We’re less than a week out from the 2025 NFL Draft. On April 24, the Tennessee Titans are poised to make their first No. 1 pick in decades to kick off the three-day event in Green Bay, Wis.
Holding the No. 1 overall pick gives a team all of the power in the most critical round of the draft. Round 1 features the majority of the future stars and All-Pros at their positions. There are some exceptions, but more often than not it’s the players selected in the first 32 picks who make the difference in the long term.
That can go in the right direction for some teams. Cincinnati’s hardly complaining with 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow at quarterback. That position has been the standard for No. 1 overall picks in recent years. Eight of the last 10 top overall picks have been quarterbacks.
However, not all No. 1 picks are created equal. Some may have not panned out for reasons or paled in comparison to other players taken in the first round. Some just never quite lived up to the hype.
That’s who we’re discussing today. Here are the 10 worst No. 1 overall picks in the NFL draft since 2000:
Worst No. 1 overall picks in NFL draft since 2000
10. DE Travon Walker (2022)
Walker’s been an impactful player for the Jaguars over the last two seasons with 20.5 total sacks in that time span. He’s developing into a difference-maker off the edge for Jacksonville opposite Josh Hines-Allen.
The problem for Jacksonville is the No. 2 overall pick in the class, Aidan Hutchinson, has been far more productive and impactful so far at the same position. Hutchinson missed 12 games in 2024 but still has more career sacks (28.5) than Walker (24). This could end up looking foolish in a few years as Walker potentially continues his ascent but for now is one of the 10 worst picks.
9. QB Bryce Young (2023)
Young is lower on this list because of how early it is and his turnaround in the second half of 2024. If he can keep that up, things will look up for the former Heisman Trophy winner. Things were rough to start as he went 2-16 as a starter over his first 18 games. After being benched, Young came back in and went 4-6 as a starter to close the season. That’s still not ideal but an improvement from what was seen up until that point.
What hurts Young is how good the other top quarterback in the class, C.J. Stroud, has looked already. He’s led Houston to consecutive division titles and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year. The two will be linked forever after going 1-2 in the 2023 draft.
8. QB Baker Mayfield (2018)
Mayfield’s done a lot to recover his standing in the league since signing with the Buccaneers in 2023. He’s been a reliable starter and made his second consecutive Pro Bowl in 2024. He was a highly touted prospect coming into the draft after winning the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and had some good returns early. He set the record for touchdowns by a rookie quarterback in 2018. Two years later, he quarterbacked the Browns to their first playoff win since 1994.
But what hurts him in this exercise is the talent that went after him in the 2018 NFL Draft. Two other quarterbacks in the first round – Josh Allen (No. 7) and Lamar Jackson (No. 32) – have combined for three MVPs and are considered in the top five of the position league-wide. It’s hard to get past that in retrospect.
7. DE Jadeveon Clowney (2014)
Clowney has had a solid career and is still a productive player off the edge more than a decade after being the No. 1 overall pick to Houston. The college phenom was expected to be a force given his elite mix of size and athleticism. NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks called Clowney a ‘meaner, nastier version of Julius Peppers.’
That’s high praise, and Clowney has had a solid career. He’s made three Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro in 2016. He dealt with injuries early on in his career and has still never tallied double-digit sacks in a season. He’s at 58 for his career entering 2025.
Despite that solid track record, Clowney’s on this list because of the other talent in the 2014 NFL draft. Future Hall of Famers Aaron Donald (No. 13) and Zack Martin (No. 16) went in the first round. No. 5 overall pick Khalil Mack has nearly double Clowney’s sack total and a Defensive Player of the Year award.
6. OT Eric Fisher (2013)
The 2013 NFL Draft didn’t have many standout talents in the first round. The best player in the class was third-round pick Travis Kelce, making this class look a little rosier for Chiefs fans in hindsight.
Analysts pointed to the decision at No. 1 being between Fisher and fellow tackle Luke Joeckel. Fisher ended up being the right choice as he played longer and started 132 games for the Chiefs and Colts. He was reliable and made two Pro Bowls, in 2018 and 2020.
What makes this pick look worse in hindsight is future Hall of Fame tackle Lane Johnson who went No. 4 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.
5. QB Jameis Winston (2015)
Winston racked up accolades at Florida State, including the Heisman Trophy in 2013. He was considered a Pro Bowl talent right away with his mix of elite traits at prototypical size for the position.
Winston went 28-42 as a starter with the Buccaneers as a productive but inconsistent passer. In 2019, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30 or more touchdowns and 30 or more interceptions. Tampa Bay let him go in 2020, signed Tom Brady and immediately won a Super Bowl. Since then, Winston’s had stops in New Orleans and Cleveland and gone 8-9 as a starter.
Tampa Bay went with Winston, who was the best quarterback in a down year for the position, in a relatively weak class. The best players from the 2015 draft were late-round picks Danielle Hunter (third round, No. 88 overall) and Stefon Diggs (fifth round, No. 146). The best first-round picks were Amari Cooper (No. 4), Leonard Williams (No. 6) and Marcus Peters (No. 18). Only Peters made more than one All-Pro team.
4. QB Sam Bradford (2010)
Bradford was a highly-touted prospect in 2010 with a Heisman Trophy award in 2008 behind a record-setting year at Oklahoma. He backed those expectations by winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2010.
But after that, Bradford struggled with injuries. He missed most of the 2013 season and all of 2014 with knee injuries. He led the league in completion percentage in 2016 with the Vikings but never stuck as a long-term starter at any of his stops in the NFL.
Bradford ended up as the best quarterback in the class, but there were some All-Pro and future Hall of Fame talents in the class that the Rams missed out on. Trent Williams went No. 4 overall to Washington and is still playing at a high level. Ndamukong Suh was a three-time All-Pro at the No. 2 overall pick. Earl Thomas, the No. 14 overall pick, was the linchpin of the best defenses of the 2010s in Seattle.
3. QB David Carr (2002)
The expansion Houston Texans made Carr their first draft pick in franchise history, but he wasn’t set up for early success. The Fresno State star was sacked 76 times in 16 games as a rookie, a record that stands more than 20 years later. Things didn’t improve with time; Carr was the most-sacked quarterback in three of his first four NFL seasons.
His best season came in 2006 when he led the Texans to a 6-10 record with a league-high 68.3% completion percentage. After that, he was a backup at multiple stops, winning a Super Bowl with the Giants in 2012 as a backup.
The downside to this pick is that the No. 2 selection in the draft was a future Hall of Fame defensive end, Julius Peppers. Additionally, down the board in Round 1 you also had Hall of Famer Ed Reed (No. 24) and star defensive end Dwight Freeney (No. 11). There weren’t any good quarterbacks in the class but plenty of pieces to build around.
2. DE Courtney Brown (2000)
The NFL kicked off the new millennia with a relatively down draft. The top seven picks in the 2000 draft were out of the league by 2010. Brown lasted six years in the league and played a full season just once as he was plagued by injuries throughout his time in Cleveland. He had a career-high six sacks in 2003 but that was the height of his production.
Down the board, No. 9 overall pick Brian Urlacher stands out as the best first-round pick that year. He’s the lone Hall of Fame player from that draft class at the moment but that will change with time; Tom Brady is a lock for Canton once he’s eligible.
1. QB JaMarcus Russell (2007)
Russell’s often considered the worst No. 1 overall pick of all time, not just in the last 25 years. The then-Oakland Raiders spent the first overall pick on the LSU passer who was considered a physical marvel at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds with a rocket arm and elite athleticism for that size.
He played one full season as a starter in 2008 and went 5-10. He started 25 games over three years and went 7-18. He was benched mid-season in 2009 and ended the year last in most statistics among qualifying quarterbacks.
What makes this pick especially tough is how great the players taken after Russell at No. 1 panned out in the NFL. The following two players selected after him – Calvin Johnson at No. 2 and Joe Thomas at No. 3 – both are in the Hall of Fame. Adrian Peterson (No. 7) is likely heading there as soon as he’s eligible. Even farther down the board, Patrick Willis (No. 11) and Darrelle Revis (No. 14) are enshrined in Canton.
