Every NFL team’s biggest draft whiff of all time
By Brad Rowland
Atlanta Falcons – Aundray Bruce (No. 1 pick, 1988)
It is not your fault, Aundray.
The Falcons foolishly used the top overall pick in 1988 on Bruce, and while he was certainly a functional NFL player, that is not what any team is looking for in a No.1 pick. Bruce was cut after just four seasons in Atlanta and never became the superstar the organization undoubtedly thought it was getting.
The bigger problem, though, was that the Falcons passed on a who’s who of talents in that 1988 class. Atlanta passed on more than a dozen Pro Bowl players, including Michael Irvin, Tim Brown and Randall McDaniel. Given how bad the Falcons were to earn the number one pick, the miss was especially unforgivable.
In the more recent past, the Falcons have taken Arkansas defensive end Jamaal Anderson with a top 10 pick and swung wildly on at least three disastrous picks in the secondary, but Bruce is the one that no one will forget in Atlanta. He was a solid NFL role player, but never mind, everyone still blames him for what was the team’s mistake in every way.
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