NFL Draft 2025: Who Is the Worst No.1 Draft Pick in NFL History

The NFL Draft is often viewed as a pivotal moment, providing a new beginning for struggling teams and fostering the emergence of future legends. But occasionally, that first overall pick becomes less about hope and more about heartbreak. For all the Hall of Famers who’ve gone first overall, there’s a long list of players who never came close to meeting the hype. Let’s rewind the tape and look at the worst No. 1 draft picks in NFL history, with one athlete standing head and shoulders above the rest—for all the wrong reasons.

Who have been the worst top No. 1 picks in NFL Draft history?

When you bring up NFL draft busts, it doesn’t take long before JaMarcus Russell’s name gets dropped. The Oakland Raiders made him the No. 1 pick in 2007 after a standout season at LSU and a rocket arm that wowed scouts. However, his career quickly unraveled once he entered the league. Issues? Countless. Attitude issues, failure to devote time to training. On top of that, Russell couldn’t keep his weight in check. That’s not all. His off-field life also became a source of concern for the Raiders. Result? A super bust for a guy who went No. 1 in the draft.

However, he wasn’t the sole individual to fail at the top of the draft board. One team has a history of messing up top picks. Their current roster has a quarterback they acquired with draft capital and offered him generational money. That trajectory of bad decisions goes way back for the Cleveland Browns. Two back-to-back No. 1 picks. In 1999, the Browns picked Tim Couch. They followed it with Courtney Brown in 2000. Both busts.

We have more teams in the list. The Bengals drafted Ki-Jana Carter in 1995. It didn’t go as well as they’d hoped. Similarly, for the Colts in 1993, when they picked Steve Emtman. When looking back at these picks, the pattern is clear: immense hype, early setbacks, and careers that never recovered.

Why is JaMarcus Russell considered the worst No.1 NFL Draft pick statistically?

There are busts—and then there’s JaMarcus Russell. Statistically, his numbers are brutal. He completed just 52.1% of his passes, threw more interceptions than touchdowns, and had a dismal 7–18 record as a starter. However, the numbers only provide a partial picture. What separates Russell from the rest is the scale of the investment versus the return. The Raiders handed him a whopping $61 million rookie deal, with $32 million guaranteed. He held out in a contract dispute and missed critical preseason reps, then never showed signs of developing into a capable starter.

Reports of his poor work ethic began to pile up, including the now-infamous story of him being handed blank game tapes to test his film study habits—and later claiming he’d watched them. By the time he was released in 2010, his time in the NFL had turned into a punchline. His 2010 arrest only added to the chaos. The bottom line? No other No.1 pick crashed harder, faster, or cost more with so little return.