30 worst No. 1 overall picks in NFL Draft history: 10. QB, David Carr
Stats:
- 14,452 passing yards
- 65 touchdowns
- 71 interceptions
- 597. completion percentage
There are certain disadvantages coming out of a small school like Fresno State. For starters, seldom is a team of that caliber placed in the national spotlight. Yet, in 2001, quarterback David Carr pushed his small time team onto the big stage.
On the year, Fresno State reached number eight in the nation and took down several powerhouses such as Wisconsin and Oregon State. Carr’s numbers were almost cartoon-like. He threw for 4,839 yards, 46 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 64.5 completion percentage.
The question of who would ultimately be the number one overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft was an obsolete one. The Houston Texans wasted no time grabbing their man and expected him to lead them to relevance.
The accuracy, poise and fearlessness with which he played the game were gone once the bright lights came on. Carr’s first two years in the league were rough. He completed 52.5 percent of his passes in year one and 56.6 percent in year two. In both years he threw only nine touchdowns. A pathetic number in itself but it becomes even more accentuated when you realize he threw 15 and 13 interceptions respectively.
Carr’s inability to win games was even more alarming. He won two contests in 2005 and never led his team to a winning record. After watching Carr continue to struggle, the Texans decided to cut their losses and let him walk out the door. From there, he bounced around the league finding little to no success. Carr finally walked away from the game in 2012, ending his career with more interceptions (71) than touchdowns (65).