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32 Teams. 7 Rounds. 224 Young Men just out of colleges are about to become players in theNational Football League.Fates are decided. Dynasties are born. Of course I am talking aboutDRAFT DAY.2015 Draft Day is only two days away.Teams are given the chance to seriously revamp their roster and hopefully contend for a super bowl title in the next few seasons. The magnitude of their decisions could effect the future of careers and families, and can alter the trajectory of the league. With so much pressure placed on the draft, there is a growing need for the management of teams to get decisions correct. Sometimes brilliant decisions aremade, while other times there can be duds. Here is a list of the latter
#10 Courtney Brown
| Name | Courtney Brown |
| Year | 2000 |
| Team | Cleveland Browns |
| Pick | No. 1 Overall |
As elected number one overall in the 2000 NFL draft, Brown was always injury plagued. He played bits and pieces of five seasons for Cleveland but could not last beyond that. During that time he posted utterly underwhelming numbers and his team did not progress in the standings.
After four years with the Browns, he moved to Denver, but only played one season before retiring in 2005.
#9 Akili Smith
| Name | Akili Smith |
| Year | 1999 |
| Team | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Pick | No. 3 overall |
Smith was an example of someone who was largely unproven in college. After playing his first two seasons at a San Diego community college, he had one great season at Oregon before being drafted third overall by the Cincinnati Bengals.
To add insult to injury, before the draft that year, the Bengals were offered nine draft picks from the New Orleans Saints in order to get that third pick.
#8 Todd Blackledge
| Name | Todd Blackledge |
| Year | 1983 |
| Team | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Pick | No. 7 Overall |
The 1983 draft was legendary for producing some of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. Among them were John Elway, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly.
Not among them was Todd Blackledge.
The Kansas City Chiefs picked Blackledge when they still had the chance of getting Marino or Kelly. But if it is any consolation for him, Blackledge was the last quarterback that was drafted by Kansas City that won a game with the franchise until 2014.
#7 Rick Mirer
| Name | Rick Mirrer |
| Year | 1993 |
| Team | Seattle Seahawks |
| Pick | No. 2 Overall |
Initially, Rick Mirer wasn’t a bust at all. During his first season with Seattle, Mirer set rookie records for yards and completions. He also started in every regular season game for the Seahawks. It wasn’t until his second and third years that Mirer experienced a rapid decline. He was subsequently traded to Chicago for a draft pick. Mirer's struggles as quarterback came from what was perceived as subpar football intelligence and inability to throw to his left. Despite a good first season with the Seahawks, in a 12-year career, Mirer never justified being a top draft pick after being hyped as "the next Joe Montana".
#6 Tim Couch
| Name | Tim Couch |
| Year | 1999 |
| Team | Cleveland Browns |
| Pick | No. 1 Overall |
Remember how Cleveland drafted Courtney Brown in 2000? Well, the damage was done the year before. With the number one pick in 1999, the Browns selected Tim Couch, even though Donovan McNabb was very available.
Plagued by injuries, and affected by the fact that Cleveland gave him zero offensive weapons, Couch could never get a full season under his belt. Another bust in a long list of Cleveland Brown drafting failures, he was dropped after five seasons.
#5 Todd Marinovich
| Name | Todd Marinovich |
| Year | 1991 |
| Team | Oakland Raiders |
| Pick | No. 24 Overall |
Marinovich had an unhappy, abusive childhood where his father was overly intense and started his athletic training from the time Todd was an infant.
By the time he reached college, Todd became rebellious, partaking in the drug and alcohol party culture at college. This led to him having a tumultuous life and career.
He was drafted by Al Davis and the Raiders, but fizzled out of the league after repeated drug allegations and poor play.
#4 Blair Thomas
| Name | Blair Thomas |
| Year | 1990 |
| Team | New York Jets |
| Pick | No. 2 Overall |
His NFL career started out well, as he lead rookies in yards per carry and total yardage. Soon after that, however, he experienced a number of debilitating injuries that slowed down his career.
Thomas was out by the mid 1990s. Thomas was one of several former Penn State running backs to have a lackluster pro career after performing well at the university.
#3 Andre Ware
| Name | Andre Ware |
| Year | 1990 |
| Team | Detroit Lions |
| Pick | No. 7 Overall |
Andre Ware was exciting to watch when he played his college ball. Winning the Heisman trophy at Houston, Ware looked like a gifted player who could go on to a solid pro career. After he was drafted by the Detroit Lions, he did not do much at all.
For most of his career, Ware was very low on the team’s depth chart (often second or third). By 1993, Andre Ware had played in his final NFL game.
#2 Lawrence Phillips
| Name | Lawrence Phillips |
| Year | 1996 |
| Team | St. Louis Rams |
| Pick | No. 6 Overall |
Phillips is living proof of how important it is to factor in a player’s character when it comes to drafting. After having already been convicted of abusing his girlfriend while in college at Nebraska, Phillips was known to be volatile and exercise a rough temper.
A major misstep the Rams made was when they elected to dump Jerome Bettis in order to make roster space for Phillips.
More recently, in prison, he is suspected to have killed a cell-mate.
#1 Ryan Leaf
| Name | Ryan Leaf |
| Year | 1998 |
| Team | San Diego Chargers |
| Pick | No. 2 Overall |
Leaf is known in most circles to be the worst player ever drafted in NFL history, based on his predicted level of potential by “experts.” Throughout his short career, Leaf blew up at media people, partied extensively, and never got it done on the field.
The Chargers had given away a number of crucial draft picks to the Arizona Cardinals as well as Pro Bowl defender Eric Metcalf. Within a few seasons Ryan Leaf was out of football for good.
