NFL Draft: 10 worst No. 1 overall picks
By John Buhler
Ki-Jana Carter. 2. player. 56. . Running Back. Cincinnati Bengals
Penn State was a running back factory for much of Paterno’s time in Happy Valley. In 1995, the Bengals drafted the standout Nittany Lions tailback Ki-Jana Carter No. 1 overall. Call it the worst case of bad luck, but Carter would become one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
On his third carry of the 1995 NFL preseason, he tore his ACL in his knee and missed the entire season. Carter had four season-ending injuries in his five seasons since being drafted by the Bengals in 1995. Besides the ACL tear, he tore his rotator cuff in 1997, broke his wrist in 1998, and dislocated his knee cap in 1999. He would play three more years in the NFL with the Redskins and Panthers before retiring in 2004.
To add insult to injury, 12 players taken in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft went on to play in a Pro Bowl. Three went on to forever be enshrined in Canton as members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: defensive tackle Warren Sapp, running back Curtis Martin, and outside linebacker Derrick Brooks.
The mid-to-late 1990s were chock full of terrible first round picks made by the Bengals. The 1990s Bengals were arguably the worst organization in football. It wasn’t until Lewis became their head coach in 2001 and Carson Palmer went No. 1 overall in 2003 did Cincinnati sniff at the AFC Playoffs after being an elite AFC team in the 1980s. Carter’s injury-plagued career combined with elite NFL talent taken after him makes his No. 1 overall selection one of the very worst in NFL history.
Next: 1. JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders, 2007