Wide receivers can create some of the most excitement in the NFL. Short passes can become long plays. Deep passes can become memorable touchdowns. And on the down side, if you can’t do what is expected, you can become a major disappointment. The first-rounders on the list fall into the latter category.
Dennis Homan (Cowboys)
The Dallas Cowboys chose Dennis Homan 20th overall out of Alabama in 1968. Tom Landry and the brass had high hopes for the Crimson Tide star. He didn’t pan out, lasting three years in Dallas and making 23 catches. He then went to KC for two years, making only 14 more grabs.
Eldridge Dickey (Raiders)
One of the most unfair stories of the old NFL. Eldridge Dickey was a lighting-strike as a quarterback in college. He lit it up. He was the first African-American QB selected in the first round. How great was Dickey? The Raiders’ second-round pick that season was Ken Stabler. So, what did the Raiders try and do? They tried to turn a quarterback into a wide receiver. Dickey caught five passes, playing in 1968 and ’71.
Jim Seymour (Bears)
The Terry Hanratty-to-Jim Seymour connection at Notre Dame was the stuff of legend in South Bend. The duo was on the cover of Time magazine in 1966. Seymour was chosen by the LA Rams 10th overall but wound up a Chicago Bear. He spent three seasons with them, catching 21 passes.
Terry Beasley (49ers)
Another lethal college combination was Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley. The receiver part — Beasley — was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and was riddled by injuries. He lasted three seasons and caught 38 passes, three for TDs.
Steve Holden (Browns)
Steve Holden was chosen by the Cleveland Browns 16th overall out of Arizona State in 1973. He played for five seasons, the final one as a Bengal. Holden caught 62 passes in 54 games.
Barry Smith (Packers)
Barry Smith was the Green Bay Packers’ first pick in the 1973 draft. The 21st overall selection lasted four seasons, one with Tampa Bay, and caught 45 passes for 692 yard while appearing in 24 games.
Larry Burton (Saints)
Larry Burton was a speed merchant. So fast, he made the U.S. Olympic team in 1972 and finished fourth in the 200 at Munich. His speed didn’t translate to the NFL, however, as he played five seasons (three with the Saints and two with the Chargers) and made 44 grabs for 804 yards.
Randy Burke (Colts)
Ted Marchibroda (pictured) and the Colts drafted Randy Burke out of Kentucky with the 26th overall pick in 1977. He did not make a catch until 1979 and was out of the NFL after 1981.
Willis Adams (Browns)
Willis Adams played college ball at the University of Houston. He displayed enough as a Cougar for the Cleveland Browns to pick him 20th overall in 1979. It didn’t pan out as Adams made only 61 catches in 75 career games.
David Verser (Bengals)
David Verser was a wide receiver and kick returner from Kansas the Cincinnati Bengals grabbed 10th overall in 1981. He did play in the Super Bowl when the Bengals lost to the 49ers after his rookie season. He did not work out as a wideout with 23 catches in five seasons.
Anthony Hancock (Chiefs)
Anthony Hancock was the 11th overall pick out of Tennessee by the Kansas City Chiefs. Also a returner, Hancock made eight starts in five seasons as a wideout. He caught 73 passes, five for touchdowns.
Lindsay Scott (Saints)
Lindsay Scott didn’t need a pro career to have an unforgettable highlight moment. He caught a pass in the Florida-Georgia game in 1980 and took it all the way to the house to give the Dawgs the rivalry victory. The unluck 13th selection in the first round in 1982, Scott played four seasons and scored one TD while making 69 catches.
Clyde Duncan (Cardinals)
Clyde Duncan was a returner and a receiver drafted from Tennessee. He lasted two seasons and made a total of four catches for 39 yards. A holdout hurt his rookie season and then he suffered a shoulder injury that derailed the rest of it.
Thomas Lewis (Giants)
Thomas Lewis played football in basketball-crazy Indiana. He caught a 99-yard TD pass as a Hoosier in 1993. He was chosen by the New York Giants and stuck with Big Blue for four seasons. The highlight one was 1996 when he made 53 of his career 74 catches.
Yatil Green (Dolphins)
Injuries ruined Yatil Green, the 15th overall choice by the Dolphins out of Miami. On the very first day of training camp, Green tore quadriceps muscles, his ACL and cartilage. He blew the ACL again the next season in training camp. Ater three years and a total of 10 surgeries on his right knee, he was cut by the Dolphins having made 18 catches for 234 yards.
Rae Carruth (Panthers)
Nothing more needs to be said about Rae Carruth than the word: Awful.
Marcus Nash (Broncos)
The Denver Broncos drafted Marcus Nash 30th overall in 1998. The Tennessee product made four catches for 76 yards in his career.
Sylvester Morris (Chiefs)
Sylvester Morris came from Jackson State to the Kansas City Chiefs. He suffered a series of knee injuries that limited him to one season on the field and four seasons with the team. Morris did catch 48 balls in 2000.
R. Jay Soward (Jaguars)
R. Jay Soward was the Jaguars’ top pick — 29th overall — out of USC in 2000. He played one season and caught 14 passes for 154 yards. Soward then ran afoul of the league’s substance abuse policy that led to numerous suspensions, which ruined his career.
Charles Rogers (Lions)
One of the saddest and biggest busts of all-time. Charles Rogers was drafted by the home-state Detroit Lions second overall out of Michigan State in 2003. He made 36 catches in a career that was checkered by substance abuse issues. He was out of the league after 2005.
Rashaun Woods (49ers)
The 49ers reached into Stillwater, Ok, to draft Rashaun Woods out of Oklahoma State 31st overall in 2004. He bounced from SF to SD to Denver. The only season Woods had stats was 2004 when he made seven catches for 160 yards before injuring his hand.
Troy Williamson (Vikings)
The seventh overall choice out of South Carolina by the Minnesota Vikings in 2005, Troy Williamson’s stay with the Purple People was three seasons. He then went to Jacksonville for a couple years. Overall. Williamson made 87 catches.
Mike Williams (Lions)
The Detroit Lions portion of Mike Williams’ career lands him here. Along with Maurice Clarett, he unsuccessfully challenged the NFL to allow him draft eligibility as a sophomore. The Lions then chose him 10th overall and he basically washed out with them, the Titans and the Raiders. Williams then was given a chance for redemption by his college coach Pete Carroll, who was in Seattle. He had a 65-catch season in s2010, played in 2011 and that was that.
Craig Davis (Chargers)
Craig Davis came to the San Diego Chargers via LSU. He stuck with SD for four seasons. Davis caught 51 passes, two for touchdowns.
Anthony Gonzalez (Colts)
Anthony Gonzalez is a member of the House of Representatives. His political career follows one that saw him as a No. 1 pick of the Indianapolis Colts out of Ohio State. In five seasons, he made 99 catches for 1,307 yards.
Jonathan Baldwin (Chiefs)
Drafted 26th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs, Jonathan Baldwin lasted two seasons with them, another in SF before his career was over after 44 receptions following 2013.
Justin Blackmon (Jaguars)
Justin Blackmon found trouble all the time. And the Jacksonville Jaguars has basically burned a first-round pick. After making the All-Rookie team in 2012,
A.J. Jenkins (49ers)
You know there is a problem when the first-round pick in 2012 appears in only three games. A.J. Jenkins was on the Super Bowl winning San Francisco 49ers so he has a ring. He was then dealt to KC, where he made the 17 catches that encompassed his career total.
Kevin White (Bears)
Injuries, injuries and more injuries have derailed Kevin White. In three seasons in Chicago, he has played 14 games and made 25 catches. He is now going to try and catch on with the Arizona Cardinals.
Breshad Perriman (Ravens)
Breshad Perriman is on his fourth team since being selected 26th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015. If it sounds ominous, it should. He was injured on the first day of training camp and eventually wound up on IR. Since he has caught 33, 10 and 16 passes respectively. Perriman was going to sign as a free agent with the Cleveland Brows. When they traded for Odell Beckham Jr. he decided it was not for him and opted to head to Tampa Bay.
Corey Coleman (Browns)
The Browns drafted Corey Coleman 15th overall out of Baylor, where he put up impressive numbers. They have not translated to the NFL. He caught 52 passes in Cleveland in a season and a half before turning up as a New York Giant.
John Ross (Bengals)
John Ross was fast, incredibly fast. He ran an eye-opening 4.22 in the 40 at the NFL Combine. The Bengals saw it and grabbed him with the ninth overall pick in 2017. In two seasons, one cut by injury, he has 21 catches for 210 yards.
