Ranking Biggest NFL Draft Mistakes of the Past 10 Years

While the reality of the NFL draft is few players ever become superstars, teams aren't graded on a star/bust scale. The main objectives are to find steady contributors and avoid completely whiffing on a pick.

The latter, however, is inevitable.

Once in a while, a selection will haunt a franchise and its fanbase. The mere mention of a player—Johnny Manziel or Mitch Trubisky, for example—conjures up all sorts of unpleasant memories for supporters of the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears, respectively.

The choices are subjective but weigh a player's career production and team impact compared to his draft slot and potential alternatives who were ranked similarly.

Kevin White showed immense potential at West Virginia, racking up 109 receptions for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final season. His ability to grab contested catches made him a high-end prospect.

But that production never happened on the Chicago Bears.

White, the seventh pick of the 2015 draft, played in 14 of the 64 possible games with the Bears because of shoulder and multiple leg injuries. He pulled in just 25 passes for 285 yards and zero touchdowns during those scattered appearances before Chicago declined his fifth-year option.

Although his career isn't officially over—White logged 131 snaps for the New Orleans Saints in 2022—the initial hopes of White becoming a dominant wideout are long gone.

Two years later, the Cincinnati Bengals understandably fell in love with John Ross III and his electrifying speed.

Ross dazzled at Washington, catching 17 touchdowns in 2016 while returning four kickoffs for scores in his career. He followed that up with a 4.22-second 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine.

Cincinnati landed him ninth overall, but Ross literally struggled from the start. He fumbled on his first career touch and spent most of the year as a healthy scratch. Ross flashed his potential in 2018 and 2019, but injuries stained those seasons and the 2020 campaign.

Ross played in 27 of the possible 64 games with the Bengals before they declined his fifth-year option. He totaled 51 catches for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns in his four seasons.

Similar to White, Ross remains an active player but is basically just aiming to hold down a roster spot.

Dion Jordan was an expensive whiff for the Miami Dolphins.

Miami traded its 2013 first- and second-round picks to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for the third overall selection. The well-founded intent ended up turning into a disaster.

Jordan appeared in just 26 games with the Fins, collecting only three sacks and seven quarterback hits. He missed six games in 2014 and the entire 2015 season for violations of the league's substance abuse policy, and a knee injury sidelined Jordan for all of 2016.

Miami released Jordan after he failed a physical in the following offseason, ending the unsuccessful run.

Worse yet for Miami, the tackle-needy Dolphins passed on Oklahoma blocker Lane Johnson. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles one pick later and has since assembled a stellar career with three AP All-Pro honors.

Justin Gilbert looked like a potential superstar. During his last season at Oklahoma State, he was a finalist for the Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back and returned six kickoffs for touchdowns.

Who wouldn't want that brand of versatility?

Logically, the Cleveland Browns snagged him eighth overall. But their visions of Gilbert becoming a long-term contributor went unrealized; his physical tools and skill set never matched his NFL performance.

Gilbert managed 39 tackles and one interception in 23 games with Cleveland, before the team sent him to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 2016 trade. He spent one season with the Steelers before they released him, and Gilbert never returned to the NFL after serving a one-year suspension for violating the substance abuse policy in 2017.

I like kickers. They are underappreciated despite being the difference between a handful of wins and losses each season.

But they are not worth a second-round pick.

Roberto Aguayo had an incredible career at Florida State, hitting 88.5 percent of his field goals with a 46-of-46 mark inside of 40 yards. He also buried all 198 extra points.

As the 59th selection rolled around, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers believed they could not afford to wait anymore. They packaged a third- and fourth-round choice in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Tampa certainly didn't envision cutting Aguayo after one year.

Nevertheless, he went 22-of-31 on field goals as a rookie—missing eight kicks between 30-49 yards. After he struggled in the 2017 preseason, the Bucs released Aguayo. He didn't play another regular-season game.

Not a great year for Cleveland.

After selecting Gilbert eighth overall, the Browns traded up to snag Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick. On paper, the organization filled a massive need on both sides of the ball.

Neither player worked out, though. Manziel dealt with a variety of setbacks—some self-inflicted, others from injuries—while reportedly failing to adjust to the demand of being an NFL quarterback. The situation in Cleveland wasn't great, but he didn't help matters, either.

Manziel threw 258 passes in 14 appearances (eight starts), averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Cleveland released him after the 2015 season.

It's pretty difficult to butcher the process worse than the Chicago Bears did with Mitch Trubisky.

First, they signed Mike Glennon to an expensive contract in free agency. Then, they traded a first-rounder, two third-rounders and a fourth-rounder to move up one spot. That combination of moves felt like an absence of a confident plan.

Trubisky didn't land in an ideal situation, given John Fox's terrible handling of the position. Chicago replaced Fox with Matt Nagy, who seemingly never developed a trusting relationship with his quarterback—and, hey, maybe vice versa. No matter the largest factors, the obvious takeaway is Nagy and Trubisky weren't a good match for each other.

In four seasons, Trubisky started 50 games and averaged a meager 6.7 yards per attempt.

The most crushing part is Chicago passed on Patrick Mahomes. While it's impossible to say the Bears would've won—or would ever win—a Super Bowl with him, the difference in talent is simply undeniable.