NFL Draft busts of the decade

Our friends over at Shutdown Corner have been pumping out decade lists this week spotlighting the best and worst of the NFL.

In the latter category is the 10 biggest NFL Draft busts. Check it out for the details, but here’s their list:

1. Charles Rogers, WR, Detroit Lions, No. 2, 2003
2. JaMarcus Russell, QB, Oakland Raiders, No. 1, 2007
3. Peter Warrick, WR, Cincinnati Benglas, No. 4, 2000
4. Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans Saints, No. 2, 2006
5. Matt Leinart, QB, Arizona Cardinals, No. 10, 2006
5. Maurice Clarett, RB, Denver Broncos, No. 101, 2005
7. LaVar Arrington, LB, Washington Redskins, No. 2, 2000
8. Courtney Brown, DE, Cleveland Browns, No. 1, 2000
9. Robert Gallery, T, Oakland Raiders, No. 3, 2004
10. Mike Williams, WR, Detroit Lions, No. 10, 2005

It’s hard to argue totally with that list. It might be unfair to include Arrington and Brown because they were injured. But whatever, that’s their list. Here are my favorite busts of the decade. I only went with the first rounders and tended to not include players who suffered injuries – Justin Harrell, you’re lucky.

2000
Peter Warrick, WR, Cincinnati Bengals, No. 4
Corey Simon, DT, Philadelphia Eagles, No. 6
Ron Dayne, RB, New York Giants, No. 10
Sylvester Morris, WR, Kansas City, No. 21
Rashard Jackson, DB, Carolina Panthers, No. 23
- Remember Morris and Jackson? Both were from Jackson State and supposedly steals. Wrong.

2001
David Terrell, WR, Chicago Bears, No. 8
Jamal Reynolds, DE, Green Bay Packers, No. 10
Kenyatta Walker, T, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, No. 14
Freddie Mitchell, WR, Philadelphia Eagles, No. 25
Ryan Pickett, DE, St. Louis Rams, No. 29
- Terrell and Reynolds are especially huge busts. Both had incredible college careers and looked like future All Pros. Mitchell is just a bonehead and Pickett is barely a footnote.

2002
David Carr, QB, Houston Texans, No. 1
Joe Harrington, QB, Detroit Lions, No. 3
Mike Williams, T, Buffalo Bills, No. 4
Ryan Sims, DT, Kansas City Chiefs, No. 6
William Green, RB, Cleveland Browns, No. 16
Mike Rumph, CB, San Francisco 49ers, No. 27
Patrick Ramsey, QB, Washington Redskins, No. 32
- There was a lot of bad quarterbacks this year, obviously. To Harrington’s credit, he’s moderately entertaining on Fox Sports Radio. Green’s career was at times promising, but then his girlfriend stabbed him in the back, literally.

2003
Charles Rogers, WR, Detroit Lions, No. 2
Dewayne Robertson, DT, New York Jets, No. 4
Jimmy Kennedy, DT, St. Louis Rams, No. 12
Michael Haynes, DE, Chicago Bears, No. 14
Jerome McDougle, DE, Philadelphia Eagles, No. 15
Kyle Boller, QB, Baltimore Ravens, No. 19
William Joseph, DT, New York Giants, No. 25
Andre Woolfork, DB, Tennessee Titans, No. 28
Sammy Davis, DB, San Diego Chargers, No. 30
- This might be the bustiest first round ever. So many defensive linemen in there. Oh, and now I’m reliving the terrible Chris Berman Sammy Davis Jr. impression. Ugh.

2004
Robert Gallery, T, Oakland Raiders, No. 3
Vernon Carey, G, Miami Dolphins, No. 19
J.P. Losman, QB, Buffalo Bills, No. 22
Ahmad Carroll, CB, Green Bay Packers, No. 25
Jason Babin, DE, Houston Texans, No. 27
Rashaun Woods, WR, San Francisco 49ers, No. 31
- Carroll and Woods might be my favorite busts of all time. They were so good in college that there was no way they could fail. But their professional failure can’t be blamed on injury or poor coaching. They got to the NFL and stunk it up. It seemed like Carroll held every play and Woods did the exact opposite. Well, at least with the football anyway. Zing.

2005
Mike Williams, WR, Detroit Lions, No. 10
Travis Johnson, DL, Houston Texans, No. 15
Chris Spencer, C, Seattle Seahawks, No. 26
- This class was moderately weak on the busts. Alex Smith and Cedric Benson are busts on the rebound. Pacman Jones was decent when he wasn’t in jail. Injuries ruined the career of pass rushers Erasmus James and David Pollack.

2006
Donte Whitner, S, Buffalo Bills, No. 8
Tye Hill, CB, St. Louis Rams, No. 15
Bobby Carpenter, LB, Dallas Cowboys, No. 18
John McCargo, DT, Buffalo Bills, No. 26
Marcedes Lewis, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars, No. 28
- I’m not sure I consider Reggie Bush a bust just yet. He was miscast. In the right situations, he can be very good. Not the rest of these guys listed, though. And sure, Matt Leinart hasn’t looked good, but he hasn’t had a great chance. For Buffalo this may be the draft that singlehandedly ruined the franchise.

2007
JaMarcus Russell, QB, Oakland Raiders, No. 1
Jamaal Anderson, DE, Atlanta Falcons, No. 8
Jarvis Moss, DE, Denver Broncos, No. 17
Craig Davis, WR, San Diego Chargers, No. 30
- Look at that, more defensive linemen. It seemed like a lifetime before Anderson got his first career sack in his second season. How bad is Moss? He nearly quit football after being moved to linebacker this past offseason.

2008
Vernon Gholston, DE, New York Jets, No. 6
- It’s too early to judge most of these players. Not Gholston, though. He’s been pretty bad. I didn’t include 2009. Yet. Andre Smith, I’m looking at you.