Top 5 NFL Draft Flops

Most of us have heard of the huge successes in the sports world. With all of these amazing stories of the greatest people to ever play the game, we often tend to forget the flops. Whether we block them out from marring our favorite team's history, or whether they are just not that memorable, they do happen from time to time. There are some of these stories that happen due to injury or some disease striking at the wrong time, but then there are also some that just can not hack it at the professional level. There is a mixture of both on this list. Since two of the greatest college players to be a part of the NCAA missed out on the pros from injury and illness, they rank as two of the most disappointing. Not knowing how good they could have been is truly more painful than a player just freezing in the pros.

Ernie Davis

Most of us have seen the movie "The Express" by now, and if you haven't, I am pretty sure there is a Blockbuster, DVD Kiosk, or at least Netflix close at hand. This is a great movie. It covers the life of Ernie Davis. He was a tremendous athlete and the very first African-American Heisman winner. He was not only a phenomenal athlete, but an outstanding person. He was drafted by the Browns first overall in the '62 Draft, becoming the first African-American to be selected first overall. Before he was able to make his professional debut, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was allowed to dress to be introduced as one of the Brown's team, but he never played once in his pro career.

Johnny Rodgers

Johnny Rodgers was an amazing college player for the Cornhuskers. He was selected by the Chargers in the first round of the '73 draft, but he chose to play in the Canadian Football League that season. After winning the Outstanding Rookie Award, and several other accolades spanning four years, he decided to return to the US (probably due to the league starting to have troubles). He was signed to the Chargers in the '77 season, but suffered a hamstring injury early in the season. After sitting out for the rest of that year, he later injured his knee and never returned to the field. Being nicknamed "the Jet" for his speed on the field, and his amazing play in Canada, he may have been able to take the Chargers somewhere in his career. Unfortunately, he never got to play one professional season in the United States.

Tim Couch

Tim Couch looked to be one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. Being drafted first overall in the '99 Draft by the Browns, he took over as starting QB in the second game of his rookie season. This was the beginning to what looked to be a promising career. He still holds the TD completion record and completion percentage for the Browns, but after the '02 season, he really started to go downhill. The Browns lack of a line on both sides of the ball during this period may have had a little to do with it. The fact that Couch was not a good leader and couldn't keep the team together was the more likely part. After the Browns jettisoned Couch, he turned into a journeyman and bounced from team to team until he was just never signed again. In '06 he was suspended for steroid use and never signed after that. He is now an analyst for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf was proclaimed as the having the ability to become a great quarterback. He was in the same Draft (1998) as Payton Manning and many thought he was going to be the superior pro player. There was a lot of discussion on who would be picked first overall. The Chargers traded Arizona for their second pick in the draft so they could land one of the two awesome players. After giving up two first round picks, a second round pick, linebacker Patrick Sapp, and Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf for the second overall pick. They got Leaf in exchange for all of this. With a $31.25 million contract and $11.25 signing bonus, Leaf has the largest bonus ever given to a rookie. After winning his first two games in his rookie year, the highlight reel came to a quick end. His third game netted one completion, three fumbles, and a gain of 4 yards against the Chiefs. From there, he really went downhill. He was quickly benched after only two touchdown passes in nine games. This started a very rough time with reporters and teammates. Screaming matches with reporters, coaches, and even the general manager, he was quickly released. Four other teams tried to give him a shot, but it did not work. Full of injuries, refusing surgeries, temper problems, and beyond poor performance all comes together to make Leaf the worst draft signing to ever occur in the NFL Draft.

Travis Taylor

Travis Taylor was another long term flop in the draft. While he did have an impressive 2002 season, that was the only true highlight reel to his career. Drafted third overall in 2000 by the Ravens, he helped them in their Super Bowl campaign that season. After 2004, however, he just could not get it together. After having a very embarrassing season, he just could not rebound and played for several teams after being let go by the Ravens. Team after team all sent him packing until May of '09 when all the teams just forgot him in the past. Off the field he was a huge liability. He has been mentioned in several scandals like the Vikings boat incident, and a fundraising appearance where him and his wife dressed as Kobe Bryant and his sexual assault accuser. There were too many problems a huge lack of talent for this young player.

There have been many failures that have emerged from the draft. One of the biggest gambles that these teams take is that these young college kids can transition to the pros. This does not always happen. This is one of the risks that you have to take to get to the Super Bowl. This is also a big reason that Leaf's signing bonus has yet to be matched. There is too much risk for these kids to fail. Giving them that much without any way to get it back is just bad business. This game is brutal and has little room for error. You either have to perform, or pack your trash like these five had to.