Top 10 Biggest WR Busts of All Time

[Hellwig]

10. Desmond Howard, 1992
First round, fourth pick, Washington

9. Troy Edwards, 1999
First round, 13th pick, Pittsburgh

8. Anthony Hancock, 1982
First round, 11th pick, Kansas City

7. Larry Burton, 1975
First round, seventh pick, New Orleans

6. Kenny Jackson, 1984
First round, fourth pick, Philadelphia

5. Koren Robinson, 2001
First round, ninth pick, Seattle

4. David Terrell, 2001
First round, eighth pick, Chicago

3. Peter Warrick, 2000
First round, fourth pick, Cincinnati

2. Johnny "Lam" Jones, 1980
First round, second pick, N.Y. Jets

1. Charles Rogers, 2003
First round, second pick, Detroit

Link

Those are a lot of busts that were big names at the time. And that only covers the first half of Round 1. I am sure you could come up with a nice list of late first round busts too. This years WR core is really deep which leads to a lot of high expectations. Last year the first WR taken off the board was at number 26 and that was Santonio Holmes and he was the only one in the first round and one of four in the first two rounds. This year as many as six could go in the first round and around 10 or 11 could be taken by the end of the second round.

So my question is where does WR rank among the riskiest positions to draft?

[BravesRule22]

Its still 3rd to me behind QB and then RB

I dont really think Koren Robinson deserves to be that high on that list but other than him the list seems to be about right. Rogers was a shame, couldnt overcome off the field issues, the kid had all the talent in the world. Could and should have been another Randy Moss ( Early Minny years )

[BMW]

I think Charles Rogers is WAY too high on that list, as he had a great start to his rookie year until he got hurt and things went down from there. Whereas guys like Peter Warrick and David Terrell just weren't that good.

[DiamondDave]

Agreed... Warrick was a true bust... Rogers was/is a possible bust because of injury... 2 completely different things in terms of ranking a 'bust'

[Hellwig]

I can easily see Mike Williams being added to that list in the very near future. Yatil Green had a pretty disappointing career. I would probably also take Koren Robinson off the list; I think he still has a chance to help out a team. Desmond being on the list is also questionable for me since he was a pretty good returner.

[all4phillysportsfan]

Freddy Mitchell

[BMW]

Yeah, although Desmond Howard wasn't a great receiver...he did win a Super Bowl MVP...hard to say someone who did that was a complete bust with some of the other guys around the league....Yatil Green, Freddy Mitchell, Peter Warrick, Tory Edwards, David Terrell....

[John F]

I concur that Howard is a questionable listing (with thanks to his SB MVP nod). Did he have a prolific NFL career? No. But he did make his contribution to the game and it was a notable/memorable one.

[BMW]

Sean Dawkins
Charles Johnson
Thomas Lewis
Michael Westbrook
Eddie Kennison (simply because he was taken 1 pick before Marvin Harrison)
Yatil Green
Reidel Anthony
Kevin Dyson (5 picks before Moss)
Marcus Nash
Troy Edwards
Peter Warrick
Sylvester Morris
RJay Soward
David Terrell
Rod Gardner
Freddie Mitchell
Ashley Lelie
Charles Rogers
Bryant Johnson


All of these WRs were taken in the first round since 1993.

[John F]

Redeil Anthony was a but indeed. He had a few seasons of so-so play. I thought Ike Hilliard was going to have a similar career with a quick flameout but he's still around.

Didn't Dyson have an effect on the Titans though?

[JoseA]

Marcus Nash is still playing in the AFL by the way....I think he is on the Dallas team, he looked pretty good, but hey its no NFL!

[BMW]

Originally Posted by John F

Redeil Anthony was a but indeed. He had a few seasons of so-so play. I thought Ike Hilliard was going to have a similar career with a quick flameout but he's still around.

Didn't Dyson have an effect on the Titans though?

Yes, he did. But he was taken 5 picks before Randy Moss, and he only ever amounted to an average #2 WR. Shoot, Frank Wycheck often outperformed him from the TE spot.