The worst NFL draft pick of all time by every team
By Erik Lambert
The NFL draft is motivated by two emotions above all others. One is hope. The other is fear. Hope that this is the year that launches a Super Bowl run.
Fear that it could set the team back for years to come if they get their most important pick wrong. No word scares teams, experts and fans more than the dreaded “bust.” Label. There have been many of this type over the years. The nature of the sport, in general, is that not everybody gets to be good. Some have to be bad to better appreciate those who make the ascent to the top.
Every team has experienced this in the past, but it always raises the question. You know the best of the best. Well what about the worst of the worst? What was the pick every franchise has made that invites nothing but groans and involuntary cringing?
1. Arizona Cardinals
1. player. 32. . RB. Texas A&M. Larry Stegent
The Arizona Cardinals needed an offensive star to help them get things pointed in the right direction at the start of the 1970s. Larry Stegent looked like a strong bet coming out of Texas A&M. He looked like a running back who was ahead of his time because he ran the ball well but was also a dangerous receiver out of the backfield. If he landed in the right conditions, he could be a dynamic threat defenses had to account for.
Sadly, Stegent never got the chance. In the first preseason game of his NFL career, he suffered a bad knee injury. Remember that medicine in those days was nowhere close to what it is today. Recovering from knee injuries to regain your old form was almost impossible. Stegent returned in 1971 but he clearly wasn’t the same. He caught one pass for 12 yards as a Cardinal, playing in just seven games overall.