The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will likely draft Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota with the No. 1 overall pick. So how does this type of thing usually work out? We continue our countdown of the 18 quarterbacks who were drafted with the top selection over the past 40 years.
JaMarcus Russell, 2007, Oakland Raiders
Russell is the standard by which all quarterback busts are measured by. Russell came out of LSU with great pedigree. He went 21-4 as a college starter and looked like one of the most athletic quarterbacks ever.
But the signs of trouble started almost immediately. Russell held out of training camp in a contract dispute and didn’t sign until the first week of the regular season. He signed a six-year contract that could have been worth up to $68 million, and coach Lane Kiffin decided to bring Russell along slowly. He didn’t play until December of his rookie year.
Russell began the 2008 season as the starter and had a few bright moments. But things started going drastically bad in 2009. By midseason, Russell lost the starting job to Bruce Gradkowski. Charlie Frye later took over as the starter.
In the 2010 offseason, there were reports that Russell let his weight go as high as 300 pounds. He was released that May. Russell never again played in the NFL.
Final analysis: Waste of a pick.