Ranking the 5 worst #1 picks in the NFL Draft
NFL Draft season is, perhaps, the most exciting time in the offseason calendar, yet it doesn’t always end well for the team with the first overall pick.
NFL franchises are usually at the forefront of the draft order due to their poor performances in the prior season, which means they are the most desperate for salvation in the form of franchise talent.
Often, quarterbacks are the chosen prospects due to the importance of their position on the field, but there is no guarantee of success in the NFL.
The pressure, increased quality of opponents, and even managing fame and wealth can derail young prospects in the NFL, and this is something we’ve seen all too regularly.
Who are the 5 worst first-overall picks in NFL Draft history?
5. Ki-Jana Carter - Running Back, 1995 NFL Draft, Cincinnati Bengals
Ki-Jana Carter is a player who, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have even made this list, yet it’s impossible to overlook his dismal career in the NFL.
Injuries are the main reason why Carter found it so difficult to take his collegiate prowess into the professional sphere, but his talent was so strong that the Cincinnati Bengals traded up to take him with the first overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft.
Carter was expected to be the franchise running back for the Bengals, having excelled at Penn State, rushing for 2,829 yards over three seasons. In that time, he also scored 34 rushing touchdowns, including a phenomenal final year in which he found the endzone 23 times.
Unfortunately for Carter and the Bengals, he tore his ACL in the opening pre-season game and didn’t return until the 1996 season.
For the four seasons he was in Cincinnati, Carter rushed for just 747 yards before moving to Washington and later New Orleans.
In his final two seasons with the Bengals, injuries kept him on the sidelines for all but four matches.
A total of seven seasons in the NFL saw Carter rush for 1144 yards, a tally far below what his talent deserved.
Carter wasn’t a bad running back; however, he made this list because, for a first overall pick, his career was a serious disappointment.
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4. David Carr - Quarterback, 2002 NFL Draft, Houston Texans
Being drafted as the first-ever Houston Texan was an unenviable position for David Carr when the expansion franchise took the quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
Carr had a serviceable NFL career, where he played for three different teams, yet considering he was the first quarterback selected in the draft, his performances were a disappointment.
While very few have anything bad to say about Carr’s professionalism, it was his play on the field that drew criticism.
He was behind a historically poor offensive line in Houston, but being sacked 249 times over five seasons is hardly a sign of glowing quarterback play.
Remember David Carr as a rookie with the expansion Texans? He got sacked an NFL-record 76 times in 2002. That was a sack on 14.6% of his pass attempts.
Justin Fields has been sacked on 23.9% of his pass attempts this season.
Carr had a very slow-release time which didn’t become a problem until he arrived in the NFL, making him incapable of making sharp progress up the field. He held onto the ball for too long and just didn’t play well as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
It's not his fault where he was drafted, but you’d expect more from a player of that reputation, and his play was a serious disappointment.