Throughout the history of the NFL, there have been countless examples of teams using a high draft pick on a quarterback, only for that young signal-caller to fizzle out and be regarded as a bust.
Former player Ryan Leaf is very familiar with the term “draft bust” as that is something that typically comes up whenever there is a discussion about his tenure in the NFL.
Leaf was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, and he was out of the league by 2002.
Recently, Leaf revealed who he believes is the greatest NFL draft bust of all time (via Dan Patrick Show on Twitter).
“There’s no more ‘Who’s the biggest bust of all-time?’ You don’t have to drag any of the names in there anymore, alright. Let’s just say it’s me, okay? From now on.”
Is @RyanDLeaf the greatest NFL bust of all-time?
He thinks so 😂 pic.twitter.com/Y16tgoo8sk
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 8, 2024
Declaring himself as the biggest draft bust of all time is certainly something.
First off, he’s likely not wrong.
Other players can be argued for the infamous title including guys like JaMarcus Russell, Akili Smith, David Carr, and Steve Emtman.
But it would probably be hard to find anyone who is really against Leaf naming himself as the biggest bust in the history of the NFL Draft.
During his time in the league, he started 21 games, and in those 21 starts, his teams had a combined record of 4-17.
In his NFL career, he completed 48.4 percent of his passes, averaged less than 150 passing yards per game, threw 36 interceptions, and only tossed total of 14 touchdown passes.
Leaf’s comments are also incredibly self-aware.
Professional athletes are widely regarded as some of the most overconfident people around, so Leaf being truthful enough to himself to know that he was one of the worst draft picks in the history of the NFL is something that doesn’t happen very often.
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