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Every year since 1936, the NFL Draft presents an opportunity to restock on talent from colleges across the country. Picking the right player can completely change the trajectory of a franchise for the next decade-plus. Picking the wrong player can do the same in a negative way.
With that being said, some draft classes have more talent than others, with each draft class featuring its steals and busts. However, some classes have more busts than others and while there have been plenty of bad draft classes throughout the league's history (1992 and 2009) one more recent class stands out.
The 2013 draft class undoubtedly produced some recognizable talent but as a whole, the class ranks poorly when compared to others. Since the class is over 250 picks, I'll mainly be focusing on the first round or two.
First overall pick Eric Fisher — an offensive tackle out of Central Michigan took a bit to live up to the hype but did make the Pro Bowl in 2018 and has started 98 of 102 games for the Kansas City Chiefs.
For picks No. 2 and 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars whiffed on offensive tackle Luke Joeckel who ended up only lasting five years in the league while the Miami Dolphins selected defensive end Dion Jordan who has played for three teams in six seasons and has only started four of his career 50 games.
At pick number six, the Cleveland Browns selected LSU pass rusher Barkevious Mingo, a player now on his sixth team in eight seasons.
Offensive guard Jonathan Cooper (No. 7 overall) played just five seasons before being out of the league and despite being arguably the most exciting player in college football that year, eighth overall pick Tavon Austin has never eclipsed 509 yards receiving in a season and is now a forgettable player for the Dallas Cowboys.
Ninth pick Dee Milliner is one of the biggest busts in the class and only played three seasons in the league as a sub-par cornerback
Rounding out the top 10 was offensive guard Chance Warmack who, despite some solid early years for the Tennessee Titans, is now mainly a backup.
No. 11 pick and third-straight Alabama player D.J. Fluker has been a solid starting guard for the San Diego Chargers, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks but not much more.
Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel was an absolute flop for the Buffalo Bills at No. 16 while the 17th pick, linebacker Jarvis Jones, only played three total seasons.
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Despite dominating at the University of Florida, injuries ruined defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd's (pick No. 23) career and he lasted just four seasons in the NFL.
At No. 24, the Indianapolis Colts took a chance on German pass rusher Bjöern Werner but it didn't work out as he released (on his birthday) in 2016 and retired shortly after.
In the final stretch of the first round, defensive end Datone Jones (No. 26), defensive tackle Sylvester Williams (No. 28), safety Matt Elam (No. 32) are all players that failed to live up to their draft positions and are no longer on NFL rosters.
Some of the biggest busts in the 2013 class' second-round include Tennessee wide receiver Justin Hunter (No. 33), All-American linebacker Manti Te'o (No. 38), quarterback Geno Smith (No. 39), cornerback Johnthan Banks (No. 43), tight end Gavin Escobar (No. 47), linebacker Arthur Brown (No. 56), running back Montee Ball (No. 58) and wide receiver Aaron Dobson (No. 59)
However, while some of those second-rounders fell well short of expectations or are no longer in the league altogether, most of them didn't come in with as high as expectations as the busts in the top 10.
All in all, the first round of the 2013 class produced only 12 Pro Bowl players. However, most of those players came in the second half of the first round. Only three players in the first 12 picks and four in the first 17 have made the Pro Bowls so far in their careers.
With the NFL draft featuring over 250 picks, you're bound to have some gems in there. Superstar DeAndre Hopkins slipped all the way to pick No. 27 while multi-time Pro Bowlers such as Kawaan Short, Le'Veon Bell, Travis Kelce, Larry Watford, Terron Armstead, Keenan Allen, David Bakhtiari and Kyle Juszcyk were all selected in the second round or later.
Many of the players in this draft class still have time to build their legacies but with the majority of the top half of the first-round picks either failing to live up to expectations or finding themselves without an NFL job in 2020, it's easy to see why 2013 produced the worst draft class in NFL history.
