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The NFL Draft is always an exciting time for both the Washington Redskins and other teams around the league.
There are steals and busts. There are also teams reaching and players falling. Trades happen, teams cut players and everything gets shaken up.
With the 2020 NFL Draft approaching and plenty of intriguing players among the class, it's hard not to look back at previous years. And it's definitely always fun to go back and look at the biggest busts and what could have been.
We're going to focus in on the Redskins. Specifically, the five biggest NFL Draft busts in the history of the franchise.
Who makes the cut?
5. Taylor Jacobs
Let's start the list with a tough one. You could make an argument that Taylor Jacobs shouldn't be on here because he shouldn't have been drafted where he was.
However, even if it was a serious reach, the Redskins still took the wide receiver out of Florida with the 44th overall pick back in 2003.
In three seasons, Jacobs played 38 games for the Redskins. He ended his tenure in Washington with 30 receptions for 315 yards and one touchdown (also one carry for negative six yards).
The Redskins were in desperate need of a few other positions. And even worse, Anquan Boldin was taken a few picks after Jacobs. You know, one of the better and more underrated receivers of the last generation.
There was so much that Washington could have done with that pick. Instead, they made a head-scratching move to reach on Jacobs. And it did not work out well for them.
4. Desmond Howard
Yes, the Redskins have a long list of mistake picks at wide receiver.
Desmond Howard ended up having some fantastic years in the NFL. He just didn't have them with the Redskins.
Washington took Howard with the fourth overall pick in 1992 after he had an amazing College career with Michigan.
Like Jacobs, Howard spent just three seasons with the team. In that time, he had one punt return for a touchdown (he would go on to have seven more outside of the franchise).
Howard did show some promise at receiver. He had 66 receptions for 1033 yards and five touchdowns (as well as six carries for 35 yards).
In 1994, he had 40 of those receptions for 727 yards and all five touchdowns. However, it took 103 targets to get him there.
Howard simply wasn't an NFL receiver. He turned into a great return man, but his size (5'10, 185 lbs) and skill set did not translate well to the NFL when it came to offense.
Unlike Jacobs, Howard did go on to do some great things in the NFL when he left Washington. That definitely helps his case. However, when it comes to the Redskins, he was a seriously massive bust.
3. Andre Johnson
No, not that Andre Johnson. I'm talking about the offensive tackle that they selected with the 30th overall pick in 1996.
Oh, you don't remember the first rounder? Maybe that's because he never played a single down for the Redskins.
Johnson played one year with the team, getting cut after his rookie year. In that time, he didn't step foot on the field for a regular season game.
He then spent two seasons with the Detroit Lions, where he appeared in three games. After that, Johnson was gone from the NFL.
What's crazy about this, is that the Redskins actually traded up for Johnson. It's not like they gave away anything crazy. But still, their second round pick (37) and third round pick (67) were given to the Dallas Cowboys for the 30th pick.
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So they traded up for Johnson, and didn't even play him his rookie year. Then cut him right after. That has to tell you how much of a disaster this pick was.
2. Heath Shuler
Like wide receiver, the Redskins have a lot of bad quarterback selections in the NFL Draft. I will defend some of them until the day I die though.
Robert Griffin III had an insane rookie year. Injuries and the coaching derailed his career though.
Patrick Ramsey was put in a bad situation. He was never supposed to be great, but the Redskins desperately needed to take a chance on a quarterback.
Jason Campbell was constantly given new coaches and schemes. And at times his weapons were disgustingly bad.
Heath Shuler on the other hand, that one is hard to defend.
Shuler was taken third overall in 1994. And he was supposed to be the answer, the new franchise quarterback.
Instead, Shuler appeared in 19 games for the Redskins, starting 13.
In those 13 games, Washington went 4-9. Shuler completed 47.7% of his passes for 2,403 yards and 13 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions.
What's worse, the completion percentage or the TD/INT ratio? Both were ugly. And the Redskins gave up on him after three years.
Shuler then spent one season with the New Orleans Saints. There he went 4-5 in nine starts with a 52.2 completion percentage and 1,288 yards. Sounds like improvement, right?
Well, he also had just two touchdowns compared to a whopping 14 interceptions. He was out of the NFL after that season.
1. Cal Rossi
The Redskins drafted Rossi with their first round pick back in 1946. It's easy to see why too, as he was a standout at UCLA as both a running back and a cornerback.
One pretty glaring issue though, he wasn't eligible for the draft that year. So the Redskins wasted their first round pick on someone who they couldn't even take.
Then in 1947, the Redskins used another first round pick on Rossi. This time though, he was eligible to be drafted. He never played in the NFL though.
So Washington used two first round picks, one in back-to-back years, on Rossi. And he never even played. Shuler should be happy this happened. Kind of easy to put him at the top of the list.
