With The First Pick
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Who was the worst first overall pick in recent memory?

By Lou Scataglia

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 25: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after losing to the Green Bay Packers 24-22 at Lambeau Field on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 25: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after losing to the Green Bay Packers 24-22 at Lambeau Field on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft is a huge honor, but not all pan out. Who has been the worst first overall pick in recent memory?  In the modern day NFL, the first overall pick is usually a quarterback.

The quarterback of the team is obviously the most important position, and the team’s success usually rides or dies with the signal caller.  Being that the NFL has transformed itself a bit to be more of a quarterback-centric league, teams are constantly looking for the next elite one or are even dumping their old quarterbacks for another.

Other positions like edge rushers and offensive linemen are also sometimes taken with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.  In recent memory, who has been the worst first overall pick?

Recent memory obviously is not a set time, but I took a look back from 2010 on to determine who the worst first overall pick in recent memory has been.

Who was the worst first overall pick in recent memory?

From 2010 on, the top picks in each draft since then are as follows:

2010: Sam Bradford

2011: Cam Newton

2012: Andrew Luck

2013 Eric Fisher

2014: Jadaveon Clowney

2015: Jameis Winston

2016: Jared Goff

2017: Myles Garrett

2018: Baker Mayfield

2019: Kyler Murray

2020: Joe Burrow

2021: Trevor Lawrence

2022: Trayvon Walker

So, right off the bat, we can easily eliminate Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Eric Fisher, Jadaveon Clowney, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Travyon Walker.  I know Walker has just played one year, but it’s also way too early to tell.

So, that leaves us with Sam Bradford, Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, and Baker Mayfield.

Now, it’s just a comparison of the quarterbacks.  Right now, I’d feel comfortable eliminating Jared Goff, as he’s the best passer of this group, has been to a Super Bowl, and appears to be having a career resurgence with the Detroit Lions.

That’s left us with Sam Bradford, Jameis Winston, and Baker Mayfield.  

And it’s actually pretty neat how close these three are in terms of passing statistics.

Passing touchdowns:

Mayfield: 102

Bradford: 103

Winston: 139

Interceptions:

Mayfield: 64

Bradford: 61

Winston: 96

Passer rating

Mayfield: 86.5

Bradford: 84.5

Winston: 87.5

Record in regular season

Mayfield: 31-38

Bradford: 34-48-1

Winston: 34-46

Some other considerations to make:  Sam Bradford was never in the playoffs, Winston never won a playoff game, and Mayfield won one of them.

I would say that Baker Mayfield can be taken out, as he did have quite the impact on the Cleveland Browns in getting some out of irrelevancy for a little while.

Both Jameis Winston and Sam Bradford were nothing more than mediocre quarterbacks who did some things well, but never put together a consistent product.  Since Winston has a much higher ceiling than Bradford ever did, and given my own preference here, I’d say that Sam Bradford was the worst first overall pick in recent memory (since 2010).

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