3 biggest NFL draft busts in Green Bay Packers history
The 2022 NFL Draft is just around the corner, and the Green Bay Packers hold two first-round selections (22nd and 28th overall). They acquired the 22nd overall pick in the blockbuster trade that saw Davante Adams head to the Las Vegas Raiders.
BLOCKBUSTER TRADE 
🚨 BLOCKBUSTER TRADE 🚨
Packers are trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, per @AdamSchefter https://t.co/D1sEnwtEiK
They will be hoping to continue their recent success in terms of high draft picks. Jaire Alexander and Kenny Clark are recent examples of high draft picks having a huge impact on the team.
Head coach Matt LeFleur will be hoping his selections in the 2022 draft can have a similar impact to help the team wrap up their fourth straight NFC North title. But The Pack haven’t always hit home runs with their early draft picks. Here are three of the biggest draft busts in Green Bay Packers history.
#3 - Derek Sherrod, 32nd overall, 2011
Following their victory in Super Bowl XLV, the Green Bay Packers held the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft and selected offensive tackle Derek Sherrod from Mississippi State.
Sherrod struggled with injuries during his time in Wisconsin, having broken his leg in a 2011 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs. He missed the entire 2012 season recuperating. But throughout his time in Green Bay, he would only start one game.
Sherrod would spend time with the Chiefs after being released by the Packers in 2014, but never saw the field in Kansas City. He would never play in the NFL again, and will go down as one of the biggest busts in Packers' history, having started just one game in three seasons.
#2 - Jamal Reynolds, 10th overall, 2001
In the 2001 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers moved up seven spots to select FSU defensive end Jamal Reynolds with the 10th overall pick. In moving up, they traded quarterback Matt Hasslebeck to the Seattle Seahawks.
Reynolds was seen as undersized for a defensive end but his quickness seemed capable of being utilitised. But this quality didn't help him in NFL, as offensive lines were much quicker than in college football.
He wouldn’t start a single game for the Green Bay and, after recording a total of 3.0 sacks and 18 combined tackles, was released in 2003.
Following his release, Reynolds would spend time on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, but would never play in the NFL again.
#1 - Tony Mandarich, 2nd overall, 1989
Seen as one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history, offensive lineman Tony Mandarich’s selection will go down in league history, but not for the best reasons.
Mandarich was taken with the second overall pick in the 1989 draft, while Hall of Famer Troy Aikman went first overall to the Dallas Cowboys.
The next three selections after Mandarich are also enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Mandarich’s selection stands out like a sore thumb!
He wouldn’t play a game in his rookie season. Despite starting every game in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, his underwhelming play saw him released by The Pack at the end of the ‘91 season. He had just three seasons with the team.
He would be out of the league for four years before signing for the Indianapolis Colts in 1996. There, he played three seasons as a guard rather than in his traditional tackle position.
Mandarich will go down, arguably, as the worst Green Bay Packers draft selection in history, and up there with one of the worst in NFL Draft's overall history.
The 1989 NFL Draft.
@TroyAikman, @BarrySanders, Derrick Thomas, @DeionSanders.
@PSchrags goes on a #DeeperDiver and makes the case for the best Draft class ever. https://t.co/uuAabDZKIs