The Panthers shocked the NFL world this week when head coach Dave Canales announced they were benching 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.
Young hasn’t had a great start to his NFL career, but the team around him in Carolina isn’t helping much. The 23-year-old is 2-16 as a starter, has completed just 55.4 percent of his passes and has more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11).
With the Panthers 0-2 to start the 2024 season and Young throwing for fewer than 300 yards with three interceptions and zero touchdowns in that span, Carolina is handing the keys to veteran quarterback Andy Dalton.
The decision to bench Young sparked a conversation about the biggest failures by No. 1 overall picks in NFL history.
THE Jugo Mobile below ranks the worst top-tier selections of the past 30 years.
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Ranking the worst first-round NFL draft picks of the past 30 years
1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, 2007
Team: Oakland Raiders
Statistics: Three seasons — 52.1% completion rate, 131.7 passing yards per game, 18 TD, 23 INT
Missed stars on: WR Calvin Johnson (No. 2), OT Joe Thomas (No. 3), LB Patrick Willis (No. 11), CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14)
Whether it’s the biggest first-round bust of the last 30 years or of all time, Russell will end up somewhere near the top of the list. The Raiders blew it in 2007 when they drafted Russell, who lasted just three seasons and went 7-18 as an NFL starter.
He was slotted behind veterans Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown as a rookie and had a brief breakout as a starter in his second year, but it all went downhill from there. In his final season, he completed less than half of his pass attempts and threw 11 interceptions for three touchdowns before being benched for good.
2. Ki-Jana Carter, RB, 1995
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Statistics: Seven seasons — 19.4 rushing yards per game, 20 rushing touchdowns, 7.9 receiving yards per game, 1 receiving touchdown
Missed stars on: OT Tony Boselli (No. 2), QB Steve McNair (No. 3), DT Warren Sapp (No. 12), CB Ty Law (No. 23), LB Derrick Brooks (No. 28), Curtis Martin (No. 74), Terrell Davis (No. 196)
Carter tore a knee ligament in his first NFL preseason game and missed his entire rookie season. He was never the same after that injury. The Penn State star never rushed for more than 500 yards in a single season at any point in his career, but still managed to last seven years in the league.
The fact that Hall of Fame RBs Curtis Martin and Terrell Davis were drafted much later in the 1995 draft doesn’t help his “bust” case.
3. Courtney Brown, DE, 2000
Team: Cleveland Browns
Statistics: Six seasons — 19.0 sacks, 196 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss
Missed stars on: RB Jamal Lewis (No. 5), LB Brian Urlacher (No. 9), DE John Abraham (No. 13), RB Shaun Alexander (No. 19), Tom Brady (No. 199)
Brown’s career was also hampered by injuries, including ankle and knee injuries, that limited his speed and athleticism, which were recognized for his size. He still had 17 sacks in his first four seasons in Cleveland, but Brown never lived up to his status as a first-round pick.
With Brian Urlacher still in the mix, the Browns would have certainly liked to have a chance to do it again. If they could have seen the future, that Tom Brady guy in the sixth round could have solved decades of quarterback problems, too.
4. Tim Couch, QB, 1999
Team: Cleveland Browns
Statistics: Five seasons — 59.8% completion, 179.5 yards per game, 64 TD, 67 INT
Missed stars on: QB Donovan McNabb (No. 2), RB Edgerrin James (No. 4), RB Ricky Williams (No. 5), WR Torrey Holt (No. 6), CB Champ Bailey (No. 7), QB Daunte Culpepper (No. No. 11), OF Jevon Kearse (No. 16)
Cleveland passed up on Couch with the first pick the year before passing up on Brown.
Couch’s decision immediately backfired. Donovan McNabb joined the Eagles with the next pick and helped turn Philadelphia into a Super Bowl contender. Couch went 2-12 as a rookie and had only one season above .500. He finished with more interceptions than touchdowns in his career.
5. David Carr, QB, 2002
Team: Houston Texans
Statistics: 10 seasons — 59.7% completion rate, 153.7 yards per game, 65 TD, 71 INT
Missed stars on: DE Julius Peppers (No. 2), DE Dwight Freeney (No. 11), DB Ed Reed (No. 24)
To be fair, Carr was doomed from the start. The first overall pick was sacked 76 times as a rookie, which remains the most sacks in a single season in NFL history. He was the NFL’s most sacked quarterback in three of his first four seasons.
Even while running for his life, Carr still had some good moments. He threw for 14,452 yards in his career and led the NFL with a 68.3 percent completion rate in 2006. Still, his overall body of work was far more bad than good.
6. Bryce Young, QB, 2023
Team: Carolina Panthers
Statistics: Two seasons — 59.3% completion, 173.4 yards per game, 11 TD, 13 INT
Missed stars on: QB CJ Stroud (No. 2), LB Will Anderson Jr. (No. 3), QB Anthony Richardson (No. 4), DB Devon Witherspoon (No. 5), RB Bijan Robinson (No. 8), RB Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12), WR Zay Flowers (No. 22), TE Sam LaPorta (No. 34)
It’s certainly premature to place Young that high, but on his current trajectory, he could end up even closer to the top.
The second-year quarterback has already been benched after going 2-16 in his first 18 career starts. He has more interceptions than touchdowns in his career, but it’s fair to say that Carolina hasn’t set him up for success either.
Young being taken No. 1 overall also seems worse, as the Panthers gave up a historically poor haul to the Bears for a trade higher in the draft. Plus, AP Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud went to the Texans with the next pick.
7. Dan Wilkinson, DT, 1994
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Statistics: 13 seasons — 54.5 sacks, 390 total tackles, 39 tackles for loss
Missed stars on: RB Marshall Faulk (No. 2), DE Willie McGinest (No. 4), DT Bryant Young (No. 7), WR Isaac Bruce (No. 33), C Kevin Mawae (No. 36), G Larry Allen (No. ° 46)
Wilkinson’s “failure” argument rests on the fact that he had five future Hall of Famers drafted after him, one of whom (Bryant Young) played the same position.
“Big Daddy” played over a decade in the league and had 54.5 career sacks. That would be a pretty good run in the NFL, but being the No. 1 overall pick puts his career in a different light.
8. Sam Bradford, QB, 2010
Team: The St. Louis Rams
Statistics: Eight seasons — 62.5% completion, 234.3 yards per game, 103 TD, 61 INT
Missed stars on: DT Ndamukong Suh (No. 2), OT Trent Williams (No. 4), S Earl Thomas (No. 14), C Maurkice Pouncey (No. 18), TE Rob Gronkowski (No. 42)
Bradford got off to a solid start to his career, winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after throwing for 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. But things didn’t get much better after that.
He finished under .500 in his first four seasons before the Rams ultimately traded their first-round pick. He also played as a starter with the Eagles and Vikings, but became a backup after six seasons in the league.
9. Jameis Winston, QB, 2015
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Statistics: Nine seasons — 61.2% completion, 237.7 yards per game, 141 TD, 99 INT
Missed stars on: WR Amari Cooper (No. 4), RB Todd Gurley (No. 10), CB Marcus Peters (No. 18)
Winston has been a polarizing quarterback from day one in the NFL. He’s put up monstrous numbers at different points in his career, throwing for over 4,000 yards twice and over 5,000 yards once. He led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and threw 33 touchdowns in 2019, but he also led the league with 30 interceptions.
Winston batted below .500 in four of his first five years as a starter in Tampa Bay before settling into a backup role. He’s still a reliable QB2 to this day, but that’s not what you’d expect from a No. 1 overall pick.
10. Trevor Lawrence, QB, 2021
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Statistics: Four seasons — 63.4% completion, 233.7 yards per game, 59 TD, 39 INT
Missed stars on: WR Ja’Marr Chase (No. 5), OT Penei Sewell (No. 7), CB Patrick Surtain II (No. 9), DE Micah Parsons (No. 12), WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (No. 112 )
Let’s call a spade a spade: Lawrence hasn’t been the generational quarterback he was promised to be for three full seasons of his NFL career. He found himself in a disastrous situation as a rookie and bounced back once the Jaguars fired Urban Meyer.
He led Jacksonville to the AFC South title with a 9-8 record in 2022, throwing for 4,113 yards with 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He even earned his first career playoff victory that season, but faced with high expectations in Year 3, Lawrence’s Jaguars backtracked.
They finished 9-8 again but missed the playoffs after a 1-5 finish, and they’re on pace to start 2024 with an 0-2 record. Lawrence has now lost his last seven starts.
It works in Lawrence’s favor that every quarterback drafted after him — Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones — has fallen short, but he’s starting to feel the pressure for underachieving so far.
The real question is whether Lawrence is really more of a failure than Baker Mayfield — who was already on his fourth team at age 28 — or Kyler Murray — who has one fewer playoff win.
There are arguments for all three. Murray has the most Pro Bowls (2) and one Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Mayfield has the most playoff wins (2) and the same number of Pro Bowls (1) as Lawrence. Lawrence has a miraculous 27-point comeback in the playoffs and had the best individual year in terms of passing yards (4,113 in 2022) despite playing the fewest seasons.
Ultimately, Lawrence’s winning percentage as a starter was the deciding factor. Jacksonville’s franchise quarterback is just 20-32 (.385) in his young career. While it’s certainly not entirely his fault, he hasn’t done much to consistently motivate the players around him. Mayfield (42-46, .477) and Murray (29-37-1, .440) have fared better despite initially finding themselves in similar dysfunctional situations.
The good news for all three—as well as Young and even Winston—is that they still have plenty of time to change their legacies and disappear from this list altogether in the near future.
