IDK, to me pick, picking Hart Lee Dykes is kind of like picking Robert Edwards. Dykes actually wasn't that bad before knee injuries ended his career 1.5 years into it. But he put up pretty decent numbers, even if he was inconsistent as all hell.
I'd argue Chris Singleton was the biggest bust, even bigger than Sims. Singleton was the 8th overall pick (not to mention they traded the rights to HoF'er Cortez Kennedy at #3 and a 2nd for #8 & #10--Singleton and Ray Agnew) and Singleton ended up having a very underwhelming 3 year career in NE. We know how Cortez Kennedy turned out.
Completely agreed on Dykes -- ~800 yards and 5 TDs as a rookie would be good in 2023, let alone in the NFL of 1989 (it was the 28th most yards by a WR that year, and more than NKeal Harry's entire career thus far). It was also more impressive than the overall stats indicate -- Dykes barely played in the first 5 weeks, and in the final month of the season caught fire. He had 100+ yards and 6+ catches in 3 of the final 4 games that season.
Anyway, there's so many good answers for this. And is the "biggest bust" in terms of that player's career performance, or the opportunity cost of drafting them instead of someone else?
I
think Sims in '82 is the right answer -- the #1 pick in the Draft is simply so much more valuable than any subsequent pick, and that Top 10 was solid: Chip Banks, Jim McMahon, Mike Munchak, Gerald Riggs, Marcus Allen. Even Jeff Bryant at 6th overall had a decade-long run with the Seahawks as a pass rushing D Lineman. Still, Sims did have an 8-season career in the NFL.
On the other hand, trading out of the Jerry Rice spot meant missing out on the player
ranked as the #1 in the history of the NFL by the NFL Network in 2010. So, that's a tough one to overcome.
Finally, I do think N'Keal Harry deserves an honorable mention. Obviously it doesn't rank against drafting the wrong guy #1 overall. Clearly the last pick of the 1st round was far less likely to hit, but the combination of Harry basically washing out of the NFL after a few seasons with the next two WRs picked after him turning out to be Deebo and AJ Brown is notable.
