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The Cincinnati Bengals are going into the 2022 NFL Draft in good spirits, having made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2021, narrowly losing out to the Los Angeles Rams.
Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, their last two first-round draft selections, have been huge successes, with Burrow overcoming all the odds following a horrific knee injury in his rookie year to take home Comeback Player of the Year honors. Chase was also fantastic, breaking the all-time rookie receiving yards total.
Despite Cincinnati hitting on their last two big-name draft picks, owner and GM Mike Brown hasn't always had success in the draft. Here are three of the biggest NFL Draft busts in Cincinnati Bengals history.
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3 Biggest Cincinnati Bengals NFL Draft Busts Ever
#3 - John Ross, WR, 2017
John Ross was selected ninth-overall out of Washington in the 2017 NFL Draft after breaking the 40-yard dash at the Combine, coming in at 4.22 seconds.
Ross' NFL career couldn't have gotten off to a worse start, as he was first named as the sixth wide-receiver on the depth chart, and on his league debut, he fumbled the ball as the Bengals lost 13-9 to the Houston Texans.
Ross had a brief breakout in 2019, going for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, then 112 yards and a touchdown the following week against the San Fransisco 49ers. Unfortunately, for Ross, he was placed on injured reserve just weeks later, and injuries proved to be his downfall.
Ross missed 37 games during his four seasons in Cincinnati, never going for more than 600 yards, and this pick was only made worse in hindsight as superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the very next selection.
#2 - Ki-Jana Carter, RB, 1995
The Cincinnati Bengals took running back Ki-Jana Carter first-overall out of Penn State in the 1995 NFL Draft, in an era when it was far more common to take running backs higher up in the draft.
Carter's career began by tearing a knee ligament on his third carry during the first preseason game, ruling him out of his entire rookie year, and it could be argued he never recovered from this.
During his first year, he rushed for just 264 yards, averaging a measly 2.9 yards per carry. He wouldn't fare much better in his second season, rushing for just 464 yards in 1997.
His career, thereafter, would be defined by plagued injuries. He would only play four games in two seasons with the Bengals before being released in 1999 and joined the Washington Redskins. Carter only rushed for 1,144 yards in a career that spanned just seven seasons and will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in league history.
#1 - Akili Smith, QB, 1999
Akili Smith was selected third-overall in the 1999 draft, despite the New Orleans Saints offering nine picks to move up to the top spot, including every single 1999 pick, two first-rounders and a second-rounder to get Ricky Williams, who they ended up selecting fifth overall anyway following a trade with the Washington Redskins. The Bengals turned down this monster haul to get their hands on Akili Smith.
Smith missed a large portion of his rookie training camp due to contract disputes, eventually signing a seven-year contract worth up to $56 million with a $10.8 million signing bonus.
offensive-coordinator at the time Bob Bratkowski said Smith didn't put enough effort in after being selected." It just didn't work. For his position, he wasn’t as diligent as he should have been."
Smith's entire NFL career would be spent in Cincinnati, where across four years he only passed for five touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Smith only played in 22 career games, spending the majority of his final two years on the team as team backup before being released in 2003.
The former Oregon quarterback has admitted he was partly to blame for his downfall, saying: "For whatever reason, there was just no consistency I’ve got to take full responsibility because I was the one in that No. 11 jersey on that football field. That was me. No matter how I look at it, or anybody looks at it, that was Akili Smith out on that football field.”
Poll : Was Akili Smith to blame for being a bust?
Yes
No
66 votes
