Power ranking: The 13 biggest running back busts of all-time
By Robert Judin
3. Lawrence Phillips
Man, the 90s were riddled with running back busts, weren’t they?
Lawrence Phillips is one of the more unforgettable ones. The St. Louis Rams fell in love with the University of Nebraska running back and made him the sixth-overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft.
As it turns out, that was a big mistake. Phillips rushed for 632 yards and four touchdowns in his rookie season and followed that up with 633 yards and eight touchdowns in 1997 – in 10 games. The Rams were fed up with his antics though and released him. He played two more games with the Miami Dolphins that year and tacked on 44 more yards.
But Miami released him after he pleaded no contest to assaulting a woman in Plantation, Fla.
In 1999, Phillips only managed 144 rushing yards and two touchdowns in eight games with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams recovered nicely, though. Three years after blowing that draft pick on Phillips, St. Louis acquired a very talented running back named Marshall Faulk from the Indianapolis Colts. Faulk, if you hadn’t heard, actually went on to become a vital part of a little production called ‘The Greatest Show on Turf.”
If you thought Phillips’ story ended there, you’re sadly mistaken. Phillips was sentenced to 31 years in prison in 2009 for attacking his girlfriend and driving his car into three teens. However, he was back in the news recently when he was charged with murder.
Next: Blair Thomas