Oakland Raiders: Worst First Round Draft Picks In Franchise History

Todd Marinovich (Twenty-Fourth Overall – 1991)

There seemed to be plenty of red flags waving around Marinovich before the 1991 Draft. Between his hyper-controlling father, Marinovich’s rebellion with his newfound freedom at college, a troubled relationship with his coach and some of his teammates, erratic behavior, even more erratic play, an arrest for possession of cocaine, and his statement that he “didn’t want to be Todd Marinovich,” it was a recipe for disaster from the start.

But that didn’t stop Davis from using the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 1991 Draft on that talented but troubled quarterback. And it went about as well as you might expect.

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Marinovich showed some flashes of brilliance, such as a 23 of 40 for 243 yard performance in a close loss to the Chiefs but more often than not, showed the inconsistency and petulance that would mark his brief tenure in the NFL.

Unfortunately for the organization, Marinovich was unable to overcome his addictions, not even after the organization staged an intervention and got him into rehab – twice. He was caught using the urine of a friend to beat the league imposed drug testing. And after a 45 day stint in rehab, Marinovich began taking LSD after games primarily because it would not show up on a drug test.

Eventually, Marinovich managed to fail three drug tests, and the league dropped a one year suspension on him prior to the 1993 season. The Raiders chose to cut ties with Marinovich following the suspension, closing the books on yet another failed first round pick.

After several more very troubled years, Marinovich has since gotten his life together, is focused on his art, and is living a much happier life outside of football than he ever enjoyed within it.

Next: The 1987 Draft