5 worst first overall picks in NFL draft history
The first overall pick in the NFL Draft is met with intrigue virtually as soon as the regular season finishes, and early draft positions are set. Plenty of first overall picks have been home runs and have lit up the league since entering. These include Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, and Peyton Manning, who the Indianapolis Colts took first in 1998.
However, many teams have whiffed on the first overall pick, perhaps due to filling a need rather than going to the best player available or missing some character flaws in the interview process. Here are five of the worst first overall draft picks in NFL history.
Five worst first overall NFL Draft picks ever
#5 - Tim Couch
Quarterback Tim Couch was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Browns in 1999, returning to the league as an expansion after the team's 1996 relocation to Baltimore. Couch didn't live up to his promise coming out of Kentucky and spent five underwhelming years in Cleveland before leaving the NFL following the 2003 season.
Battling injuries throughout his career, Couch never passed for more than 18 touchdowns in a season and finished his career with more interceptions (67) than touchdown passes (64).
Couch did, however, have one iconic moment as the Browns starter:
The Browns first victory after returning from a three year purgatory #Browns
https://t.co/NfEuXGCJjg
#4 - Courtney Brown
A year later, in 2000, the Cleveland Browns held the first overall pick again, taking Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown at No. 1. Brown, too, would fail to live up to expectations in Cleveland as he battled ankle and knee injuries throughout his career.
Brown's best statistical season for the Browns was a 6.0 sack season in 2003, not quite what you want for a No. 1 pick. Courtney Brown would be out of the league by the '04 season after a year with the Denver Broncos, ending his NFL career with just 19.0 sacks in six seasons.