1. Ryan Leaf – 2nd overall to Chargers in 1998:
At last, we’ve reached the mountaintop.
This quarterback is undoubtedly the biggest draft bust in NFL history. Yet there was a time when he was legitimately considered neck-to-neck with Peyton Manning for the first pick in the NFL draft. Yes, that Peyton Manning, the QB who became one of the greatest of all-time.
But Leaf did not. San Diego needed a new starter at quarterback and held the third pick in ’98. They traded the king’s ransom of the third pick, another first-round pick, a second-round pick, and Pro Bowl returner Eric Metcalf for the right to select Leaf second overall. It would not pay off. After he immediately irked some by showing up and yawning during his first press conference with the team following a night of partying, that proved to be a sign of things to come.
Leaf started nine games during his rookie season; completing 111 passes for 1,289 yards, two touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He then suffered a torn labrum 20 minutes into the Chargers’ first training camp workout and missed all of the 1999 season. He came back and actually had his best NFL season in 2000. But that didn’t mean much. He completed 161 passes for 1,883 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. The Chargers finished the season a pathetic 1-15 and cut Leaf in February 2001. The Tampa Bay Bucs signed him and attempted to bring him along slowly, but he required wrist surgery. He did resurface with Dallas in 2001, but the team lost all four games he appeared in.
After his career came to an end in 2001, Leaf soon became addicted to opioid painkillers. He has admitted the drugs ‘took his life to the very bottom.’ He ultimately did get sober and began working as a Program Ambassador for Transcend Recovery Community. Leaf now works as a college football analyst on TV. He seems to have turned his life around. But in terms of NFL success, he is undoubtedly the biggest bust in the NFL draft’s storied history.
