Bryce Young and the 10 worst No. 1 overall draft picks in NFL history

Every team is going to draft a major bust high in the NFL Draft. Every team will inevitably pick a quarterback who struggles in the pros. However, the combination of poor play and capital invested in Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is borderline unprecedented.

After starting just 18 games for a Panthers franchise that moved heaven and earth to acquire him, Young was benched ahead of Week 3 by head coach Dave Canales. In his first 18 starts, he won just two games - by 15-13 and 9-7 scores - and threw more interceptions (13) than touchdown passes (11).

If the worst-case scenario becomes reality and this benching marks the end of Young's career as a starter in the NFL, he will be one of the worst picks in league history. Is there a chance that the former Alabama star ends up as the worst player ever picked No. 1 overall?

10 worst No. 1 picks in NFL history: Is Bryce Young at the top?

Note: This includes players picked from 1960 onward, as scouting has evolved quite a bit since the Jurassic days of early football.

10. Aundray Bruce (Atlanta Falcons, 1988)

Aundray Bruce managed to stick around for 11 years between the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders, but the Auburn pass-rusher mustered just 32 sacks and never had more than six in a season. He started just 12 games after his first two seasons, which is not the production you want from a first-round pick, let alone a No. 1 choice.

Picked over: Randall McDaniel, Tim Brown, Michael Irvin, Sterling Sharpe.

9. Tim Couch (Cleveland Browns, 1999)

Oddly enough, there are very few quarterbacks picked No. 1 overall who flame out. The three main competitors for this spot were Sam Bradford (who had some brief moments of quality despite insanely bad injury luck), and David Carr, who was also fed to the wolves of a terrible expansion team.

While Tim Couch did play most of the 2002 season, in which the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs, Kelly Holcomb took over for him near the end of the year. He threw more picks than touchdowns and was unable to translate his Kentucky Air Raid success to the NFL despite his enticing arm.

Picked over: Champ Bailey, Edgerrin James, Torry Holt, Donovan McNabb, Ricky Williams.

8. Courtney Brown (Cleveland Browns, 2000)

In classic Browns fashion, Cleveland screwed up No. 1 picks in consecutive seasons. Courtney Brown had an encouraging rookie year, but injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to just 19 sacks in six seasons (five with the team that drafted him) and a ticket out of town.

LaVar Arrington, who was Brown's pass rush teammate at Penn State, was picked one selection after him and made two All-Pro teams in Washington.

Picked over: Brian Urlacher, John Abraham, Jamal Lewis.

7. Kenneth Sims (New England Patriots, 1982)

The Texas athletic marvel never reached his full potential in the pros, amassing 17 sacks in seven seasons with the New England Patriots and only once bringing in more than four in a single campaign. Due to injuries and struggles with drugs and alcohol, Kenneth Sims is regarded as one of the great "what could have been" players in the AFC East team's history.

Picked over: Marcus Allen, Mike Munchak.

6. Walt Patulski (Buffalo Bills, 1972)

Buffalo Bills coach Lou Saban once said of Walt Patulski, "In tough situations, he would take the easy way out. To be aggressive, it just wasn't him." The former Notre Dame star never found his footing, mustering an unofficial 21.5 sacks in five NFL seasons before a bad back forced him out of the game and into league infamy.

Picked over: Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell.

5. Ki-Jana Carter, Cincinnati Bengals (1995)

Very few running backs are picked in the top half of the first round anymore. Ki-Jana Carter is a big reason why.

The term "Penn State running back" used to be a scarlet letter for anyone coming into the pros. Carter certainly didn't help to change that when he tore knee ligaments on the third carry of his first preseason game and never recovered.

Carter stuck around until the early 2000s but managed just 1,134 rushing yards in his career and only once had more than 300 in a season. His explosiveness was gone immediately, and the laughably bad Cincinnati Bengals of the 1990s were set back because of his struggles.

4. Steve Emtman, Indianapolis Colts (1992)

How do you screw up the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the same draft? Steve Emtman and thoroughly average linebacker Quentin Coryatt both busted, but the defensive end was worse. The Washington product tallied just eight sacks in six seasons, three with the Indianapolis Colts. In that time, he suffered major injuries in both knees and a ruptured disc.

Picked over: Jimmy Smith, Darren Woodson.

3. JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders (2007)

Before Young came around, JaMarcus Russell was the clear frontrunner for the worst No. 1 pick of the last few decades. Blessed with an all-time great arm and all-time bad work ethic, the 260-pound quarterback completed just 52 percent of his passes and threw 23 interceptions against 18 touchdowns in three seasons.

LSU's prodigal son may have been saved if he was willing to put the time in. Instead, he is consigned to his fate as one of the worst picks in NFL history. To make matters worse, he is still getting into trouble now. Some guys just don't get it.

Picked over: Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Darrelle Revis, Marshawn Lynch, Patrick Willis.

2. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (2023)

If you want to find the worst No. 1 picks of the Super Bowl era, Young is at the bottom right now. His winning percentage and touchdown pass percentage are both worse than Russell's numbers. The Heisman Trophy winner's sharp regression prompted Carolina to make the move.

While some quarterbacks are able to reestablish themselves after a catastrophic start, some just never figure it out. The one-time Alabama sensation could be in that latter camp if things don't improve. He is making mistakes that NFL signal-callers are simply not allowed to make.

Picked over: C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Jr.

1. Terry Baker, Los Angeles Rams (1963)

Young better thank his lucky stars Terry Baker exists. A Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon State, he went to the Rams at a time when scouting wasn't very advanced. Baker-mania was real, as he was even being praised for calling out signals and throwing warm-up passes in practice.

After that, the Rams realized his arm was so weak he couldn't throw it any harder than a lob from the pocket. In college, almost all of his passes were on rollouts.

Baker threw just 21 passes in the NFL. Twelve were completed, and four were intercepted. Just one year later, he was converted to running back and was out of the league by 1965. At least he became a successful lawyer afterward.

Young may be another Heisman flop in the pros, but he has cleared this very low bar.

Picked over: Bobby Bell, Lee Roy Jordan, Dave Robinson.