David Bergman /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images (left) ,MARK PHILLIPS/AFP via Getty Images (right)

The NFL Draft is almost upon us, which means one lucky player will be drafted number one overall.

Well, lucky or cursed.

Owning the number one pick in the NFL Draft is a fresh start for the worst team in the league. The franchise quarterback you’ve been missing? The pass rusher your defense desperately needs? The kicker needed to guarantee three points inside the 50? Okay maybe not that one.

Unfortunately, for every Peyton Manning there is a  Jamarcus Russell. For every Earl Campbell a Ki-Jana Carter. So here we are, taking a look at the 10 WORST No. 1 overall picks in NFL history.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Tim Couch QB – 1999

Expansion Team quarterbacks have always gotten a bad rap. And it’s sad to see, because the reality is they aren’t terrible. Just the teams they’re on are.

Tim Couch was the first pick by the new Cleveland Browns in 1999 after the original franchise moved to Baltimore three years earlier. And he was expected to lead a ragtag group of randos from across the league.

His first season in Cleveland was as rocky as one might expect from a rookie QB headlining an expansion-level roster. He connected on just 55.9% of his targets, throwing for 2,447 yards with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, as the Browns struggled to a 2-14 finish.

Cleveland’s group up front was the worst in the NFL, and by a large margin. Couch was sacked 56 — yes, 56 — times in his rookie year. Even though the Browns used their first pick in the expansion draft on an offensive lineman.

In 2002, he led the Browns to the postseason for the first time since returning, but even then he ended up breaking his leg in the final game of the season so he didn’t even get to play in the wild card game against Pittsburgh.

His career didn’t live up to his number one overall pick expectations, but it wasn’t exactly his fault. He was put in a bad situation to begin with.

David Carr QB – 2002

In 2002, the league brought back NFL football to a city that, like Cleveland, was also robbed by relocation, with the expansion Houston Texans.

And this time, it was up to David Carr to lead the expansion Texans to the promised land. Or at least a decent record. And Carr got the Texans off to the best start imaginable, winning their first regular-season game as a franchise against none other than the Dallas Cowboys.

But that proved to be the highlight of the season, as the Texans finished 4-12. Carr’s rookie year was more than a little pedestrian, as he completed only 52.5% of his passes for 2,592 yards with just nine touchdowns against 15 interceptions.

And it went downhill ever since. His rookie year he was sacked an unbelievable 76 times, which is still an NFL record. He was also sacked 49 times in 2004 and 68 times in 2005, leading the league both times. Just when you didn’t think it was possible to have a worse offensive line than the Cleveland Browns back in the early 2000s, the Houston Texans shocked the world.

Carr’s career record as a starter of 23-56 or the fact that he threw more interceptions (71) than touchdowns (65) still doesn’t get masked by the fact that he’s actually a Super Bowl champion… via being Eli Manning’s back up in 2012.

Both of these pics will be remembered for being huge disappointments, but as being the first ever pick for an expansion team, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

The following 10 players, however, have no excuse.

10. Jeff George (QB) – 1990

Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts out of Illinois, quarterback Jeff George had a cannon of an arm and an arrogant attitude. The hot-headed George was out of Indy after four years, posing a 14-35 record, and saw action on five teams throughout his NFL career due to clashing with management and coaches.

He led the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs in 1995 and 1999, respectively, but struggled to find much success outside of that. Thankfully, Indianapolis only had to wait until 1998 to stop regretting drafting George back in 1990.

9. Courtney Brown (DE) – 2000

Tim Couch got the benefit of the doubt. We’re not extending that same courtesy to Courtney Brown.

Brown separated himself from the competition heading into the draft by running a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at Penn State’s Pro Day. And we’re talking about a 6-foot-5, 271-pound defensive end, mind you.

Now, his rookie season, he did great. He notched 4.5 sacks and 69 total tackles, leading an improved Browns defense (albeit the team as a whole still struggled). However, his production dropped in subsequent years due to a multitude of injuries. He was eventually traded to the Denver Broncos, and he struggled there too.

By 2006 he was out of the NFL and retired.

8. Eric Fisher (OT) – 2013

The 2013 draft was not a strong draft in the first round. In fact,  the No. 1 was predicted between Fisher and fellow tackle Luke Joeckel. Fisher ended up being the right choice as he played longer and started 132 games for the Chiefs and Colts. He was reliable and made two Pro Bowls, in 2018 and 2020.

Despite that, it wasn’t even the Chiefs best pick of the draft. That distinction belongs to their third round pick… Travis Kelce.

It was a relatively weak draft class, especially at the quarterback position. The top quarterback wasn’t taken until the 16th pick, with EJ Manuel being selected, And only one quarterback in the entire draft ever making a Pro Bowl (second round pick Geno Smith).

7. Jameis Winston (QB) – 2015

This hurts me. This really does. Because Jameis Winston might be one of my favorite players of all-time just based on the aurora surrounding him.

He’s funny, eccentric, and every game you can expect him to throw 400 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. But as a reliable starter expected to be a franchise quarterback, he sadly falters. Winston went 28-42 as a starter with the Buccaneers as a productive but inconsistent passer. In 2019, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30 or more touchdowns and 30 or more interceptions.

Winston has put up some monster numbers at different points in his career, throwing for over 4,000 yards twice and over 5,000 yards once. He led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and threw 33 touchdowns in 2019, but he also led the league with 30 interceptions.

He wasn’t even among the elites from his class, however. The best first-round picks in what was a relatively weak 2015 first round class were Amari Cooper (No. 4), Leonard Williams (No. 6) and Marcus Peters (No. 18). Out of them, only Peters made more than one All-Pro team.

6. Sam Bradford (QB) – 2010

Sam Bradford would be a great outlaw in the old west, because he committed absolute robbery when it came to his contracts. While he earned approximately $130 million ($130,022,863) in cash salary during his nine-season NFL career, he was the last number-one overall pick before the 2011 rookie wage scale:  because of that, he secured a massive $78 million rookie contract.

The result?

Eight seasons — 62.5 completion percentage, 234.3 yards per game, 103 TDs, 61 INTs. No playoff wins.

Bradford was a highly-touted prospect in 2010 with a Heisman Trophy award in 2008 behind a record-setting year at Oklahoma, one of the best in recent memory.

Drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in 2010, Bradford made an immediate impact, leading the Rams to a 7-9 record and almost the division title, with the NFC West coming down to the very last game in a showdown against Seattle.

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year after throwing for 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. It didn’t get any better, however. Injuries and inconsistent play plagued him for years. He finished under .500 in his first four seasons before the Rams finally gave up on him.

I still believe the Rams should have drafted Ndamukong Suh to bolster what already was a great defensive front. Imagine Chris Long, Robert Quinn, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers?! And that’s even before Aaron Donald came to town.

5. Aundray Bruce (OLB) – 1988

The Falcons really thought they had their guy when they drafted Bruce first overall in 1988. And to be fair, his rookie campaign was really good. He posted 70 tackles, six sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in his first year.

And while he wasn’t a total waste, Bruce’s production was a disappointment. In four years in Atlanta he collected 16 sacks, eight forced fumbles and 176 tackles. Bruce started just two games in 1991 and then was allowed to walk.

He went on to play seven more years for the Raiders but never proved worthy of his top pick status.

It’s bad enough the Falcons whiffed on having the top pick in the draft, but because of that they also missed out on two of the greatest wide receivers of all time. The Raiders picked Tim Brown at No. 6 overall, then the Dallas Cowboys selected Michael Irvin five picks later. Both are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

4. Randy Duncan (QB) – 1959

Randy Duncan is an obscure choice for the list, but it’s a very interesting one. Vince Lombardi’s Packers selected Randy Duncan with the first overall pick of the 1959 NFL draft.

Unfortunately, the standout college quarterback never played a single down in the NFL, opting to play in the Canadian Football League instead for more money.  He completed a mere 25 of 67 passes and went to law school rather than continue his career.

The Packers would have been better off selecting Hall of Fame defensive back Dick LeBeau or the best wide receiver in the draft, Art Powell.

But it all worked out for the Packers, as Bart Starr took over at QB in 1959, and a dynasty was born.

3. Steve Emtman (DE) – 1992

Okay, so the Colts swung and missed with Jeff George in 1990 at #1 overall. Surely they couldn’t make the same mistake with the #1 overall pick two years later right? Right?

Wrong.

Steve Emtman wasn’t a quarterback, but he definitely failed (like George) to be a franchise cornerstone for the Colts. His major issue was his inability to stay healthy. Emtman missed 30 games over five seasons due to injury. The worst was a torn patellar tendon. When he refused to take a pay cut in 1994, the Colts opted to cut their losses and release him.

Once again, at least they got it right in 1998.

2. Ki-Jana Carter (RB) – 1995

The old saying goes, “a player’s best ability is availability”. Unfortunately for Ki-Jana Carter, his availability was rare. During his junior (and final collegiate) year at Penn State, running back Ki-Jana Carter powered through undersized defenses for 1,539 yards rushing while scoring 23 touchdowns and averaging 7.8 yards/rush. He finished second in the Heisman voting that year, earned a co-MVP for the Rose Bowl with 156 yards and three touchdowns and led the Nittany Lions to an undefeated season in 1994.

The Bengals traded their #5 and #36 pick to select him first overall, and Carter signed a $19.2 million contract with a $7.125 signing bonus over seven seasons. This was the highest contract given to an NFL rookie at the time.

Just as fate would have it, Carter tore a ligament in his knee during his first NFL preseason game and missed his entire rookie season. He was never the same after that injury.

He did not rush for over 500 yards in a single season at any point in his career but still managed to last seven years in the league. He averaged a mere 19.4 rushing yards per game, had only 20 rush TDs. In fact, he finished with just one 100-yard game and 747 yards rushing with the Bengals.

1. Jamarcus Russell (QB) – 2007

Yeah…. this one is obvious.

Who could Oakland (at the time) have taken instead? Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and Darrelle Revis all came off the board in the first half of Round 1. All of whom are Hall of Famers, or are bound to be Hall of Famers one day. And then there’s Jamarcus Russell.

He looked like a beast in college at LSU, and the hype was real. However, none of that translated to the pro level.

He didn’t just struggle as a player… he was a bad leader, and teammate. He didn’t care to put the work in and was lazy. 

Former teammate Kirk Morrison tells a couple of instances to which Russell displayed his red-flags in his time with the Raiders. One of which (personally one of my favorite NFL Lore stories) was a time where a coach gave Russell a blank DVD that supposedly had a list of plays for Russell to take home and study. Russell comes into practice the next day and the coach asks Russell what his favorite plays on the DVD were. Russell lies about watching the tapes and says he likes all the plays. Only one problem: there were no plays on the tape, and it exemplified Russell’s carelessness and unprofessionalism.

Career NFL Stats: 7–18 QB Record, 52.1 Cmp%, 4,083 Passing Yards, 18 TD, 23 INT, 65.2 Rate