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NFL Draft: Biggest bust from each franchise’s history

By Hans Themistode

LOS ANGELES, CA - CIRCA 1988:Aundray Bruce of the Atlanta Falcons against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum circa 1988 in Los Angeles,California on November 20th 1988. (Photo by Owen C. Shaw/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - CIRCA 1988:Aundray Bruce of the Atlanta Falcons against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum circa 1988 in Los Angeles,California on November 20th 1988. (Photo by Owen C. Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Troy Williamson
Troy Williamson (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Biggest NFL Draft bust from Minnesota Vikings history: Troy Williamson, WR

Stats:

  • 1,131 receiving yards
  • 4 touchdowns

The Minnesota Vikings needed something to take away the sting from losing wide receiver Randy Moss a few years prior. While he left incredibly large shoes to fill, Troy Williamson appeared to be the perfect guy to step into them. He was mostly drafted on potential coming out of South Carolina. In his junior season, he caught 43 balls for a grand total of 835 yards and seven touchdowns. Not overly impressive numbers but still, it was all about potential.

The Vikings took him with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft. Any thoughts of Williams becoming the next Randy Moss were immediately laughed at as he struggled in a big way. In his first year with the team, he registered 372 yards and two touchdowns. He followed that up with 455 yards and zero touchdowns the subsequent season. After another terrible year in which he piled up just 240 yards and one score, the Vikings shipped him to the Jacksonville Jaguars where he became an insignificant player and would eventually exit the league altogether just two years later.

The main problem for Williams was that his hands were awful. After fans sat back for years and watched Moss catch passes effortlessly with one hand, this was before the invention of the current gloves receivers wear now which makes catching a pass the easiest thing in the world, they grew acrimonious as they watched Williams drop ball after ball.

In his three seasons with the Vikings, Williams’ catch percentage was 47.03%. It was impossible to trust him in the big moments. He effectively went from Randy Moss replacement to the biggest bust in franchise history.

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