16. Biggest NFL Draft busts of all-time – Washington Redskins QB Heath Shuler
We’ve hit another quarterback on the busts list with Shuler, making him the sixth quarterback so far on the countdown. Shuler was a star performer at the University of Tennessee, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting as a junior in 1993 and holding nearly every major passing record for the Volunteers.
That success was parlayed into the third overall pick in the 1993 draft by Washington, which saw Shuler’s tenure get off to a rocky start thanks to a lengthy training camp holdout due to a contract dispute. The delayed start to his career was problematic for Shuler, who struggled out of the gate and quickly found himself in a quarterback competition with 1994 seventh-round pick Gus Frerotte.
Washington eventually chose to go with Frerotte, dumping Shuler to New Orleans in 1997 for a pair of picks. Shuler didn’t do well with the Saints either, suffering a serious foot injury that eventually led to the end of his career.
Even though his football career was unsuccessful, Shuler did find a solid second act as a politician. Shuler served six years in the House of Representatives as a representative of his home state of North Carolina from 2007-2013, a run that saw him make a push to be the Minority Leader for the Democrats before losing to Nancy Pelosi.