Atlanta Falcons: 5 worst NFL Draft picks of all time
No. 1: Aundray Bruce
You can get to number one on any team’s worst all-time draft pick list when you’re the number one overall pick in a particular draft and have a career like Aundray Bruce had.
Bruce was a linebacker out of Auburn, selected by the Falcons as the first pick of the 1988 draft.
Coming off five straight losing seasons in the mid-80s, Atlanta had plenty of needs in the ’88 draft. They picked Aundray Bruce over Neil Smith and future Hall of Famers Tim Brown, Sterling Sharpe, Michael Irvin and Randall McDaniel.
Bruce went on to have the type of career you might expect from a fifth round draft pick or worse.
He started all 16 games as a rookie, then 13 more in 1989 before tailing off into a backup role. In four years with Atlanta, Bruce had 176 tackles, 16 sacks and 3 interceptions in 34 starts.
Bruce went landed with the Raiders organization for another seven years, entirely as a backup linebacker.
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