As we’re reminded on a yearly basis, drafting players is an inexact science. Even the teams that seem like they’re a little better at it than others make mistakes. Naturally, mistakes made earlier in the draft are a lot more harmful than those made in the late rounds.
To prove that every team has at least one embarrassing draft pick that they’d like to forget about, here is every NFL team’s worst draft pick from the current decade.
Buffalo Bills – EJ Manuel, 2013
The Bills have drafted a lot of bad quarterbacks over the years, but Manuel will be remembered for a long time as a terrible decision. Most saw him as being a 3rd round pick. However, the Bills went ahead and took him 16th overall because of how desperate they were for a quarterback.
To be fair, he had some decent moments as a rookie. But he eventually lost his starting job and ended up on the depth chart below guys like Kyle Orton, Tyrod Taylor, and Cardale Jones during his tenure in Buffalo.
Miami Dolphins – Dion Jordan, 2013
In retrospect, it was an odd decision to trade up and then use the 3rd overall pick on a pass rusher who had just 14.5 sacks in four seasons at Oregon. Jordan then had just two sacks in 16 games as a rookie.
He went on to miss four games in 2014 and all of 2015 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, which obviously didn’t have the desired effect. Even after the suspensions, Jordan didn’t play at all in 2016 and was released before the 2017 season when he failed a physical.
New York Jets – Dee Milliner, 2013
Jets fans truly believed they had the next great cornerback on their hands when the team drafted Milliner in 2013. But just three games into his rookie season, Milliner was benched for his poor play.
The following year, a slew of injuries started to hit, keeping him from having a chance to redeem himself. When the Jets released him less than four years into his career, no other NFL team was willing to give him another chance.
New England Patriots – Dominique Easley, 2014
The Patriots don’t make many big mistakes when it comes to the draft, but Easley was definitely one of them. In fairness, injuries have been unkind to him, but New England should have known that before the draft.
His only two seasons with the Patriots ended with Easley going on IR after lackluster campaigns. Even after getting a second chance with the Rams, injuries have continued to hinder Easley, although his teams usually fare well after placing him on IR.
Cincinnati Bengals – Cedric Ogbuehi, 2015
The Bengals knew that Ogbuehi was recovering from an ACL injury, so they should have been more careful when they drafted him 21st overall in 2015. A serious shoulder injury in 2016 also kept the Bengals from getting their money’s worth on Ogbuehi.
Of course, he spent most of 2018 being a healthy scratch for the Bengals, so even when he was healthy, Ogbuehi didn’t help the Bengals much. Moving forward, he’ll be lucky to stay in the league as a backup.
Cleveland Browns – Johnny Manziel, 2014
The Browns are the Pringles of bad draft choices; you can’t pick just one. However, thinking Johnny Football was both a first-round talent and a suitable face of the franchise was a monumental mistake. Reasonable people can debate his talent, but he clearly didn’t have the maturity to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
He couldn’t even handle the responsibility of being a quarterback in the CFL. Perhaps more than any other draft pick they’ve made since the return of the franchise, drafting Manziel really set the Browns back.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Senquez Golson, 2015
The Steelers had a rare whiff when they took Golson in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft. Of course, most people don’t realize that Pittsburgh drafted Golson because he never actually played for them.
A shoulder injury his rookie season and then a foot injury the following year forced Golson to go on IR both seasons. When he suffered another injury during training camp in 2017, the Steelers just cut their losses and let him go.
Baltimore Ravens – Matt Elam, 2013
Remember when Elam was supposed to be the heir apparent to Ed Reed in Baltimore’s secondary? Well, that’s not how it played out. He actually had a strong rookie season. But Elam’s performance dropped off significantly the following season.
After that, injuries prevented him from being able to redeem himself for a couple of bad seasons. When Elam was arrested for drug possession in early 2017, the Ravens released a statement saying that Elam “is not in our plans,” and that was all she wrote on Elam’s NFL career.
Indianapolis Colts – Bjoern Werner, 2013
If he had been a 7th-round pick, the Colts would have been happy with what they got out of Werner.
But getting 6.5 sacks in three seasons out of the 24th overall pick just isn’t good enough.
For a player who was a star at Florida State, it was surprising to see such a profound lack of productivity out of Werner in the NFL.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Justin Blackmon, 2012
If you saw Blackmon play in college, you’d think there was no way he wouldn’t become a star in the NFL. But when you get arrested for DUI six weeks after getting drafted, you’re not doing yourself any favors. From there, Blackmon’s career became a complicated series of arrests and suspensions.
He ended up playing only 20 games in the NFL, 16 of which came during his rookie season. Blackmon actually played well in those 20 games. But the Jaguars probably wish they had gone a different direction with that pick.
Houston Texans – Xavier Su’a-Filo, 2014
As a second-team All American capable of playing multiple positions on the offensive line, Su’a-Filo seemed like a safe choice for Houston early in the 2nd round. However, he had trouble establishing himself as a starter at any position early in his career.
Su’a-Filo also had issues as a pass protector during his time with the Texans. To be fair, he’s done okay for himself after leaving Houston, but he didn’t provide much value to the team that drafted him.
Tennessee Titans – Jake Locker, 2011
In Locker’s defense, the Titans didn’t do the best job of setting him up for success after drafting him 8th overall in 2011. Then again, Locker was never able to elevate the performances of the players around him, which is what good quarterbacks do.
After four seasons, Locker had completed just 57.5% of his passes and gone 9-14 as a starter. He then retired, as four years of subpar performances and poor results apparently sucked all the fun out of football for him.
Denver Broncos – Paxton Lynch, 2016
For someone who was so good at playing quarterback, it’s amazing how bad John Elway has been at drafting quarterbacks for the Broncos. Lynch certainly takes the cake among Denver’s draft flops in recent years.
He lasted just two seasons and only got four starts with the Broncos. But his lack of playing time is largely due to him being unable to surpass the likes of Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler on the depth chart.
Los Angeles Chargers – Manti Te’o, 2013
When he wasn’t talking to his fake girlfriend, Te’o was a great college player. However, things just didn’t translate for him after the Chargers took him early in the 2nd round.
He was solid during his four seasons with the Chargers, but injuries became a big problem for him, especially the torn Achilles he suffered early in 2016, which made it a little easier for the Chargers to walk away from him after the end of his rookie contract.
Kansas City Chiefs – Jonathan Baldwin, 2011
When a player misses time because of an injury he got fighting a teammate in the locker room, you know you’ve made a mistake. That’s exactly how Baldwin’s rookie season ended after Kansas City took him 26th overall in the 2011 draft.
After Baldwin caught just 20 passes in 15 games in his second NFL season, the Chiefs shipped him off to the 49ers in exchange for A.J. Jenkins, another 1st-round bust. Barely three years after being a 1st-round pick, Baldwin was waived by the Lions after failing a physical, and that was the end of that career.
Oakland Raiders – Rolando McClain, 2010
McClain was yet another can’t-miss player from Alabama who failed to live up to the hype. For the record, he wasn’t terrible during his first couple of seasons in the league. But by his third season, he was one of the leaders on a truly atrocious Oakland defense.
After he started to lose playing time to a rookie, McClain was kicked out of a practice in November because of an “incident.” The following spring, the Raiders cut ties with him for good, admitting they made a mistake by drafting him.
Dallas Cowboys – Morris Claiborne, 2012
The Cowboys actually traded up to draft Claiborne with the 6th overall pick. Coming out of LSU, he looked like a can’t-miss prospect, but he turned out to be quite fragile in the NFL, suffering a series of injuries that held him back.
Whenever he would start to show signs of fulfilling his potential, he would suffer another injury. In the end, Claiborne finished his five seasons with the Cowboys with just 47 games played and four interceptions, so it wasn’t exactly worthwhile to trade for him.
Philadelphia Eagles – Marcus Smith, 2014
There were no major injuries to blame for Smith failing to live up to being a 1st-round pick in 2014. He just wasn’t good enough to get on the field consistently and produce.
Over three seasons with the Eagles, he managed to accumulate just 23 tackles and four sacks before Philadelphia got tired of waiting for him to coming around and just waived him.
New York Giants – Ereck Flowers, 2015
For years, the Giants have struggled to put a viable offensive line in front of Eli Manning, and drafting Flowers 9th overall in 2015 did far more harm than good. To be fair, a lot of people expected him to take some time to fulfill his potential.
However, he gave up more quarterback pressures than any other tackle in the league during his first three seasons. The improvement the Giants were hoping to see never came, and even moving him to right tackle didn’t fix his problems. Somehow, he’s managed to stay in the league after being released by the Giants.
Washington Redskins – Robert Griffin III, 2012
It’s hard to blame Washington for drafting RG3. After all, he had a magical rookie season in which he led the team to the playoffs. How could they know that he would never fully make it back from that gruesome knee injury?
Of course, that wasn’t Griffin’s last injury, as he’s proven to be a little too delicate to be a starter. However, RG3 could be in the midst of establishing himself as a solid veteran backup, just not with Washington.
Chicago Bears – Kevin White, 2015
Seriously, it’s hard to find a bigger waste of a top-10 pick than White. The once dynamic West Virginia wide receiver went 7th overall in 2015 and caught just 25 total passes in his four years in Chicago. Starting his rookie season, it was one injury after another that kept White from seeing the field.
His most memorable moment with the Bears is catching a last-second Hail Mary but being a yard short of the end zone. That play more or less sums up his time in Chicago and how little he contributed to the Bears.
Detroit Lions – Eric Ebron, 2014
To be fair, Ebron has had a decent career. But he looked like an absolute beast in college, and the Lions took him 10th overall in 2014 with the expectation that he would become one of the league’s elite tight ends. He had his moments in Detroit but was never the game-changer they needed.
Of course, Ebron went on to have a Pro Bowl season in 2018, but that was after the Lions declined his fifth year and he ended up signing with the Colts. Maybe the Lions just gave up on him too soon?
Green Bay Packers – Jerel Worthy, 2012
The year before the Packers took him in the 2nd round, Worthy was a consensus All-American at Michigan State. But the productivity just wasn’t there during his two seasons in Green Bay.
The Packers traded him after two seasons and Worthy ended up getting chances with five other NFL teams before getting bounced from the league as a total bust.
Minnesota Vikings – Christian Ponder, 2011
By now, the Vikings should be able to admit that they reached by drafting Ponder 12th overall. He was good at Florida State, but he also had a lot of help around him. He had a little less help around him in Minnesota, although that’s not an excuse for his subpar play.
Ponder got a fair chance to show what he could do and ended up completing less than 60% of his passes and barely having more touchdowns than interceptions. In the end, he couldn’t even hold off Matt Cassel or Josh Freeman, and he couldn’t convince the Vikings to pass on drafting Teddy Bridgewater three years after they drafted him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Roberto Aguayo, 2016
If you’re going to draft a kicker in the 2nd round, he better turn into a Pro Bowler. Unfortunately for the Bucs, that was not the case with Aguayo. For what it’s worth, he was an amazing kicker in college and looked poised to spend 15 years being one of the best in the NFL.
However, Aguayo, against all logic, struggled to make kicks in the NFL that he made without issue in college. He finished his rookie season with the worst field goal percentage in the league, and he was never able to recover.
Atlanta Falcons – Ra’Shede Hageman, 2014
Hageman looked like a solid 2nd round pickup for the Falcons back in 2014. After a modest rookie year, you’d expect his production to improve, but that never happened.
He then ran into some trouble because of a domestic violence arrest, spending two seasons out of the league before resurfacing back with the Falcons in 2019, as Atlanta is still trying to get some kind of return for the 37th overall pick from the 2014 Draft.
Carolina Panthers – Jimmy Clausen, 2010
Coming out of Notre Dame, Clausen was kind of a big shot when the Panthers took him in the 2nd round of the 2010 Draft. He ended up playing in 13 games, including 10 starts that season.
But he also threw just three touchdowns compared to nine interceptions, which wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Panthers from going 2-14 and getting the first overall pick in next year’s draft, which they used to take Cam Newton.
As soon as they took Newton, using a 2nd-round pick on Clausen became pointless.
New Orleans Saints – Stanley Jean-Baptiste, 2014
Shockingly, there is actually video evidence of Jean-Baptiste being a decent player in college. However, he was an utter disaster with the Saints.
He rarely played outside of special teams as a rookie and was released following a preseason game his sophomore season after Saints coach Sean Payton admonished him on the sidelines for always getting beat by his man.
Since then, he’s played in a grand total of one game and accumulated one tackle.
San Francisco 49ers – A.J. Jenkins, 2012
It only took the 49ers a year to realize that they had made a big mistake by drafting Jenkins. He was healthy all season but only active for three games and made no impact whatsoever.
In fact, he didn’t make his first NFL reception until after he was traded to the Chiefs the following year.
Kansas City didn’t have much patience for him either, as Jenkins barely lasted three years before he was out of the league altogether.
Arizona Cardinals – Jonathan Cooper, 2013
Nobody likes using 1st round picks on offensive guards; it’s just not a sexy position. Cooper was at least supposed to be a safe pick who was guaranteed to shore up the team’s offensive line.
But after breaking his leg during the preseason of his rookie year, Cooper didn’t make his first career start until Week 14.
More injuries hindered Cooper the following year, and rather than move him to center, the Cardinals just cut bait and traded him to New England after two seasons.
Los Angeles Rams – Greg Robinson, 2014
Robinson was the 2nd overall pick in 2014, but he just as easily could have been the second-to-last pick in the draft with how things turned out. He was a starter for most of his first two seasons with the Rams.
But by his third pro season, Robinson was overweight and ineffective. He was ultimately replaced at left tackle and had his fifth-year option declined. Now he’s just trying to remain in the league as a backup.
Seattle Seahawks – James Carpenter, 2011
Much of Carpenter’s problems stem from suffering a torn ACL during his rookie season. He would eventually return and make 10 starts for the Seahawks the year they won the Super Bowl.
But for a 1st-round pick, he never developed into a dominating force on the offensive line, and so the Seahawks passed on his fifth year and sent him to the free agent market a year early. He’s done well for himself since leaving Seattle but never did all that much to help the Seahawks.