30 worst No. 1 overall picks in NFL Draft history: 2. RB, Ki-Jana Carter
Career stats:
- 1,144 rushing yards
- 20 touchdowns
Unlike JaMarcus Russell and numerous others on this list who simply failed to work hard enough to stay the top of their game, running back Ki-Jana Carter dealt with different issues.
While at Penn State, Carter run a muck all over the field. In his rookie season he managed to only put up 264 yards and didn’t appear to be a great player by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, he looked like a completely different player in year two as he cracked a thousand yards. While he looked like a lottery pick following his 93 season, his 94 campaign solidified things for him.
Carter ran for 1,539 yards and was taken with the first pick in the 1995 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to prove himself at the next level as he tore ligaments in his knee in his first preseason game and was forced to miss the entirety of the year.
He would return to the lineup the following year but he simply wasn’t the same player. He rushed for only 264 yards but managed to play in all 16 games. In year two, things got a bit after he rushed for 464 yards. A paltry number but still a sign pointing in the right direction.
Then, the injury bug hit him again. Carter would play in only one game the following year before missing the rest of the season due to a torn rotator cuff. He would then miss all but three games the very next year due to a broken wrist. His career would continue in various spots but he was flat out awful.
With the way his collegiate career shaped up, it appeared as though Carter was going to be a special player in the league. However, thanks to a ridiculous amount of injuries, we’ll never know.