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.
Vinny Testaverde, 1987, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Testaverde appeared to be a can’t-miss prospect while playing at the University of Miami during its heyday. The Bucs took Testaverde, believing he could turn around a hapless franchise.
But that never came close to happening. Testaverde had the misfortune of playing on some terrible teams. He never had a 60-percent completion rate with the Bucs. He also had the misfortune of having it publicly revealed that he was color blind. That led to numerous jokes.
Testaverde threw more interceptions than touchdowns in every season he spent with the Bucs. He had a whopping 35 interceptions in 1988. Testaverde later vindicated himself in a career that included stops with the Browns, Ravens, Jets, Cowboys, Patriots and Panthers. His career stats appear respectable because he played 21 seasons.
But the one stat you can’t ignore is that Testaverde lost a league-record 123 games as a starter.
Final analysis: Bad pick.