beating up on females more than he did on opposing defenses.

[Tiz]

Can't go with that ***** because he could still be a good player.

He was leading all TEs in receptions at one point last year. His production on the field was slowed to injury his first year, stupidity his 2nd year and Frye this past year.

[DesertDave]

Let's get some nominees has to be a first round choice.

Todd Marijuanavich, QB; Raiders; Andre Ware, QB, Detroit; Jim Drukenmiller, QB, 49ers; Steve Emtman, DT, Colts; Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Bengals;


My selection for the worst of all time goes to drum roll please: daadadadadadadadadadadada Aundrey Bruce, DE, Falcons


Hate to sound like I'm picking nits but: Is the question 'worst pick' or 'biggest bust'?

IMO - From a view point of worst use of a first round pick goes to the Oakland Raiders who drafted Sebastian Janikowski #17 over all in the 2000 draft.

Just how bad a pick was this? Lets look at the two players taken immediately after Janikowski:

#18 Chad Pennington
#19 Shaun Alexander

That, my friends, is a bad draft pick.

Biggest bust goes to Leaf imo.

[JollyRoger]

Hate to sound like I'm picking nits but: Is the question 'worst pick' or 'biggest bust'?

IMO - From a view point of worst use of a first round pick goes to the Oakland Raiders who drafted Sebastian Janikowski #17 over all in the 2000 draft.

Just how bad a pick was this? Lets look at the two players taken immediately after Janikowski:

#18 Chad Pennington
#19 Shaun Alexander

That, my friends, is a bad draft pick.

Biggest bust goes to Leaf imo.

At least he scores points(sometimes.) You failed to mention other picks before him. Were they all great picks?

[DesertDave]

At least he scores points(sometimes.) You failed to mention other picks before him. Were they all great picks?


The players taken before him are irrelevant as the Raiders couldn't have picked him before 17.

The Raiders, with a chance to pick a solid QB or a Stud RB chose a kicker. Thats a wasted pick no matter how you slice it.

[JollyRoger]

The players taken before him are irrelevant as the Raiders couldn't have picked him before 17.

The Raiders, with a chance to pick a solid QB or a Stud RB chose a kicker. Thats a wasted pick no matter how you slice it.

My point was the other teams in front of the Raiders had thier chance at these studs as well and chose otherwise. Were thier choices that great was my question?

[DesertDave]

My point was the other teams in front of the Raiders had thier chance at these studs as well and chose otherwise. Were thier choices that great was my question?

And my point is, it doesn't matter who else passed on who else.

The Raiders wasted a first round pick.

[JollyRoger]

And my point is, it doesn't matter who else passed on who else.

The Raiders wasted a first round pick.

Well gee wiz, I guess that's never happened before.

[M0J0]

While the selection of Janakowski was a poor selection. Bubble Bass is still producing. What did Andre Ware ever do?

[phibber]

A few of you have mentioned Kelly Stouffer and it was a horrible pick for the Cards because they refused to sign him. I don"t know if he ever played in the NFL but he sure packs a mean frozen food dinner. Gotta give him some credit for that.

[SunDevilDon]

After some research, I'd have to go with Mandarich as worst ever, when looking at what 3 guys were drafted right behind him...

2 Green Bay Tony Mandarich T Michigan State
3 Detroit Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma State
4 Kansas City Derrick Thomas DE Alabama
5 Atlanta Deion Sanders CB Florida State
6 Tampa Bay Broderick Thomas OLB Nebraska

Broderick Thomas was really good for a couple years, if my memory serves me right, so I left him on.

Also, I forgot, but Indy had pick ONE and TWO in 1992...that was a weak draft though...

1 Indianapolis Steve Emtman DT Washington
2 Indianapolis Quentin Coryatt MLB Texas A&M

[#1CARDSFAN2007]

Easily Ryan Leaf.
When you look at what the Chargers gave up too move up one spot from second to first he wins hands down .
I believe it was a first rounder,a first rounder the next year ,a second rounder and another player to move up to pick Leaf and pass on Manning .OUCH.

[RipperEagle]

Hey Ripper, I'm surprised you didn't mention Mike Mamula. I thought he was the very essance of bad draft picks for the Eagles especially since they traded up to get him. Then of course you had Antione Davis, Kevin Allen, and John Reaves as bad 1st rounders as well.

Hey NJ, this post got me to thinking, and in my break time at work today I was browsing through my 2006 media guide at the past drafts we have had, and I looked up who has been a complete and utter bust seperating the worst of the worst.

Now, I don't really care if I turn this into a Eagles bash session of drafting skills because this thread was LONG DEAD anyway.

Now, this composite list (with my comentary of each player) has some restrictions:
1. Any round (1 thorough 7 or 12 in the case of the old drafts but the latest one I have is one in the 5th round)
2. These only account for drafts since 1985 because that was my birth year: I cannot personally comment on any before 85.

So without further ado, I start at 15 (being the best of the worst) to #1 (being the most horrid ever).

15. Doug Brzezinski (D3-99) I once remember Andy Reid saying this guy moved around more then a Volkswagen: too bad he never cut it at any posistion.
14. Brandon Whitting (D4-98) This guy had some streaks for us, but was a big reason why some other tackles were drafted: stunk.
13. Na Brown (D4-99) Appearently from 1999 to 2004, this team had no clue had to fine good receivers, as we see later on as well.
12. Chris T. Jones (D3-95) Had great sophomore year, but completely fell on his face afterwards: dissappeared into deep space nine after three years.
11. Siran Stacy (D2-92) Second round pick in 92 from Bama...played 16 games rookie year...and pulled what #12 on this list did.
10. Mike Mamula (D1-95) Traded up to #7 to get: had some good stats but didn't warrant trade up: played only until 2000 then quit the game.
9. ND Kalu (D5-97) had every shot in the book to make the team and make an impact: made team but never made impact: last known team- Texans.
8. Antone Davis (D1-91) in my memory never stood out for first round merit: career fell apart (was it together to begin with) once he went to Atlanta
7. Matt Ware (D3-04) Our BIG corner and problem solver for small corners: just flatout cut because he sucked and is now in Arizona.
6. Jerome McDougle (D1-03) Yes I know he has been injured and was shot in 2005, but this year had full ability to make the mark in which team AGAIN drafted up for him in 2003: got beat out by Juqua Thomas: close to cut.
5. Jon Harris (D1-97) considering the huge package deal he was involved in with Dallas, a lot was expected: in two seasons he had two sacks. BUST.
4. Bobby Hoying (D3-96) was supposed to next big QB in Philly: after three crappy seasons ended career in (how fitting) the BLACK HOLE!
3. Victor Bailey (D2-93) Was supposed to help us by moving Barnett or Williams along: he didn't go that and spent a year in KC after we traded him two years into his career: dissappeared into outer space.
2. Todd Pinkston (D2-00) One of the happiest days of my life was then Andy cut this guy: the epitome of lazy and sit back and wait for people to give me the chances instead of taking them.
1. Freddie Mitchell (D1-01) Wow, for one play to define the career of a 1st round pick from UCLA is amazing...NOT! This guy was trash, IMO wasn't first round worthy in 2001, and is not playing even after KC cut him of all teams, and that's saying something.

[#1CARDSFAN2007]

Watching Matt Ware for us last year ,I see why he was cut.

[Tiz]

Hate to sound like I'm picking nits but: Is the question 'worst pick' or 'biggest bust'?

IMO - From a view point of worst use of a first round pick goes to the Oakland Raiders who drafted Sebastian Janikowski #17 over all in the 2000 draft.

Just how bad a pick was this? Lets look at the two players taken immediately after Janikowski:

#18 Chad Pennington
#19 Shaun Alexander

That, my friends, is a bad draft pick.

Biggest bust goes to Leaf imo.


Agree with the idea of picking a kicker in the 1st or 2nd round (nyj) is a bad idea but given the fact that Rich Gannon was playing well the years before this draft and played well after means that they could wait to get a QB instead of going for Pennington, whom I like but has never had a dominating season.

[Tiz]

My point was the other teams in front of the Raiders had thier chance at these studs as well and chose otherwise. Were thier choices that great was my question?

The RBs taken before Shaun were Jamal Lewis, Thomas Jones and Ron Dayne.
In hindsight those are bad choices much like the Chiefs taken Todd Blackledge at QB in '83 passing up QBs like Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

And lets not forget about the Colts drafting Elway whom never played a single game in Baltimore.

We can also mention all the teams that passed on a 3rd round pick of Joe Montana or the 6th round pick of Brady which really puts emphasis on the entire SF draft that year as they took two QBs. one in round 3 by the name of Giovanni carmazzi and then Tim Rattay in the 7th.


I'd also give a big mention to TB and their wonderful use of a draft pick which yielded them Steve Young

[DesertDave]

Agree with the idea of picking a kicker in the 1st or 2nd round (nyj) is a bad idea but given the fact that Rich Gannon was playing well the years before this draft and played well after means that they could wait to get a QB instead of going for Pennington, whom I like but has never had a dominating season.


Yeah, Gannon was alright at the time but, he was aging and his back-up was Bobby Hoying.

The Raiders went 8-8 in '99 with no rusher eclipsing 1,000 yards and one reciever - Tim Brown - over 1,000 receiving yards. The most receiving yards after Brown was TE Rickey Dudley (remember him?) with 555.

The defense and offense were each ranked in the upper teens. Basically, they had much bigger holes to fill than a kicker.

[Tiz]

Yeah, Gannon was alright at the time but, he was aging and his back-up was Bobby Hoying.
.


It still shows that they didn't need to draft Pennington but could have waited
Rich still played 4 more years with his mvp season come two years after you'd have wanted them to take two shoulder surgery having Pennington.
In '01 they could have taken Drew Brees in the 1st round being that he was a 2nd round pick. Instead they took Tuiasasopo later in the 2nd round and took S Derrick Gibson in the first.

[NJCardFan]

The RBs taken before Shaun were Jamal Lewis, Thomas Jones and Ron Dayne.
In hindsight those are bad choices much like the Chiefs taken Todd Blackledge at QB in '83 passing up QBs like Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

And lets not forget about the Colts drafting Elway whom never played a single game in Baltimore.

We can also mention all the teams that passed on a 3rd round pick of Joe Montana or the 6th round pick of Brady which really puts emphasis on the entire SF draft that year as they took two QBs. one in round 3 by the name of Giovanni carmazzi and then Tim Rattay in the 7th.


I'd also give a big mention to TB and their wonderful use of a draft pick which yielded them Steve Young

I think the difference here is that Blackledge was highly touted because he played for the National Champion. Marino, however, was the big surprise falling to 27 but this was because his senior season at Pitt was somewhat mediocre but he was the best QB in college during his junior year. Brady was a backup in Michigan, this is why no one really looked at him.

As for Tampa and Steve Young, it still was a great pick for Tampa but unfortunately for them their coaching staff was piss poor and did nothing to develop him. The talent was there, obviously and he did have some success in the USFL(lest we forget the game against Kelly and the Houston Gamblers when they passed for an almost combined 1,000 yards).

Elway, on the other hand, pulled a J.D. Drew(or perhaps Drew pulled an Elway) and made it clear he did not want Baltimore to draft him. Then he threatened to play baseball instead if Baltimore didn't trade him. It's this action by him that makes me not give him the respect I should be giving him. If he had stayed in Baltimore, the Colts would still be there.

Hey Rip, in case you haven't, read the Great Philadelphia Fan Book by Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano. It has a whole chapter about Mamula.

[DesertDave]

It still shows that they didn't need to draft Pennington but could have waited
Rich still played 4 more years with his mvp season come two years after you'd have wanted them to take two shoulder surgery having Pennington.
In '01 they could have taken Drew Brees in the 1st round being that he was a 2nd round pick. Instead they took Tuiasasopo later in the 2nd round and took S Derrick Gibson in the first.


I was never saying they should have taken or needed to take Pennington - or even Alexander for that matter.

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the players taken after Janikowsky as that seems to be muddling the point which is:

Drafting a kicker in the first round is wasting your pick.

[Elminster]

I'll do something similiar for my Bills. I shall regale all of you with some of the worst Bills players ever selected in the 3rd round or higher for as long as I can remember.

15)Marcellus Wiley DE, 2nd round, '97
He was supposed to be the future at defensive end after Bruce Smith. To be fair, those are massive shoes to fill, and, after his third year, it seemed he would do so adequately. But then.....he just stopped being good. He wasn't resigned, and went to Dallas, where he eventually found himself demoted to second-string, the same capacity he now fills with the Jaguars today.

14)Sam Cowart, MLB, 2nd round, '98
A sad story, Cowart. After two years in the NFL, he was had all the makings of a rising star MLB. He was fast, strong, good in coverage, and a great tackler. It seemed there was never a tackle made that Cowart wasn't around, and big plays seemed to happen whenever he was around! Bills fans waited with bated breath for his third year. Many believed he would break out. And it seemed like he was....but then he tore his Achilles tendon in the 3rd game. To my knowledge, it was a terribly serious tear, even as Achilles tendon tears go, but he fought back anyhow....and simply wasn't the same. The speed, the burst...were gone. Lost forever. He was cut the next year, and signed by the Jets, only be benched and cut when Vilma emerged. Now, it seems he's heading towards the same fate in Houston. A future hall-of-famer that wasn't.

13)Gabe Northern, LB. 3rd round, '96
Familiar story...has one good year('98, in his case) and then just disappears. I believe he signed with the Lions after he was cut in '00 and was never heard from again.

12)Traveres Tillman, S, 2nd round, '00
Looking at the '00 draft is painful. Actually, now that I'm looking at them, I don't understand how people think Jerry Butler was a good GM, because most of the time when I look at the names, I am wondering who these people are and how I never noticed that they ever wore a Bills uniform. Apparently, he did nothing while with us, was cut after the '02 season, did nothing with the Panthers for 2 years, and he has become a mediocre Dolphin in that sad excuse for a secondary of theirs. I thought his name sounded familiar...

11)Willis McGahee, RB, 1st round, '03
Ah yes. Our first Donahoe pick. Whereas Butler's strategy seemed to be draft the worst players possible, Donahoe's was to draft the one whose success would be most likely to make him look like a genius, which often involved selecting a player that we absolutely didn't need. Not only did Travis Henry go to the Pro Bowl that year, Willis McGahee blew out his knee that year, and didn't play a down in '03, a year in which we absolutely tanked due to poor oline play. Kwame Harris and Eric Steinbach, who would've been a huge improvement over the scrubs we had(especially Steinbach) were on the board. McGahee would go on to be our starting running back, and it did come to light that Henry had drug problems, but watching the Bills-Titans game this year has made me **** this pick. Henry was and is the better back, and Willis McGahee will be out of Buffalo as soon as his contract runs out, if not sooner, and he has never become the back he was in college nor has he become a power back. He is mediocre at best.

10)Kevin Everett, TE, 3rd round, '05
The U tight end taken in Donahoe's final draft. He blew out his knee on the first day of mini-camp, and hasn't done anything but get beat out for a roster spot by undrafted FA Brad Cieslak. That's right...he didn't even catch a pass this year. I'll consider him blessed if he survives the first round of cuts come TC.

9)Tim Anderson, DT, 3rd round, '04
This guy is best described as a beached whale. He looks intimidating, but is ultimately useless. He is slow, not as strong as his frame would suggest, and is just generally terrible. THIS is the guy that Donahoe thought could replace Fat Pat....wait...he wasn't!

8)Ron Edwards, DT, 3rd round '01
Donahoe's first draft, he selects Ron Edwards. I cannot comment on Ron Edwards except to say that, for the four years he was on the Buffalo Bills, he was always injured, and on IR on for two straight seasons('04-'05). Like Correll Buckhalter, except not actually any good. He's currently 3rd string on the Chiefs. Of course, this didn't stop Donahoe from trumpeting him as Fat Pat's successor in the middle...and by week 4 he was trumpeting Tim Anderson for the same role.

7)Corey Moore, LB, 3rd round, '00
The 2000 draft, Jerry's last draft as Bills GM, is far and away the worst draft in Buffalo Bills history, and a contender for worst draft ever in the history of the NFL. Every name is a horrible reminder of some worthless scrub woefully unfit to play in the lowest Arena League, let alone in the NFL(note: The 'Phish fit the description for a proper home for these players perfectly). Corey Moore is another sad reminder. This was Butler's attempt to address our fast-collapsing linebacker spot, and all I know is that he didn't survive training camp, putting him in the dubious company of players like Maurice Clarrett.

6)Russell Copeland, WR, 4th round, '93
Yeah, I know I said 3rd round or higher, but this guy is just too bad not to get included. A wide receiver who couldn't catch. I remember seeing JK throwing his way....and I remember him dropping the ball. Repeatedly....without fail. I remember him losing a game. He got wide open, JK threw a perfect pass(as he nearly always did), hit Copeland right in the numbers, and.....he dropped it. It was 4th and 5. We lost. I hated Copeland ever since. 3 years later, he was cut, and disappeared for good. He was Reche Caldwell, except not fast and without the bug eyes.

5)Bucky Brooks, WR, 2nd round, '94
Apparently, even Butler realized how much Copeland sucked. To make him feel like less of a massive waste of a roster spot, he drafted Bucky Brooks. To understand how bad Bucky Brooks is, you have to take the suckitude of Russell Copeland, multiply it by a factor of five, and add the square of the ratio of the sum of the circumferences of Reche Caldwell's eyes relative to that of a normal human-being's. Not only was he a complete failure as a wide receiver, he was also the worst returnman I ever saw until the Bills signed Chris Watson. He lasted for an even shorter time than Copeland did, and he was drafted after him!

4)Todd Collins, QB, 2nd round, '95
Ah yes. I remember Todd Collins well. All too well. In '96, JK's last year, he was injured for a stretch of 4 games, during which TC lead us to a 3-1 record and compiled an impressive collection of stats. When JK was stinking it up in Pittsburgh in the divisional playoffs, the Bills fans were chanting for TC. JK suffered a concussion, and TC took the field, nearly winning the game. JK retired, and many a Bills fan rejoiced. Kelly had lost it, they said. TC was the future, and TC would lead them to what Kelly could not....a Super Bowl victory! 6 games into the '97 season, Todd Collins was on the bench, 2-5, and looked more like Rick Mire than Jim Kelly. He was part of a QB carousel that year, including such greats as Billy Joe Hobert and Alex Van Pelt. Supposedly, Marv, by this point run-ragged by coaching in the NFL(he was 76 by this time) caved to the pressure of aging greats led by Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith, desperate for the Super Bowl ring that had thus far eluded them and always would. Todd Collins was cut that off-season, once Marv had retired(he wrote in his book he'd have given TC another chance, and I've always asked myself what he would've done.) He has spent his career as a third-string quarterback in first Kansas City and now Washington.

3)Antowain Smith, RB, 1st round, '97
When it became clear that '93 7th-rounder Darrick Holmes had just been a flash in the pan, Jerry Butler scrambled to find an answer for the rapidly-aging Thurman Thomas. That answer wasn't Antowain Smith, but Butler drafted him anyways. He seemed, at first, like he might be able to do it, but once Thurman left and Antowain became the feature back, something became apparent. Antowain Smith couldn't start. He was slow. Very slow. The law of momentum tells us that Momentum=MassxAcceleration, and Antowain Smith had 0 acceleration. He was cut, and ended up riding the Patriots to a Super Bowl ring. Iconically, he was cut and replaced with Corey Dillon, and the Patsies made it look even easier the next year. He has since bounced around any number of teams, never sticking with any one for a while, and is now out of football.

2)Eric Flowers, DE, 1st round, '00
I waffled over him and my #1 for the entirety of the time I spent typing this. In the end, I placed him here because Eric Flowers simply shouldn't have been drafted. But that seemed to be the criteria for being drafted by Jerry Butler, and drafted Eric Flowers was. You Cards fans know what happened to him...you have Calvin Pace. Except....if you judge Calvin Pace by Eric Flowers, Calvin Pace is an All-Pro. Eric Flowers weighed 260 lbs., but was simply weak. It is impossible to explain how he made it as far as he did, because this guy was skinny as a rail and played DE. He was hurt his first year and lost even more weight, all the way down to 245. The staff threw up their hands and tried converting him linebacker, but they discovered something else....he was also slow. He also happened to be a poor tackler. He was cut three years later and ended up a back-up on the Texans, who also couldn't find a role for him. He was cut in '05 and has been out of the league ever since. I think he's now a back-up on an Arena team, but I'm not sure...

1)Mike Williams, T, 1st round, '02
Mike Williams had it all. He was massive, he had good footwork, he came from a good program(Texas), and he was a great runblocker and a decent pass blocker. He had a great senior bowl and better combine. He was renowned throughout the country as road-grader with a mean streak. How then, did he fail so massively to be ranked ahead of Eric Flowers? Eric Flowers tried, he really did. He wanted to succeed, and had some heart, and worked hard. He simply didn't have what it took to play. Mike William's problem; however,(and this seems to be a problem for all named Mike Williams) is that he was flat out lazy. He routinely appeared late to camps, and always overweight. When he was drafted, he weighed 330. He had put on 30 lbs. by the time TC rolled around. 30lbs. of flab. Pounds he would never lose for good. This extra weight slowed him immensely, and his mean-streak? A myth. Mike Williams simply didn't like blocking people, and what's more, he couldn't be bothered. He wanted to be a star, but he didn't want to put in the effort. He was mediocre for 3 years before bombing two years ago, being replaced by an undrafted rookie FA TE by the name of Jason Peters. He was moved to guard and sucked there too. Most damning; however, was his distinct lack of toughness. He routinely didn't play, because his back hurt or some other such nonsense that any NFL player worth a **** doesn't even think twice about. Even worse, the two tackles selected after him, Bryant McKinnie and Levi Jones, have both gone on to productive NFL careers. Mike Williams is on IR with the Jags for some undefined "back problem." I can't imagine him sticking around any longer in the NFL...

[M0J0]

It still shows that they didn't need to draft Pennington
Al Davis would never approve of drafting another pop gun armed QB. He drafted Marijuanavich in the first round against his better judgement. I don't think he'll make that mistake again. Welllllll maybe he will because he doesn't member what happened back then.Drafting a kicker in the first round is wasting your pick.I know I was PSST when he got drafted but what' worse. Drafting a serviceable kicker with your pick or drafting a total bust like:
Akili Smith
Ryan Leaf
Jim Drukenmiller
Tony Mandarich
Steve Emntman
Todd Marijuanavich
Andre Ware
The Boz

[lacardsfan]

Calvin Pace and BJ

[NJCardFan]

Calvin Pace and BJ


I wouldn't call Bryant Johnson a total bust as a player. Not on par with those already mentioned. Believe me, this guy is Jerry Rice compared to some of the other picks the Cards have had.

[M0J0]

Can't go with BJ. He's the third receiver on the team.

[NJCardFan]

Can't go with BJ. He's the third receiver on the team.

The other reason you can't go with BJ is because it's not his fault he was a 1st round pick. He wasn't exactly a highly touted receiver coming out of Penn State. This was just a bad decision to trade that pick down for 2 more and to make 2 bad picks out of it. Funny how our 2nd round pick that year is leaps and bounds better than both of our 1st round picks.

[cardinals4ever]

Akili Smith
Ryan Leaf


Those to come to mind

[REO Bandwagon]

George Boone of the Cardinals was so bad when it came to the draft, that when he drafted Kelly Stauffer, one GM said "OH MY GOSH, HE DRAFTED A GIRL" !!!! LOL!!