Oregon
Former Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers stars are among the biggest quarterback busts in NFL history
The Carolina Panthers’ decision to bench Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, shows once again the unpredictable nature of making choices in the draft. The Panthers decided to select Young, even though C.J. Stroud was also available that year. While Young has been benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton, Stroud was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 and is thriving in Houston.
Making the right choice at quarterback can mean acquiring a franchise player and success for years. Making the wrong choice can set a franchise back into the dark ages, cost the jobs of head coaches and general managers and saddle a player with the term “bust” for the rest of his career.
Here are 10 of the biggest quarterback draft busts in league history.
Terry Baker
Oregon State University; Los Angeles Rams – No. 1 pick, 1963
(AP Photo/Harold Matosian)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Baker won just about every award imaginable after his senior season at Oregon State, including the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. However, his arm strength was questionable and he reportedly struggled throwing deep passes during training camp in his rookie season. He started at quarterback in the season-opening game and threw three interceptions in 1963. That would be his only start at quarterback in his three-year NFL career. He was converted to running back in 1964 and was out of the league a year later.
Jamarcus Russell
Louisiana State University; Oakland Raiders – No. 1 pick, 2007
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Getty Images
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Russell was viewed as a rare combination of size, athletic ability and arm strength after an amazing pro day at Louisiana State. Russell began his NFL career with a lengthy holdout and then reportedly arrived out of shape, a problem that continued throughout his NFL career. Weight issues and laziness ended his career after three years.
Ryan Leaf
Washington State University; San Diego Chargers – No. 2 pick, 1998
(AP Photo/Kent Horner, File)AP
Leaf and Peyton Manning were considered the top-two quarterbacks in the draft. The Indianapolis Colts possessed the top pick and wisely chose Manning. The Chargers, enamored with Leaf’s size, cannon-like arm and gaudy statistics at Washington State, gladly selected Leaf even though there reports about his immaturity. Leaf played two seasons in San Diego, finishing with just 13 touchdown passes, 33 interceptions and a 48% completion rate in 21 games.
Akili Smith
University of Oregon; Cincinnati Bengals – No. 3 pick, 1999
AP
Smith struggled during his first year at Oregon amid questions about his work ethic and commitment. However, he erased those doubts with an amazing season – 30 touchdowns, seven interceptions – in 1998. His accuracy was a shaky 57.3% in college – but the Bengals, still searching for a quarterback after the David Klinger fiasco, selected Smith. Smith reportedly struggled to learn the playbook and wasn’t eager to visit the film room. The Bengals cut him after he posted a 3-14 record over three seasons.
Zach Wilson
Brigham Young University; New York Jets – No. 2 pick, 2021
Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Some officials in the Jets’ organization believed that Wilson was better than Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick of the 2021 draft, an indication of how delusional the staff was about Wilson. Wilson’s numbers were impressive at BYU, but what the Jets overlooked was he played behind a very good offensive line giving him clean pockets and all day to throw. He also faced one of the easiest schedules – including Navy, Troy, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, Western Kentucky and North Alabama – in the nation during his breakout season in 2020. His days were numbered when the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers in 2023 and they traded him to the Denver Broncos in 2024.
Trey Lance
North Dakota State; San Francisco 49ers – No. 3 pick, 2021
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)AP
It’s interesting how head coach Kyle Shanahan has received little criticism for this selection. The 49ers sent three first-round picks (2021, 2022, 2023), a third-round pick in 2022 to the Miami Dolphins to move up to the No. 3 spot to select Lance, a raw and relatively untested – he appeared in 19 games – player at North Dakota State. He was named QB1 for the 2022 season, but suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Week 2. Brock Purdy took over after an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, guided the 49ers to the NFC championship game and hasn’t looked back. Lance then lost the competition for the backup job to Sam Darnold and was traded to the Dallas Cowboys the following season.
Art Schlichter
Ohio State Unviersity; Indianapolis Colts – No. 4 pick, 1982
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)AP
He was the last quarterback to start at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes. However, Hayes and successor Earle Bruce failed to acknowledge Schlichter’s well-known gambling problems that only worsened in the NFL, where his debts reached well into seven figures. Schlichter was suspended by the league after he went to the FBI and gave information on gambling bookies in 1983. Schlichter appeared in just 17 games with six starts in three seasons.
Andre Ware
University of Houston; Detroit Lions – No. 7 pick, 1990
(AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)AP
The Heisman Trophy winner produced big numbers in a ‘run-and-shoot” offense at Houston and he seemed like a perfect fit for the Lions’ “Silver Stretch” offense, a version of the run-and-shoot that featured All-Pro running back Barry Sanders. Not so fast. Head coach Wayne Fontes favored Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer and Ware played in just 14 games over four seasons for Detroit, starting six times. After the 1993 season, Ware never played in the NFL again.
Matt Leinart
University of Southern California; Arizona Cardinals – No. 10 pick, 2006
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)AP
He was the quarterback during the golden age of USC football. He led the Trojans to an undefeated season and won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 2004. There were questions about his accuracy and arm strength entering the draft, but the Cardinals were thrilled when he fell to them at No. 10. Leinart was okay in his rookie season – throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he did throw 12 interceptions in 12 games. Leinart started the first five games of the 2007 season, but was injured and placed on season-ending injured reserve and replaced by Kurt Warner. Leinart spent two more seasons in Arizona and was out of the league after the 2012 season.
Johnny Manziel
Texas A&M; Cleveland Browns – No. 22 pick, 2014
The Plain Dealer
He was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, but Texas A&M’s “Johnny Football” admittedly didn’t take playing football too seriously and seemed more interested in being a celebrity than a quarterback. The Browns ignored his well-known penchant for partying and run-ins with the law. Manziel reportedly said he didn’t watch film on opponents before games and didn’t study the playbook very much. He was gone within two seasons, never to be seen in the NFL again.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — A Benton County man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after prosecutors say he held his brother at knifepoint inside their family home, a confrontation that ended with police shooting the wrong person as the victim tried to escape, the Benton County District Attorney’s office said in a media release.
On Thursday, June 18, John Dakota Lyon pleaded guilty to Attempted Kidnapping in the Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Coercion, according to a news release from the Benton County District Attorney. He was sentenced to a total of 77 months in prison and two years of post-prison supervision.
The case stems from the morning of Jan. 6, when Maverick Lyon was home visiting his parents during winter break from college. Prosecutors said Dakota Lyon, his brother, was living at the home after recently being released from the Department of Corrections.
In February 2023, Dakota Lyon was sentenced to 58 months in prison for convictions of Attempted Assault in the First Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon, the release said.
On Jan. 6, prosecutors said Dakota Lyon accused Maverick Lyon of conspiring with their father to do harm to him. Dakota Lyon armed himself with a large kitchen knife and, while holding onto Maverick Lyon’s shirt, pulled him throughout the house, implying he would harm him with the knife, according to the district attorney’s office. Despite Maverick Lyon’s pleadings, prosecutors said Dakota Lyon refused to release him or put the knife down.
Prosecutors said Maverick Lyon convinced Dakota Lyon to allow him to grab his own kitchen knife under the guise that they would leave the residence to confront their father together. Their father, who saw and heard what was happening through a surveillance system set up at the home, called 911 to report the crime, the release said.
Multiple Albany Police Department officers arrived and were able to see two men through a back door window, including one with a knife, according to the district attorney’s office. After a brief conversation between officers and the men, prosecutors said Maverick Lyon broke free and rushed out the back door.
The district attorney’s office said Maverick Lyon still had a knife in his hand as he began to break the plane of the door, and officers were standing near the door. Prosecutors said Maverick Lyon began dropping the knife, but officers, fearing for their lives and the lives of other officers, fired their weapons. Maverick Lyon was struck several times.
An earlier Officer Involve Shooting review by the Benton County District Attorney’s Office found the officers’ use of force was justified, the release said.
Officers rendered first aid, and while being treated, Maverick Lyon said, “You shot the wrong guy,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Dakota Lyon was taken into custody without further incident, and the knife he was believed to have been possessing was located near him, prosecutors said. He has been in custody since Jan. 6.
After surgery and a lengthy recovery period, Maverick Lyon “appears to be doing well,” the release said.
The district attorney’s office said methamphetamine may have played a role in Dakota Lyon’s actions. A urine sample taken from him that day tested positive for methamphetamine, and he was known to use methamphetamine in the past and was believed by those close to him to have recently begun using methamphetamine again, according to the release.
“The tragic shooting was a direct result of Dakota Lyon’s actions. As Dakota marched Maverick around the house at knife point, Maverick feared for his life and wanted nothing more but to escape his drug crazed older brother. But for Dakota’s actions, police would not have been called, Maverick would not be a victim of kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, and coercion, and the police would not have shot Maverick,” Chief DDA Amie Matusko, who prosecuted the case, said in the release.
At sentencing, Dakota Lyon’s attorney, Christian Strahl, acknowledged Dakota Lyon’s responsibility in Maverick Lyon’s shooting, the release said. Strahl indicated the remorse Dakota Lyon felt, saying Dakota Lyon wished he could have taken the bullets instead of Maverick, according to prosecutors.
“While this sentiment is appreciated, true accountability would be remorse in having raised a knife towards his brother and regret that the lives of Maverick and the family are forever changed,” Matusko said.
The biggest and final weekend of official visits is finally here for the Oregon Ducks. The program has made the most of its prior rounds of visits, adding five commitments this month alone.
Dan Lanning and his staff will get a chance to lock in a top-five recruiting class this cycle with another tremendous list of visitors this weekend. Oregon will welcome back a pair of committed gems in the class, including quarterback Will Mencl and edge rusher Rashad Streets. However, the biggest visitors are those who have yet to decide on their college future.
Here’s a look at which recruits are expected to be in Eugene this weekend, as well as where they rank in the Rivals Industry Ranking.
- 5-star WR Xavier Sabb (No. 30)
- 4-star QB Will Mencl (No. 46) (Oregon commit)
- 4-star EDGE Rashad Streets (No. 47) (Oregon commit)
- 4-star WR Tae Walden Jr. (No. 69)
- 4-star LB Brayton Feister (No. 135)
- 4-star DL Brayden Parks (No. 166)
- 4-star TE Anthony Cartwright III (No. 343)
- 4-star RB Caden Waye (No. 359)
- 3-star IOL Lex Mailangi (No. 697)
It’s a loaded weekend for the Ducks, and they are well positioned to land several of the visiting recruits this summer. With Mencl and Streets both in town as well, two of the most vocal recruiters in Oregon’s class, don’t be surprised if the Ducks manage to earn a commitment or two before the weekend is over.
On the heels of adding wideout Dakota Guerrant to their class, the Ducks are the frontrunners for Xavier Sabb, who is making the trip across the country from New Jersey. Sabb, whose brothers both play at Alabama, is one of Oregon’s favorite targets in the cycle, and one that Mencl has publicly called for the Ducks to bring to Eugene.
As a junior, Sabb played both receiver and safety at Glassboro High School. He made 59 catches for 896 yards and 13 touchdowns last season and was named Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey. After visiting Alabama last weekend, Oregon will get the last word on Sabb’s recruitment and could add a pair of elite receivers to pair with their star quarterback.
The Ducks are also in great position to finalize a commitment with both linebacker Brayton Feister and tight end Anthony Cartwright III. Cartwright will commit on June 28, and Oregon is already viewed as the leader in the race for the 6-foot-5 pass-catcher from Detroit. Feister is fresh off a visit to Georgia, and the Bulldogs made a big push. However, the Ohio native and No. 10 linebacker in the class has always been strongly linked to the Ducks. An official visit this weekend could be enough to push the recruitment to the finish line.
There are a couple of question marks making their way to campus as well. Wide receiver Tae Walden Jr. and defensive lineman Brayden Parks are both leaning elsewhere, but the Ducks have a reasonable shot in both recruitments. Auburn has led the way for Walden, but a strong visit to LSU last week did make a difference. Oregon could do something similar this week, but as of now, he is thought to wind up in SEC territory.
Parks has been a Notre Dame lean, but the momentum over the past few months has swung between the Irish and the Ducks. Oregon gets the final say this weekend, and it could make the difference. Parks didn’t commit after he visited South Bend last weekend, leaving the door open for the Ducks to swoop in at the final hour before the dead period.
Oregon has been a leader for Mater Dei offensive lineman Lex Mailangi as well, but recent visits to Cal and UCLA have narrowed the gap. The Ducks could use another lineman in their class, with Gus Corsair being the only interior lineman committed. The Ducks have some work to do to regain the lead in the race.
Caden Waye is a late add to the list. Although he has had the Ducks at the top of his list since he narrowed his recruitment in the winter, his list has changed after a trip to UCF last weekend put the Knights in his top three. Oregon already has four-star running back CaDarius McMiller committed and is pushing hard for four-star Landen Williams-Callis. Waye is a bit of a wild card for the Ducks, so it will be interesting to see how his visit to Eugene goes.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon State Police are investigating a deadly officer-involved shooting that took place in Lincoln County on Wednesday.
Officers from the Newport Police Department, as well as OSP, responded to the 1500 block of the Siletz River Highway just before 4 p.m. to conduct a follow-up investigation, which later escalated into a fatal shooting.
The suspect is dead, and no officers or members of the community were injured, OSP said.
The investigation is ongoing.
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