Worst draft pick for each NFC team since 2018

worst draft pick for each nfc team since 2018

Trey Lance

As Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit and San Francisco prepare for their conference championship games, 28 other teams can turn their attention to free agency (begins March 13) and the NFL Draft, scheduled April 24-27 in Detroit.

Over the past five years, every team would like a do-over on at least one of its draft picks. As compiled by Yardbarker NFL writers, here are the worst picks for every NFC team since 2018.

NFC East 

DALLAS COWBOYS | DT Trysten Hill (2019): Without a first-round selection after trading for Amari Cooper, the Cowboys took Hill in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In four years with the team, Hill managed just four tackles for a loss and half a sack before his release midway through the 2022 season.

NEW YORK GIANTS | CB DeAndre Baker (2019): The second of New York’s two first-round picks that year, Baker spent just one year with the Giants, long enough to be charged with multiple felonies, including armed robbery and aggravated assault. The charges were eventually dropped but not before a stint on the commissioner exempt list and his offseason release.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | WR Jalen Reagor (2020): Rather than take LSU’s Justin Jefferson with the 21st pick, the Eagles outsmarted themselves by taking Reagor instead. The Minnesota Vikings haven’t stopped laughing at the Philadelphia pick, who has four TDs with three teams (including Minnesota) in four years.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS | RB Derrius Guice (2018): A torn ACL in his first preseason game derailed his rookie season before more knee injuries limited Guice to five games in 2019. After his arrest on domestic violence charges the following summer, the Commanders released Guice and the NFL subsequently suspended him for six games. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West

ARIZONA CARDINALS | QB Josh Rosen (2018): The Rosen selection at No. 10 overall was such a disaster that he lasted only one season with the team (with a 3-10 record) before being traded and replaced with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (Kyler Murray). Baltimore selected future NFL MVP Lamar Jackson 22 picks later.

LOS ANGELES RAMS | QB Stetson Bennett (2023): The Rams have not selected in the first round since 2016, so they have not had many high-profile blunders. But taking Bennett, an older quarterback (26) with questionable arm strength and off-field issues, as high as they did (the fourth round) looks like a big miss, especially when a far more effective QB (Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell) went seven picks later to the Raiders.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | QB Trey Lance (2021): The 49ers traded three first-round draft picks to move up to No. 3 overall and select Lance, an FCS quarterback from North Dakota State with limited experience (19 games). His injuries and ineffectiveness make him a clear mistake, as does the fact that Kyle Pitts, Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Penei Sewell, Patrick Surtain II, DeVonta Smith and Micah Parsons were among the next 10 players selected.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | RB Rashaad Penny (2018): Taking a running back in the first round is questionable in the modern game, and it looks even worse when that back appears in only 45 games with the team over five years and never rushes for more than 749 yards in a season. It looks especially awful because the Browns selected stud RB Nick Chubb eight picks later. — Adam Gretz

NFC North

CHICAGO BEARS | TE Cole Kmet (2020): Kmet is a nice player, but drafting him wasn’t the most intelligent use of assets for a Bears team entering the 2020 draft without a first-round pick. Nonetheless, the Bears passed on All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and cornerback Trevon Diggs, making Kmet the first player selected at his position, while the next tight end didn’t get chosen until 48 picks later.

DETROIT LIONS | CB Jeff Okudah (2020): Limited by injuries and inconsistent play, Okudah never lived up to being selected third overall and the team ultimately traded him to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth-rounder in 2023. The pick still must irk the Lions, who could’ve chosen the franchise’s quarterback of the future in Justin Herbert (No. 6) or Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5) ahead of Matthew Stafford’s final season in Detroit.

GREEN BAY PACKERS | 2018 draft: The Packers made the right choice in selecting two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander No. 18 overall, but beyond that, the rest of the team’s draft board was a major whiff. Of the 11 players selected, only Alexander remains on the roster. Six of the picks were out of the NFL in 2023, including Green Bay’s second- (CB Josh Jackson), fourth- (WR J’Mon Moore) and fifth-round picks (G Cole Madison).

MINNESOTA VIKINGS | C Garrett Bradbury (2019): Bradbury has become a solid yet unremarkable NFL starter, but by reaching for a center at No. 18 in 2019, the Vikings missed a shot at drafting several standout talents. Before they picked again in the second round at No. 50 (TE Irv Smith), five future Pro Bowlers heard their names called, including defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons (No. 19 by Tennessee), running back Josh Jacobs (No. 24 by Las Vegas), defensive end Montez Sweat (No. 26 by Washington), wide receiver Deebo Samuel (No. 36 by San Francisco) and offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins (No. 44 by Green Bay). — Mike Santa Barbara

NFC South

ATLANTA FALCONS | QB Desmond Ridder (2022): The Falcons spent a third-round pick on Ridder, who has likely started his last game for the franchise. The miss was made even worse considering he went 188 picks before 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

CAROLINA PANTHERS | WR Jonathan Mingo (2023): It’s easy to pick on rookie No. 1 overall pick quarterback Bryce Young after the season C.J. Stroud — who was selected at No. 2 — had, but there’s no guarantee Stroud would have fared better in Carolina considering the Panthers’ poor supporting cast. Mingo — a second-round pick — is a massive disappointment, averaging 9.7 yards per catch and finishing the season with 418 receiving yards, fewer than Jayden Reed, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell and Josh Downs, wide receivers selected after him.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | LB Marcus Davenport (2018): The Saints traded up in the first round to select Davenport, who never found his footing in New Orleans before leaving in free agency last offseason. To make matters worse, the Saints could have picked quarterback Lamar Jackson, who went to Baltimore with the final pick in the first round.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS | QB Kyle Trask (2021): The 2020 Heisman Trophy finalist wasn’t expected to do much in his first season as Tom Brady’s backup. But after he failed to win the starting job in 2023, the Bucs probably wish they had used their second-round pick on a more productive player, perhaps Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown, who was drafted 94th overall and has only allowed 10 sacks over his first three seasons. (h/t Pro Football Focus) — Eric Smithling

Want more articles like this? Follow Yardbarker on MSN to see more of our exclusive NFL content.

More must-reads:

    Trending slideshow: The 25 best rookies from the 2023 NFL season (Provided by Yardbarker)

    News Related

    OTHER NEWS

    Jimmy Carter and all living former first ladies to attend Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service

    Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to attend the Tuesday memorial service for his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, in Atlanta, his grandson told CNN – a tribute that will also be ... Read more »

    Rob Reiner to Film ‘This Is Spinal Tap' Sequel in February, Says Paul McCartney and Elton John Will Appear

    Rob Reiner to Film ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ Sequel in February, Says Paul McCartney and Elton John Will Appear Forty years after making his directorial debut with the 1984 cult ... Read more »

    Best Buy's Biggest Cyber Monday Deals on Samsung TVs, Sony Headphones, and Dyson Vacuums

    Plus laptops and more last-minute deals you don’t want to miss People / Jaclyn Mastropasqua We have reached Cyber Monday is officially here, and there are loads of great deals ... Read more »

    The Joffre Lakes surge returns north of Pemberton

    The Joffre Lakes surge is back, much to the dismay of Pemberton and Mount Currie locals. Video footage shared with Pique shows a long line of cars illegally parked on ... Read more »

    Activists calling for Gaza ceasefire begin hunger strike outside White House

    Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Leftwing activists including the actor Cynthia Nixon, famous for her role in Sex and the City, have begun a hunger strike outside the White House aimed ... Read more »

    We just got a first look at McDonald's secretive new spinoff restaurant CosMc's

    A construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, presumed to be the first location of CosMc’s. Scott Fredrickson McDonald’s has been reluctant to share many details about its planned new restaurant concept ... Read more »

    Conor McGregor’s The Black Forge posts more than $2 million in losses since 2021 opening

    Conor McGregor’s The Black Forge posts more than $2 million in losses since 2021 opening Conor McGregor made around a $2 million investment when he purchased the Dublin bar he ... Read more »
    Top List in the World