Your team's 10 worst--or your least favorite--draft picks of the last ten years

[DeadlyDynasty]

One more time, in the right forum

For the Bills, I have...

10. C.J. Spiller...couldn't be the feature back, now he can't even be the poor man's Darren Sproles
9. Ron Brooks...fast as , but had no clue how to play
8. Cyrus Kouandjio...completely ineffective, drive-killer
7. Torell Troup...another LSU turd who never saw the field due to injury.
6. Donte Whitner...good hitter, but only after the offensive player had already gained at least 8 yards. I hate his face, too.
5. James Hardy...not an NFL player--was barely an NCAAF one--yet we saw fit to use a 2nd rounder on him.
4. T.J. Graham...one of the dumbest trade-up moves in our history. He would've been available in the 6th round, if not later. I can still remember Bills fans defending this pick when it happened
3. Aaron Maybin...no heart or pride whatsoever
2. Leodis McKelvin...as anti-clutch as it gets, easily one of my least favorite Bills ever.
1. E.J. Manuel...bad franchises make this kind of pick.

Kelvin Sheppard (LSU) was awful as well, but we parlayed him into Jerry Hughes--who has been lights out as a Bill

[chunticakes]

One more time, in the right forum

For the Bills, I have...

10. C.J. Spiller...couldn't be the feature back, now he can't even be the poor man's Darren Sproles
9. Ron Brooks...fast as , but had no clue how to play
8. Cyrus Kouandjio...completely ineffective, drive-killer
7. Torell Troup...another LSU turd who never saw the field due to injury.
6. Donte Whitner...good hitter, but only after the offensive player had already gained at least 8 yards. I hate his face, too.
5. James Hardy...not an NFL player--was barely an NCAAF one--yet we saw fit to use a 2nd rounder on him.
4. T.J. Graham...one of the dumbest trade-up moves in our history. He would've been available in the 6th round, if not later. I can still remember Bills fans defending this pick when it happened
3. Aaron Maybin...no heart or pride whatsoever
2. Leodis McKelvin...as anti-clutch as it gets, easily one of my least favorite Bills ever.
1. E.J. Manuel...bad franchises make this kind of pick.

Kelvin Sheppard (LSU) was awful as well, but we parlayed him into Jerry Hughes--who has been lights out as a Bill

You're right, Donte Whitner was a huge reach. I remember him coming out how he had the face of an old man.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

It could be worse. At least you didn't pick Johnny Football and Brandon Weeden with 2 out of 3 first round picks.

[spurraider21]

this is quite the depressing exercise for a raider fan ... will update later

[Silver&Black]

I can think of a few Tampa Bay picks off the top of my head that were stinkers. But, I need to think bout them more in-depth.

Take Carnell "Cadillac" Williams for example. It wasn't a "bad" pick...he was just always injured. He was productive when he actually played. Does that automatically mean he was a "bad" pick? Hindsight says, "yes"....the more I think about it. I guess it was a bad pick, tbh.

I'm so confused.

[Silver&Black]

Also...a lot of our picks went on to become studs playing for the Patriots. Take Aqib Talib and Legarette Blount for example.

When you root for and know how ty your team really is...you notice things like that. Gerald McCoy was a great pick for us and he would still be a monster no matter what team he played for. But, take Adrian Clayborn and Mark Barron...they were awful with the Bucs...but put them on a team with a competent coaching staff and they would be a uva lot better.

I don't know where to draw the line between "he was a bad pick" and "it's because he was on the Bucs."

[DeadlyDynasty]

I can think of a few Tampa Bay picks off the top of my head that were stinkers. But, I need to think bout them more in-depth.

Take Carnell "Cadillac" Williams for example. It wasn't a "bad" pick...he was just always injured. He was productive when he actually played. Does that automatically mean he was a "bad" pick? Hindsight says, "yes"....the more I think about it. I guess it was a bad pick, tbh.

I'm so confused.

OT, but I remember a Bucs fan who called into the Jim Rome Show several years back...dude said he was excited to have a Blount, a Graham, and a Cadillac in their backfield

[Silver&Black]

OT, but I remember a Bucs fan who called into the Jim Rome Show several years back...dude said he was excited to have a Blount, a Graham, and a Cadillac in their backfield

That's pretty gotdamn funny.

I loved listening to the Jim Rome show during my lunch break back in the day. Back when sports talk radio was actually good. Some of the Clones were ing hilarious, and some of the smack offs were ing epic.

[Raven]

tavon wilson,
jake bequette
ras i dowling
jermaine cunningham
josh boyce
james white

other than that, who knows, they made sense in theory

[JoeTait75]

Courtney Brown, William Green, Justin Gilbert, Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson, Kellen Winslow Jr., Braylon Edwards, Danny Shelton, Cameron Irving... and those are just first-round picks.

[Clipper Nation]

Buster Davis: When your nickname is Buster, that just says it all.

Antoine Cason: Mr. 10 Yard Cushion himself, one of the tiest corners I've ever seen.

Larry English: AJ Smith's ultimate "smartest guy in the room" pick. This clown ran his mouth about how amazing he was going to be in the 3-4 when we drafted him, then completely disappeared and barely saw the field by the end. Jeremy Maclin, Alex Mack, Vontae Davis, Clay Matthews and Connor Barwin were all on the board.

Ryan Mathews: Trading up for a running back in the first round is bad enough. When he turns out to be the league's #1 fumble got, it's even worse. Then you realize that we drafted him over JPP, Mike Iupati and Maurkice Pouncey.

Donald Butler: One of the laziest players to ever suit up for the Chargers. That got stopped fighting through blocks or giving any effort at all the minute he got paid.

Marcus Gilchrist: Total scrub - constantly whiffed on tackles and was always the guy getting targeted on third down (and getting beat like a drum).

Vincent Brown: Only drafted because he went to SDSU. It'd be one thing if we used a 7th-round pick on him for that reason, but we blew our 3rd-rounder on him.

Kendall Reyes: Basically a turnstile. Couldn't stop a nosebleed.

Ladarius Green: Will this guy ever see the field?

D.J. Fluker: Nice guy, but not a good use of a first-round pick. He's injured all the time, couldn't cut it at right tackle in the big leagues, and ended up having to switch to right guard.

Manti Te'o: We traded up for this got just to sell merchandise. ano is obsessed with this guy for reasons unknown to anyone with a brain.

Chris Watt: Another O-lineman who couldn't play the position we drafted him for and can't stay healthy.

Melvin Gordon: Again, not a fan of trading up or picking a running back in the first round. He's been okay this year but he was brutally awful last year.

Craig Mager: He was a reach when we drafted him and has yet to make an impact.

[Aztecfan03]

How do you not have Jonas Mouton, CN?

Or Jacob Hester, Anthony Waters, and if you don't count 2016 yet and go back to 2006, Clipboard Jesus (Charlie Whitehurst)

THey were all third round except for Mouton who was second andhave been worse than some of the people you listed from 3rd/4th rounds.

[Avante]

Why we drafted a speedster like LaMichael James out of Oregon then failed to use him out in space???? A.J.Jenkins...huh????

[spurraider21]

this is quite the depressing exercise for a raider fan ... will update later

here we go...

1) obviously, it's jamarcus. set the franchise back 4 years. probably the worst #1 overall pick in NFL history, and he got paid since his draft was before the rookie scale thing. stings so much more because that draft included the likes of calvin johnson, joe thomas, adrian peterson, darrelle revis, patrick willis

2) Darrius Heyward Bey - i dont have him this high just because he didn't pan out. i have him this high because it was so incredibly obvious he would be the wrong pick... and moreso because EVERYBODY KNEW the raiders were going to take him undeservingly. if they wanted to go WR so bad, crabree and maclin were easily superior prospects, but one DHB ran his 40, the whole world knew the raiders were going to reach and take him, and we didn't disappoint. this pick showed the complete dysfunction of the late al davis era

3) DJ Hayden - this is exactly why fans had serious doubts about reggie mckenzie early on. they traded back from 3 to 12 and only gained a 2nd round pick. that alone was pretty terrible. but then they took Hayden who had no business being a first round pick because of limited production AND was coming off a serious medical concern. he didnt have the obvious ability to make him worth that risk, and he's been a pretty big bust. the very next pick was sheldon richardson. if we really wanted to go corner, xavier rhodes was much better anyway.

4) Tyler Wilson - he was only a 4th round pick, but it was a complete throwaway. he didn't even make it onto the roster after his rookie camp. god, reggie mckenzie was SO lucky that derek carr fell into his lap, because his handling of qb's was abysmal. trading palmer, trading for matt flynn, trading for schaub, throwing away a draft pick on wilson... disgusting

5) Fabian Washington/Stanford Routt - they were our 1st and 2nd round picks in 2005. typical al davis pick... find some corners who ran really good 40 times and try to develop them later. in fairness, routt became a decent corner and had a couple of above average seasons. but washington was a flop and routt got very overpaid, who they envisioned as a nnamdi replacement as a #1 lockdown corner ...

6) Robert Gallery - coming off a 4-12 season, have the #2 overall pick... i cant even say i hated the pick, because gallery was supposed to be a sure thing. but it flopped SO miserably that he has to be on the list. supposed to be a HOF type LT, initially strugged at RT, then tried to transition to LT and was a disaster there too. fortunately, the guy was able to salvage his career by actually being a pretty good left guard, but you dont spend #2 overall picks on "pretty good left guards." the next 2 picks after him were Larry Fitzgerald and Philip Rivers. Big Ben went later in the first. on top of it, even when he became a solid starter, he could never stay healthy

7) Tyler Brayton - this was one of the draft picks we got for Jon Gruden. after trading him to tampa and losing in the SB, we had the #31 and #32 picks of the draft. #31 became Nnamdi and he was one of the better man corners of the era. Brayton was the pick from the Bucs, and he was a colossal flop at DE who literally did nothing well. couldn't rush the passer. couldn't defend the run. they tried to save his career as a 3-4 OLB and it didn't work. just a wasted pick and stings extra hard because he's involved in the gruden fiasco

8) Teyo Johnson - 2nd round pick, taken right after Tyler Brayton. "athletic" tight end, typical al davis pick. finished his career with less than 300 receiving yards. this is how a bad team instantly became a laughingstock, wasting consecutive early picks on tyler brayton and teyo johnson

9) Darren McFadden - i only have him at #9 instead of higher because he did have a couple of seasons where he looked like one of the best backs in the NFL. but this was such an unnecessary pick because we already had michael bush, who became a pretty damn good RB himself (before he bolted to chicago and pissed his career away). it was a luxury pick for a team that didn't have room for luxury picks. and he struggled for his first couple of years when we needed him most.

10) Michael Huff - this is another hindsight 20/20 choice. at the time, he was a pretty good prospect... but i didnt think he filled a need. the raiders were a TERRIBLE run defense leading to that point, and Haloti Ngata was the easy, obvious pick there. But Al Davis went Al Davis on us and took a fast defensive back, who had to change positions from college CB to NFL safety. he spent years at SS where he sucked, and eventually switched to FS where he was remarkably unremarkable.

[Holden_Caulfield]

On the top of my head.

Bortles - huge reach. Wanted Carr. Is only "good" when 3 tds behind. Terrible mechanics.

Yeldon - how did poor mans vereen get drafted in the 2nd.

Gabbert - I didn't like the pick due to unspectacular college production

Alualu - everyone had a 2nd round grade on him and we picked him 10th overall

Derrick Harvey - mother er held out after taken in the top 10. Got like less than 10 sacks in 4 seasons

[spurraider21]

On the top of my head.

Bortles - huge reach. Wanted Carr. Is only "good" when 3 tds behind. Terrible mechanics.

Yeldon - how did poor mans vereen get drafted in the 2nd.

Gabbert - I didn't like the pick due to unspectacular college production

Alualu - everyone had a 2nd round grade on him and we picked him 10th overall

Derrick Harvey - mother er held out after taken in the top 10. Got like less than 10 sacks in 4 seasons

my life

[Clipper Nation]

How do you not have Jonas Mouton, CN?

Or Jacob Hester, Anthony Waters, and if you don't count 2016 yet and go back to 2006, Clipboard Jesus (Charlie Whitehurst)

THey were all third round except for Mouton who was second andhave been worse than some of the people you listed from 3rd/4th rounds.

Good point. This team has wasted so many draft picks in the last decade that it's hard to keep track. And the saddest part is that it's not like we're one of the smart teams that stockpile picks. No, we trade up all the time and give away draft picks. Then we blow it with most of the picks we keep.

[Avante]

The one guy I had high hopes for that was a total bust because he wasn't used right.....LaMichael James from Oregon. Like Sproles ya want to get the guy out in space where his speed/agilty can come into play. Ya don't use him as just another RB.

[Ditty]

1. RG3 - Welp where do I start

2. Devin Thomas - What a bum football player, that cared more about his modeling and acting career. Could've drafted Jordy Nelson two picks later.

3. Chad Rinehart - Who?

4. Josh Leribus - Extreme reach in the third round could have got him later in the third day, even possibly free agency

5. David Amerson - Good rookie season. Terrible the following season, got cut and he's doing really well in Oakland now I've heard...

6. Malcom Kelly - 6'4 but was made of glass

7. Fred Davis - Talented injury prone druggie. Could've picked Desean Jackson the following pick

8. Trent Murphy - Has been pretty good so far this season, but his first two seasons he hasn't done anything.

9. LaRon Landry - He would've been fine if Taylor didn't pass away. Couldn't cover.

10. Matt Jones - Only questionable pick by McCloughan so far. Still too early, but he was a reach in the third round also. Big dude, but fumbling, injury and bad vision issues so far. Could've drafted David Johnson instead, or picked Lockett who the Redskins traded that pick to Seattle.

[spurraider21]

5. David Amerson - Good rookie season. Terrible the following season, got cut and he's doing really well in Oakland now I've heard...

yeah, it's really been unexplainable. he was easily the best secondary player we had last year, and after just 1 (partial) season with the team they gave him a big 4 year extension, and he's been our only blue chip defensive player this year (even mack has been largely subpar)

[Raven]

to be fair being a patriots fan in this topic is a bit weird, as during the draft, you normally hate 99% of the picks and bill ends up being right more often than anyone else. One of the most awful picks I would have done would have been to not trade down in 2013.
The pats were receiver needy in a bad way, the vikes drafted patterson with the pick, but I wanted Justin Hunter which ended up being a massive bust famously having to wear a shirt with JAG written on it. Bill instead drafted Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Josh Boyce(i suppose the receivers were done at that point, aside from maybe kenny stills), and a seventh which he then traded to get blount... so basically three of the most important players we have. That draft still boggles my mind. In that draft Bill managed to get one of the best linebackers in the game, two starting dbs, a starting rb, a punter and none of them are injury prone, headcases or liabilities. And yet the priority was to completely remake the receiver corp.

[spurraider21]

tavon wilson,
jake bequette
ras i dowling
jermaine cunningham
josh boyce
james white

other than that, who knows, they made sense in theory

How about all the ty wide receivers they drafted?

[Clipper Nation]

How does a Pats fan not mention Chad Jackson, Lawrence Maroney, David Thomas, Terrence Wheatley, Shawn Crable, Darius Butler or the late Ron Brace? Belichick's ed up a surprising number of early draft picks, tbh.

[spurraider21]

aaron dobson tbh

[johnsmith]

Maurice Clarett
Alphonso Smith
Jarvis Moss
Tim Tebow
Marcus Nash


Those all come to mind right away for me.