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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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Daniel Graham
Daniel Graham (Photo By Craig Jones/Getty Images) /

Biggest NFL Draft bust from New England Patriots history: Daniel Graham, TE

Stats: 

  • 2,490 receiving yards
  • 25 touchdowns

No one ever remembers how bad a draft pick was when the team is smack dab in the middle of a dynasty. For tight end Daniel Graham, he was lucky in that regard. Unfortunately for him, however, we remember just how terrible he was.

Long before Rob Gronkowski began catching passes, blocking tight ends and chugging bears during Super Bowl parades, Graham was expected to do so with the New England Patriots.

During his senior year at the University of Colorado, Graham looked like the real deal. The impressive tight end caught 51 balls for 753 yards and six touchdowns on a winning ball club. The Patriots decided to take him with the 21st overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and regretted their decision almost immediately. Graham simply didn’t have the speed, skill or physical ability to play at the next level. In his first year, he totaled only 150 yards. He followed that up with 409 the following season. Graham was far from a touchdown scoring machine, scoring only five in that time frame.

In total, Graham registered 1,393 yards, an impressive number for a full season but a pathetic one when you realize that was his total for his entire five years in Foxboro. As mentioned earlier, the criticism of Graham simply wasn’t there due to the team winning in spite of him. In their first championship run in 2003, Graham played in all three games but totaled only 45 yards. The following year was even worse as he once again played in all three games but totaled a horrendously bad 16 yards.
While winning helped mask a lot of things, the stench of his God-awful play was obvious to those who paid attention.

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