Atlanta Falcons: 5 worst NFL Draft picks of all time
No. 3: Bruce Pickens
With the 3rd overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected cornerback Bruce Pickens out of Nebraska. It didn’t work out.
Two years prior the franchise hit a home run with Deion Sanders as the fifth overall pick. It appeared as though Atlanta would have the most dynamic cornerbacks in the league with two top-10 picks at the start of their careers.
Pickens was no Deion Sanders. Not even close.
After playing just seven games as a rookie, his career year of 1992 included four starts, two interceptions and zero passed defended.
By 1993, the Falcons had enough of Pickens and cut him loose. He was picked up by Green Bay and then Kansas City. After missing the entire 1994 season he got on with the Oakland Raiders and was able to make one start.
In his four-year NFL career, Bruce Pickens made a grand total of nine starts with two interceptions. This from the third overall pick in the ’91 draft.
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