Oakland Raiders: Worst First Round Draft Picks In Franchise History

JaMarcus Russell (First Overall – 2007)

Was there any doubt whatsoever that Russell would top this list? While you can certainly debate whether or not everybody else on this list deserves to be there (not really), there is no question that Russell will always be at the very top of any Raiders draft bust list. JaMarcus Russell is still a name that gives Raider fans migraines just by hearing it spoken aloud.

Coming out of LSU with a seemingly lethal combination of size and strength, Al Davis thought he’d found his quarterback of the future. What he got instead, was arguably, the biggest bust in NFL Draft history – though arguably, there is plenty of competition for that honor with folks like Ryan Leaf, Tony Mandarich, Brian Bosworth, and others deservedly in the conversation.

After swindling the Raiders for a six year, $68 million dollar deal – with $31.5 million of that guaranteed – Russell went out and did just about nothing for the money. Well, to be fair, he did throw quite a few interceptions, fumbled the ball away a lot, and lost a lot of games.

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Over his three seasons in Oakland, Russell compiled a 7-18 record as a starter, threw 18 career touchdowns against 23 interceptions, completed just over 52 percent of his passes (354 of 680) for 4,083 yards, and put together a less than dazzling QB rating of 65.2

Russell was said to often be disengaged, uninterested, not willing to put in the work, and as a result, had no real grasp of the offense. He was far from a leader in the clubhouse, and never seemed all that interested in bettering himself as a football player or helping to better his team.

To say that as a first overall pick in the draft, and a guy who got $31.5 million dollars in guaranteed money, Russell vastly underperformed would be one of the biggest understatements in history. Russell is a punchline and because they drafted him so high, the Raiders are a permanent part of that joke.