30 worst No. 1 overall picks in NFL Draft history: 7. DE, Steve Emtman
Stats:
- 8 sacks
- 121 tackles
Steve Emtman went from durable, unblockable machine to fragile, unproductive NFL player in seemingly two seconds.
While playing at Washington University, Emtman was ruthless in going after the quarterback. The typical college awards stood firmly on his mantle. Pac Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Linemen of the Year and a slew of other awards were taken home by Emtman.
It isn’t too often that a college team goes through the entire season undefeated. It’s even rarer to see a team do that while being led by a defensive player. In the case of Washington University in 1991, that’s exactly what happened. Emtman was the driving force behind that undefeated squad and made the jump to the NFL the following season as the Indianapolis Colts selected him with the number one overall pick. A blown-out left knee if his rookie year saw his campaign come to an end. A torn patellar tendon in his right knee saw his Sophomore season come to a close prematurely as well.
Only once did Emtman play an entire year but by then, he was a shell of his former dominant self. Emtman wrapped up his career at the young age of 27 and only registered eight sacks to his name. A bust in every sense of the word.