Nowadays, it doesn’t take long for fans to jump on the hype train when a player starts to have success. All it takes is a few good games for fans to anoint a player as the next big star for years to come. Of course, things don’t always pan out as expected. There have been many NFL players who showcase brilliance but only end up being a flash in the pan. For one reason or another, here are 20 players who were one-season wonders. Let’s see how many of these one-hit wonders you can remember!
Robert Griffin III, Redskins (2013)
There was a brief moment in time that the most powerful man in the nation’s capital was none other than Robert Griffin III, better known by fans as “RG3.” In his rookie season, Griffin burst onto the NFL scene by winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week after his first NFL game, and NFL Rookie of the Month after his first month in the NFL. By the end of the year, he had led the Washington Redskins to an NFC East title.
But after suffering a catastrophic knee injury in the Redskins playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a combination of egotism, squabbles with head coach Mike Shanahan, and a greater focus on promoting his brand (versus playing quarterback) led to him being benched in 2014, in favor of quarterback Kirk Cousins.