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Every single NFL player who is, or has played in the league, is a fantastic athlete with a ton of potential. However, for one reason or another, things don't always work out for them.
This can be due to a number of things - playing for a terrible franchise, injuries, or the player lacking the mental toughness and discipline to last in the NFL.
Many players have shown flashes of their talent before fading away. Here are five examples of players not living up to their true potential.
#5 - Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers seventh-overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, and showed promise right away. During his rookie season, he recorded 14 sacks.
Just a year later, he bettered that tally by racking up 19.5 quarterback takedowns, which is a 49ers franchise record that still stands today. His 33.5 sacks also remain the most by any player in their first two NFL seasons.
Unfortunately, Smith's off-field issues soon took over his career. He was first arrested in 2012 on a DUI charge. After being arrested three times for the same offense, the 49ers released Smith in August 2015.
He was given a second chance in the league when the Oakland Raiders picked him up. However, after becoming embroiled in a domestic violence case, the Raiders released him in March 2018.
He did return to the league in 2020, playing for the Dallas Cowboys after a two-year hiatus. In 16 starts, he recorded only five sacks. It was clear that his off-field antics had cost him his best years in the NFL. At the time of writing, he's a free agent. He was also arrested again for a DUI, in December 2021.
#4 - Carson Wentz
There is an argument to be made that Carson Wentz hasn't been in the league long enough to be on this list. But the potential he showed in his early days with the Philadelphia Eagles is such a contrast with some of his play with the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 that he makes this five.
In just his second year in the NFL, in 2017, Wentz was performing at an MVP-level rate. He would most likely have picked up the award too, had he not gone down with a season-ending ACL tear. The Eagles did win the Super Bowl that year, but on his return to the NFL, Wentz would never be the same quarterback.
He was listed third overall in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018, but he would only start 11 games that year, going 5-6 in them. Wentz's inaccuracy as a thrower became his main problem, along with the injury record.
In 2020, he threw 15 interceptions and just 16 touchdowns before Philadelphia traded him to the Indianapolis Colts.
Wentz would be solid in Indy, passing for 27 touchdowns, but he couldn't lead the Colts to the playoffs in 2021. So, they shipped him off to the Washington Commanders.
There is a chance Wentz will have a bounce-back year now that he's back in the NFC East. But his recent performances leave a lot to be desired, against his fantastic 2017 season.
#3 - Josh Gordon
Josh Gordon burst onto the NFL scene after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2012. Gordon's rookie season of 805 receiving yards was followed up by a 2013 season where he led the league in receiving yards, going for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns.
His quarterback that year was Brandon Weeden, which made his feat even more impressive.
But this was as good as it got for Gordon. In July 2014, he was arrested for driving while impaired. Then a month later, the NFL suspended him for one year for violating their substance-abuse policy. This suspension would be reduced, but he would only play five games in 2014.
He would miss the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons as he was dealing with another NFL substance-abuse suspension. Gordon would also check himself into rehab during this time, but it was clear his days in the league were numbered.
The Browns traded Gordon to the New England Patriots in 2017. There, he won a Super Bowl ring, despite walking away from football earlier in the year, to focus on his mental health.
Gordon has since spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. But he has never lived up to the potential he displayed in his early days with the Browns.
#2 - Cam Newton
Cam Newton was drafted first-overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft, and straight away showed the league he was worthy of that selection.
Newton set an NFL record of 14 rushing touchdowns for a quarterback as a rookie in 2011, on his way to NFL Rookie of the Year honors.
He would make three Pro Bowls, as well as being named league MVP in 2015, as Newton lead the Panthers all the way to Super Bowl 50. There, they were defeated by Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
Since then, however, Newton hasn't lived up to his potential at all. His powerful running style for a quarterback has seen him take many hits, which have lead to a number of injuries, and he hasn't been the same player since his MVP season.
Newton spent time with the New England Patriots in 2020, before returning to Carolina in 2021. But it was clear that he isn't the same player, going 0-5 in his five starts for the team last year.
#1 - Andrew Luck
Coming out of Stanford, many NFL fans and analysts saw Andrew Luck as the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning and John Elway. After being taken first-overall in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Luck displayed his potential from the off.
He set the rookie record for passing yards, and was a four-time Pro Bowler. But Luck announced his retirement in a shock move, at the age of just 29 in 2019.
He cited his injuries as the main reason for retiring, as he was sacked 174 times in just 86 games throughout his career. The Colts did a terrible job protecting Luck. Having missed the entire 2017 season through injury, before winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2018, Luck felt it was the right time to walk away.
"I've been stuck in this process. I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. It's taken the joy out of this game. The only way forward for me is to remove myself from football. This is not an easy decision. It's the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me."
It was clear Luck was on the path to becoming a Pro Football Hall of Famer, having passed for 171 touchdowns, which included him leading the league with 40 in 2014. According to The Ringer, Luck was hit or sacked 352 times throughout his career, which is way too many hits for your franchise quarterback to be taking.
