Who are the biggest draft disasters in sports history?

[drumwolf]

In the NHL, it's Alexandre Daigle by a long shot. He may very well have had the talent to be the next Gretzky or Lemieux, but he was more interested in being a Hollywood star than playing hockey.

I don't follow football, but even I know about the infamous Ryan Leaf, who had immense talent but horribly undermined it with his immature, boorish personality and is now out of football.

Who else?

[MonkeyFunk]

1. Bosworth ranks up there.

What a turd.

[Lucky Luciano]

5. I second Brian Bosworht

He was very clever though....be really flashy...get a monster contract...fake an injury so that you do not have to be debilitated in old age and take down millions with minimal work...he is comfortable, but did not earn as much as he could have. The good side is that he will never risk the damage that football does to your body in the longrun.

[fortyfeetunder]

33. Aye Aye on the Bosworth

I can't quite forgive the Seahawks, I mean Seaturkeys for pulling that stunt...and this was around the same time Warren Moon was available. Moon wanted a guaranteed contract, which the Seaturkeys refused but picked up the tab on Bosworth.

[fishwax]

35. I was just glad he told the Broncos

not to bother drafting him, because he wouldn't play for them. He was a master of self promotion, but not a good NFL linebacker.

[JohnnyCougar]

2. Tony Mandrich for the Packers

I'm pretty sure they passed up Barry Sanders for him.

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Yeah. I had forgotten about that roid-freak.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. You are completely correct that they picked him over Barry. Arrrrgggh!

My father was screaming mad. To think what could have been. Barry'd still be playing in my opinion. Tony? Used car salesman. *shakes head*

[chicagojoe]

3. The Bears NOT drafting McNabb.

[LiberallyInclined]

40. The Bears NOT drafting Culpepper.

[LiberallyInclined]

41. the Bears NOT drafting Randy Moss.

[LiberallyInclined]

42. The Bears drafting Neal Anderson...

the next Walter Payton.

:puke:

[LiberallyInclined]

44. the Bears drafting Curtis Enis...

the next, next Walter Payton.

:puke: :puke:

[LiberallyInclined]

45. the Bears drafting ANYBODY...

in the past two and a half decades.

[chicagojoe]

57. Welcome, LiberallyInclined !

Are you also a long suffering Bears Fan?

[democracyindanger]

60. Anderson was solid

He must've gone mental.

Speaking of mental, Alonzo Spellman was a bigger bust than Anderson.

[Richard Steele]

6. Doug Flutie, anybody?

Certainly not the 'worst ever', but at least deserving of a DIShonorable mention.

Anybody agree?

Bueller?

[DelawareValleyDem]

14. No way

for one thing, he's played eleven NFL seasons and made a Pro Bowl. Also, if I remember correctly, he wasn't that high a pick in the NFL draft because he had already committed to the USFL

[KDLarsen]

7. Tom Brady for the Patriots

Signed,
Assorted Philaldelphia residents.

[Arkana]

26. Want some cheese with that whine?

My vote goes to Cryin' Ryan Leaf. I really felt for Chargers fans over that whole thing. He had to be THE worst locker room personality ever.

[driver8]

8. Ryan Leaf...

What a joke. By the way, I am a Doug Flutie fan but I cannot remember who drafted him.

[Seabiscuit]

10. Ryan Leaf deserves a second vote.

A total fuck-up distaster on wheels.

[mark414]

13. a third on Leaf...also, Cade McNown anyone?

[cabbage08]

19. Ryan Leaf

[ronzo]

9. The Saints drafted a kicker with their first round draft pick one year.

That one never gets old. :P

[unblock]

11. anybody remember archie griffin?

the only person to ever win the heisman trophy twice.
went nowhere in the nfl.

they apparently didn't realize that they only drafted the halfback, the entire ohio state university offensive line didn't come with him as a package deal.

[DelawareValleyDem]

15. Here's a a couple

Sam Bowie for Portland Trail Blazers (picked ahead of Jordan) and Blair Thomas for the Jets. Both were the second players picked overall in their respective drafts.

[Jim__]

16. Definitely Sam Bowie!

You can sympathize a little with the Trail Blazers predicment - they had an all-star guard sitting on the bench and they needed size and strength under the boards.

Still Bowie had sat out most of his college career with stress fractures - which also benched him for most of his NBA career; but Michael Jordan was something like the NCAA player of the year.

Major blunder!

[jarab]

23. My vote too, Jim____ - Sam Bowie. eom

...O...

[Joe Power]

17. Andre Ware

[noonwitch]

21. I agree, yet it's probably part of the Lions' curse in general

I have to laugh at the freeper hatred of Donavan McNabb. We would be thrilled to have him in Detroit!

[Joe Power]

22. I'm hoping Harrington can escape the curse

I really like the kid, and think he'll do well if he ever has anyone healthy to throw to on a consistent basis. Charles Rogers needs to get healthy and stay healthy.

[LynneSin]

18. Ricky Williams!!!

Seriously!

I remember when Donovan McNabb was drafted by Philadelphia. We had I believe the #2 draft pick and Ricky Williams, the top collegiate running back, was still available for #2. Instead of taking Ricky we went with a promising QB from a not big-time collegiate football school (Syracuse is a good football school - but not one of the perinnial powerhouses).

I can assure you that all of Philly was pissed that we didn't grab Ricky Williams when he was available.

Fast forward to 2004 - McNabb gave us the best team in the NFC and 3 points from almost winning a Super Bowl. Williams decided to retire from football so he could become a fulltime stoner (not that there is anything wrong with that - but to give up millions from the NFL so you can smoke pot is NUTS!!)

[blueknight]

20. AKILI SMITH

quarterback from oregon drafted by the bengals with like, the sixth pick. if i remember he got like a 11 million dollar signing bonus

[mark414]

34. did you see his 60 minutes interview?

rickey williams that is...pretty smart, insightful guy...

[LynneSin]

47. Smart and inciteful? Then why isn't he in the NFL?

Seriously, this is not an issue about pot. This is the fact that he chose a drug over his football career. I hope he has a good investmant broker that saved up his money from his short career

[MissMillie]

24. Len Bias

He never even played.

[On the Road]

31. What a Tragedy --

a third of a cup of powder cocaine will do that to you.

[borlis]

25. Anyone ever hear of Ken Yaremchuk???

He was drafted by the Blackhawks 1st round, 3rd overall in 1985 (I think)set a bunch of junior hockey records, but never got anywhere in the NHL. Only saw limited playing time with the Blackhawks for 3 or 4 seasons before he was traded to the Maple Leafs. I lost track of him after that. I wonder what ever happened to him? Anyone know? I thought he had great potential.

[Darknyte7]

27. Jeff George has to make the list.

Great arm, but he's a head case...

[fit4life]

28. Basketball: Christian Laettner

What a waste he turned out to be.

[fit4life]

29. How about...

Every Chicago Bear's pick for the last 10 years?

[fishwax]

37. Curtis Enis

He almost had one 100-yard game once. I don't remember all the other Bears picks, but that one's got to be disappointing.

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Too Sweeping!

Urlacher is good. Tillman is good. Haynes is becoming a player. Mike Brown is outstanding. The new DT (can't remember his name right now) was the star of the D-Line. But, on offense, they've made some MASSIVE mistakes.
The Professor

[madinmaryland]

30. How about these guys

From the Sporting News

1. Steve Emtman, DT, Colts
(No. 1 overall, 1992.)
Had three sacks in nine games his rookie year before going down with the first of what would be many knee injuries. In the next six years, he started 10 games for three different teams and produced a total of only five sacks. Who the Colts passed on: The Colts certainly weren't the only team to misfire that year. Alonzo Spellman, Vaughn Dunbar, Desmond Howard and David Klingler (also a candidate for this list) were all first-round picks in 1992. But the Colts did miss Dale Carter, Chester McGlockton and Leon Searcy.

2. Walt Patulski, DE, Bills
(No. 1 overall, 1972).
The Notre Dame star didn't do much to distinguish himself in his first four years with the team, then missed the next season with a knee injury. Tried to come back in 1977 with the Cardinals, but a back injury ended his career. Who the Bills passed on: Think NFL history would have been different if the Bills took Franco Harris that year?

3. Heath Shuler, Redskins
(No. 3 overall, 1994).
Threw 19 interceptions in his first 18 games. Eventually was beat out by 1994 seventh-rounder Gus Frerotte, who played in the Pro Bowl in 1996. After a fruitless stop in QB hell (New Orleans) last season, his future is now in doubt because of a foot injury. Who the Redskins passed on: The big question that year was Shuler vs. Dilfer. The answer was "neither." The Redskins passed on a chance to draft Jamir Miller, Willie McGinest, Bryant Young or Johnnie Morton.

4. Tony Mandarich, Packers
(No. 2 overall, 1989).
In the late '80s, fans were finally starting to realize how important the left tackle position is. A lot of that appreciation was spurned on by the hype surrounding Mandarich, a physical freak of nature who was supposed to become some lucky team's anchor for the next 10 years. But he turned out to be nothing more than a workout warrior. After sitting out of football for three years, he's now having some success as a guard for the Colts. Who the Packers passed on: Barry Sanders (ouch!), Deion Sanders (yikes!) and Derrick Thomas.

5. Ricky Bell, Buccaneers
(No. 1 overall, 1977).
In only the second draft in franchise history, the Bucs laid the foundation for years of failure by passing on Tony Dorsett and taking Bell. The Southern Cal star had one productive year (1979) but was out of the league by 1983. Dorsett went on to a Hall of Fame career. Who the Bucs passed on: Dorsett. Need we say more?

http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/sports2000/players/154037.html

[mr_hat]

32. Todd "Marijuana" Marinovich? The product of

his football dad's obsession. The poor kid grew up with every facet of his life micro-managed to maximize performance.

No wonder he went haywire.

[fishwax]

36. Tim Couch

#1 pick overall, he was out of football just a few years later.

[ProfessorGAC]

38. I'll Add Cade McNown

What a tool! 6'1" sidearm lefty with a bad attitude and a tiny brain. Good draft choice, there, McCaskey.
The Professor

[chicagojoe]

58. Thank You! n/t

[maveric]

43. Ryan Leaf, Ryan Leaf, Ryan Leaf, Ryan Leaf.

The guy was an asshole to boot.

[bloodyjack]

46. Muhammad Ali.

[LiberallyInclined]

48. The Washington Senators NOT drafting Fidel Castro in 1947.

with enough money and women, he might have even enjoyed capitalism.

[LiberallyInclined]

49. Houston and Portland both passing on Michael Jordan

a heartfelt thank-you from everyone in Chicago :hi:

[TroubleMan]

51. Well Houston did alright with Olajuwon...but Portland got Sam Bowie...LOL

Olajuwon was a great pick and they did win two championships with him.


but Sam Bowie........before Jordan......ouch.

[Tom Kitten]

56. I think Portland gets a bad rap on that one...

Portland gets a bad rap on that one but they didn't need a guard (they had Jim Paxson and Clyde Drexler) but a center...and I don't think anyone knew Jordan would prove to be just about the best ever at the time...it took him several years to win a title at Chicago, after all!

The Portland franchise is guilty of far more malfesancies than not drafting Jordan! I'm incredulous at how far the team's image has sunk since Paul Allen bought the team...

[democracyindanger]

61. Exactly

It's easy to say Portland blew it on Jordan--but Clyde was already in place. Bowie was a bust, but his bustitude shouldn't be measured in terms of the Fizzlers not drafting Jordan.

[Steve Nash is god 13]

50. I have one!!! His name is Darko Milicic,

He was drafted first round Second overall pick by the pistons (who BTW, skipped up Carmelo Anthony.) They would be SO GOOD right now if they had. :yourock:

[CubsFan1982]

52. The Chicago Bears

You fill in the year.

[Rabrrrrrr]

53. Muhammad Ali? He refused to be drafted, and lost his title

[texas1928]

54. Did you see the news report about Ryan Leaf.

he is going to school to get into coaching, and he is having to take media relations classes. So that he can learn to get along with the media.

[JohnKleeb]

55. He may turn out to be a good coach

Often times, bad players make good coaches, maybe thats just baseball tho.

[The Great Escape]

59. KiJana Carter, Akili Smith, David Klingler

Hoo Dey!