NFL Draft: 30 worst No. 1 overall picks in league history

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 12: Jadeveon Clowney #99 of the Tennessee Titans talks with teammates during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium on November 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Colts defeated the Titans 34-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

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Dan Wilkinson. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

30 worst No. 1 overall picks in NFL Draft history: 17. DE, Dan Wilkinson

Stats:

54.5 sacks
302 tackles

When it comes to a certain player becoming a bust, many can usually point to why they believed said player would be great in the league. More times than not, that aforementioned player has some of the most dominant stats in all of college football.

When it comes to a player like Tim Couch, his career fizzled out fast but with over 4,000 passing yards in his final collegiate season along with completing 70% of his passes, we can understand why a franchise would hitch their wagon to his coattails. In the case of former defensive end Dan Wilkinson, nothing made sense.

For starters, Wilkinson only played two years at Ohio State University. Another red flag, and maybe the most important, is that his numbers did not scream number one overall pick. As a Sophomore, Wilkinson piled up 46 combined tackles and 6.5 sacks. The following year, his numbers actually decreased to 44 total tackles but still, that didn’t stop the Cincinnati Bengals from snatching him up with the first overall pick in the 1994 draft.

If Wilkinson didn’t dominate in college, then guess what? He wasn’t going to suddenly turn things around in the pros. The supremely talented bust never registered more than eight sacks in a single year. His career-high in tackles came in his rookie year with 44.

Despite the pedestrian numbers, Wilkinson stayed in the league for more than a decade. He was never a productive player at any point in his career and proved to be a colossal bust.

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