Is JaMarcus Russell the WORST 1st round draft pick ever?

No, I definitely think Leaf is still worse. I don't think there was as much hype surrounding Russell as there was Leaf. I mean, remember the flack the Colts took for taking Manning over Leaf? All the experts could talk about was what a mistake it was to pass up Leaf and that it would be the worst move the Colts ever made. I don't think as much was expected out of Russell and at least some people were shocked the Raiders took him so high.

So far, Leaf is still winning both because he was a colossal failure and because so much more was expected of him.

No way, it would definitely be either Jamarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf. They were both taken first overall and there were very high hopes for them. Ryan Leaf was taken one pick before Peyton Manning. Gholston was the sixth pick and in a less important position. While he was a huge draft bust, he isn't really all that close to being the biggest bust. Both Russell and Leaf both had huge salaries and gholston didn't. There is also still time for him to man up and become the player that the Jets expected or at least a valuable contributer on defense. Look at Darren Mcfadden, everyone considered him a bust up until he had an amazing year this year.

No but he has to be in the Top 10 of all time.

What's amazing is that I am an avid LSU fan and watched Russell play at Tiger Stadium along with a few road games. I saw a quarterback with an amazing arm but who had trouble reading defenses and pulling the trigger until it was too late. Sometimes I wonder about scouts because I would have projected Jamarcus as a fifth round pick because the window of opportunity is short-lived at the pro level and he had trouble with it at the college level. Go figure.

Diego pretty much summed it up - Ryan Leaf is in a class of his own.

However, if you're looking for the worst 1st overall pick..

He's definitely up there. Steve Emtman (a DE chosen by the Colts way back in 1992) may be even worse than Jamarcus though - the guy was a bum (8 career sacks) and washed out of the league in 5 years, starting only 19 games in his career.

The worst ever though? I think that goes to Ki-Jana Carter.... man was he bad. 2.9 ypc his rookie season, and he finished his career with a 3.6 ypc average. He never had a season with over 500 rushing yards. 14 starts in 7 years... as a former #1 overall pick.... you can't get much worse than that.

An honorable mention goes to Bo Jackson though - not because he was bad, but because the Bucs drafted him 1st overall in 1986, and he refused to sign with the team! So they wasted the first overall pick on nothing... Sadly, not sure if that would be better or worse than Jamarcus Russell.

Ryan Leaf was definitely much more disappointing. Plus JaMarcus Russell has the added bonus of now being able to provide depth at the guard and defensive tackle positions.

People who think that Russell is worse that Leaf probably never saw Leaf.

Leaf set the bar too high for the biggest draft bust.

Russell didn't fake an injury to skip a practice and play golf, Leaf did.

Russell didn't play flag football while recovering from any of his injury, Leaf did.

Russell never had a game with more turnovers than yards, Leaf did (his third start ever vs KC).

Russell has never gotten in trouble with the law, Leaf has.

And overall, Russell has almost twice more wins than Leaf.

Other first rounders worse than Russell:

- Lawrence Phillips, enough said.

- Tony Mandarich, the only one who comes close to Leaf.

- Akili Smith, he could not even win the starting job despite going 3rd overall.

Ryan Leaf had worse stats, but he wasn't the 1st overall pick. As far as the entire 1st round, no. Some guys drafted in the first round don't even make the team.

Russell has pulled out at least a few good plays so far, Leaf was bad from his first snap to his last!!

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While JaMarcus Russell may be the worst 1st overall pick in the draft, I still think R Jay Soward is probably the worst 1st round pick ever in the NFL, since he only lasted his rookie year (2000) in the NFL.

Leaf is worse. He had zero production in his time with the Chargers. Russell has pulled out at least a few good plays so far, Leaf was bad from his first snap to his last!!

Other bad 1st rounders were Akili Smith and Tim Couch (#1 overall)