13. Jamarcus Russell (2007, Pick #1)
If you carved a Mount Rushmore of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history, Jamarcus Russell is unquestionably on the short list of people who’d be carved into it. Russell is a perfect example of what happens when teams overvalue a player’s physical attributes and ignore everything else. As an NFL prospect, he was still tremendously raw, and needed loads of refinement. But, because of his “pro day” workout, which NFL Draft Mel Kiper compared to watching John Elway, Russell became the first overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.
In 25 games as the starter for the Oakland Raiders, he won only seven of them, completing less than 49% of his passes in 2009, his third (and final) season in the NFL. In addition to his horrendous play on the field and his lack of conditioning, several former teammates and coaches confirmed rumors that Russell was notorious for falling asleep during team meetings.