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The NFL Draft is an annual opportunity for teams to improve their rosters and build on their futures. High draft picks are almost always expected to make a huge impact, but it doesn't always work out that way. Here are five players from NFL history who were selected with a high pick on draft day but turned out to be complete disasters.
5 NFL Draft picks who were major disappointments
#1 - Ryan Leaf, San Diego Chargers
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When the Indianapolis Colts selected Peyton Manning with the first overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft, many "experts" believed they had made a huge mistake. Those same experts believed they should have selected Ryan Leaf instead, but they couldn't have been more wrong.
Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, winning five NFL MVP awards and two Super Bowl rings. Leaf is considered one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history, having been selected with the second overall pick by the San Diego Chargers. Leaf lasted just 18 games in the NFL, posting a 4-14 record while throwing just 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.
#2 - Charles Rodgers, Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions made a bold move in the 2003 NFL Draft by selecting wide receiver Charles Rodgers as the second overall pick. Rodgers was considered a huge gamble, but the Lions went for it anyway. It didn't work out well for them as Rodgers was able to appear in just 15 games in his entire career.
Rodgers lasted just three seasons in the NFL and accumulated a disappointing 36 total receptions. He missed a ton of time due to multiple collar bone injuries, as well as violating the league's substance abuse policy.
5 Picks from NFL Draft history who turned out to be a disaster
#3 - JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders
JaMarcus Russell is one of the biggest NFL Draft day mistakes of all time. The Oakland Raiders selected him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, despite many red flags surrounding his attitude and commitment to football. The warnings turned out to be true as he was much more of a headache than he was a franchise quarterback.
Russell started things off on the wrong foot by holding out for a bigger contract before playing a game. When he finally got on the field, his playing career was a mess, throwing 23 interceptions in 25 career games, but his attitude was even worse. He infamously refused to learn the playbook while constantly feuding with the coaching staff and other players.
#4 - Vernon Gholston, New York Jets
Vernon Gholston is considered one of the highest rated pass rushing prospects of all time entering the 2008 NFL Draft. He set a single-season record at Ohio State with 14 sacks and was labeled a "can't miss" player by many experts. The experts were way off as he turned out to be a huge miss.
After being selected by the New York Jets with the sixth overall pick, Gholston became completely irrelevant as a pass rusher in the NFL. He has played in 45 games across three seasons with the Jets and failed to record a single sack.
#5 - Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns
Johnny Manziel was well-known during his college football career for his electrifying play on the field and polarizing personality off of it. He had an arrogance about him that worked well when he was dominating, but it didn't help his case in the NFL, where he greatly struggled.
Manziel contributed to his own hype but never lived up to it after being selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He started just eight games over two years while posting a 2-6 record in his failed career in the NFL. His attitude and self-promotion made his crash-and-burn that much worse for himself.
