I used to go to bed at night hoping somebody else like Heath Shuler might magically leapfrog me on those all-time bust lists. It never happened. Why? Because I am No. 1. I can't even think of anyone else in the ballpark that might be close to my combination of disappointment and failed expectations.''
-Ryan Leaf
As most NFL fans know Ryan Leaf has long been considered the biggest draft bust in NFL history, and honestly its pretty easy to see why. As the number two overall draft pick the expectations were extremely high. Not only did the Chargers sign Ryan Leaf to the largest signing bonus for a NFL rookie at the time ($11.25 million guaranteed) but Leaf himself only added to the hype and expectations with quotes like:
"I'm looking forward to a 15 year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego"
As we all know this was about as close to that dream as Leaf ever got, throughout a career marred by tantrums, "injuries" and contract disputes Leaf retired in 2002. During his brief career in the NFL, Leaf appeared in 25 games and made 21 starts. He completed 315 of 655 passes for 3,666 yards, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Leaf's career passer rating was 50.0, much lower than the 78.9 league average between 2000 and 2003. Clearly Leaf was meant for a very specific spot in NFL history.
Now enter the 2007 NFL draft. JaMarcus Russell declares he will skip his senior year of college to enter the NFL draft. Coming off a MVP performance in the Sugar Bowl Russell had a tons of hype coming into the draft. To no ones surprise the Raiders could not resist a fast but really inconsistent and unproven player. Russell held out most of training camp before signing a six year deal with 31 million guaranteed cash. Now with his release on May 6th the record will show that the Raiders spent the first pick in the draft on a player who provided them with 25 starts and completed 354 of 680 passes (52.1%) for 4,083 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Russell was sacked 70 times and fumbled 25 times. Career wise Leaf's number in San Diego were indeed worse than Russell's which may lead some people to believe that there is no way Russell could be a bigger bust. However Leaf was only on number two pick while Russell was the number one overall pick of the draft. There have been other bad quarterback picked number one overall but none as fantastically bad as Russell.
Now enter the 2007 NFL draft. JaMarcus Russell declares he will skip his senior year of college to enter the NFL draft. Coming off a MVP performance in the Sugar Bowl Russell had a tons of hype coming into the draft. To no ones surprise the Raiders could not resist a fast but really inconsistent and unproven player. Russell held out most of training camp before signing a six year deal with 31 million guaranteed cash. Now with his release on May 6th the record will show that the Raiders spent the first pick in the draft on a player who provided them with 25 starts and completed 354 of 680 passes (52.1%) for 4,083 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Russell was sacked 70 times and fumbled 25 times. Career wise Leaf's number in San Diego were indeed worse than Russell's which may lead some people to believe that there is no way Russell could be a bigger bust. However Leaf was only on number two pick while Russell was the number one overall pick of the draft. There have been other bad quarterback picked number one overall but none as fantastically bad as Russell.
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