and a few other former players back in 2015, he was a total prick and overall a really shitty person. A lot of people don't realize he was also in jail. So between that and his shitty play thats my vote.
Primarily because he was a supplemental pick, which means we were the highest bid in a blind auction and at least half the league didn't feel he was worth a 1st round pick. That says something, especially at QB.
As a rookie he averaged 5 yards a carry and scored 6 TD's. Got hurt early his second year. That's not a guy who couldn't play in the NFL. Injuries ruin a lot of careers.
Primarily because he was a supplemental pick, which means we were the highest bid in a blind auction and at least half the league didn't feel he was worth a 1st round pick. That says something, especially at QB.
I read not long ago that Belichick who was HC of Cleveland at the time was going to draft him if the Giants didn't
As a rookie he averaged 5 yards a carry and scored 6 TD's. Got hurt early his second year. That's not a guy who couldn't play in the NFL. Injuries ruin a lot of careers.
Its not his fault he had to retire after only two years but still, we spent a 1st rd on the guy and he was gone-o not long after
The whole article is worth the read, but here are the two most important paragraphs:
"Looney’s problems immediately carried over to his professional career. He refused to follow the Giants’ dress code. He left folks flabbergasted by ignoring the press. Sometimes he just plain didn’t show up for practice.
"After only 28 days, and before even so much as a preseason game, the Giants traded Looney to the Baltimore Colts for safety Andy Nelson and wide receiver R.C. Owens. Looney would become the problem of Colts head coach Don Shula."
I'd say alienating coaches and upper management enough to be traded less than a month after being traded 12th overall qualifies as the worst pick in team history. Looney - ( New Window )
...because he only lasted 2 seasons before having to retire. At least the other guys stuck around awhile
David Wilson was at least an All-Pro kick returner and made great plays in limited time. I don't even think he belongs on the list, and besides, he was 1 pick away from being a 2nd rounder...picked at 32 overall.
Cedric Jones was the 5th overall pick and a complete and total bust. He gets my vote...but before you get to Wilson, I would say Eric Moore, Thomas Lewis, Butch Woolfolk, Derek Brown, William Joseph, Tyrone Wheatley, and George Adams. All terrible, all worse players than Wilson and all taken higher. Cedric Jones is the worst.
Willie Anderson was a 3x All-Pro OT taken a few picks later at #10, Marvin Harrison picked a little later in the first round, and Ray Lewis also taken in the first round. If only Jonathan Ogden could've fallen one more spot. And there were many other good players in that draft, like Terry Glenn, Regan Upshaw, Eddie George, Duane Clemons, and Jerome Woods all taken in the first round. One of the best players in that draft was missed twice by just about every team, as Philadelphia drafted Brian Dawkins at the end of round 2.
Jones was a miserable pick to be taken at #5 overall, I don't even think it's close.
As a rookie he averaged 5 yards a carry and scored 6 TD's. Got hurt early his second year. That's not a guy who couldn't play in the NFL. Injuries ruin a lot of careers.
Totally agree, the guy was an obj game breaker without the diva aspect. If the doctors missed something that's on them not Reese or Wilson.
Tucker Frederickson was the #1 pick. After his rookie year, he was a shell of the player the Giants drafted. From an ROI standpoint, the worst was probably a top-five pick like him, John Hicks or Cedric Jones - although Frederickson and Hicks were reasonable picks at the time, and Jones was the result of picking fifth in a draft with four blue-chip players and one sociopathic running back.
The worst use of a first round pick was probably the Craig Morton trade. That was the #2 selection in 1975, which the Cowboys turned into Randy White. The fourth pick that year was Walter Payton. On the other hand, if the Giants had kept the pick, they might very well have taken Ken Huff or Mack Mitchell.
I agree. Really wanted Simeon Rice but AZ knabed him at pick 3, Baltimore takes Ogden. Young then spends the 5th overall on a one eyed DE. I kept screaming please just take Ray Lewis. Nope. The one sweet thing is they took Amani Toomer in round 2 who I was praying for.
to be Derek Brown. The guy really had no NFL career to speak of.
I've always been on the side of Dave Brown that thinks he takes too much shit. He was a starting calibre QB for several years, and was hampered by being part of the Jersey Broncos and Reeves.
Guy gave it his all and it wasn't like he had a supporting cast that he let down.
The Giants selected both at the end of the first round, after winning a Super Bowl. Both showed promise, then suffered catastrophic injuries. I don't think either belongs on this list. The ideal picks would have been Brett Favre in 1991 (rather than Bunch, plus Dave Brown in the supplemental draft a year later) and Cordy Glenn in 2012. Hindsight is 20-20.
These are all very good candidates and it is unfortunately a very tough call. And no doubt the Craig Morton trade could not have been more costly in terms of first round opportunities lost...
But if I have to select the worst three actual draft picks, it has to be based on both who they took AND who they missed! So a severe reach pick while leaving "HOF best player available talent" on the board. So Derek Brown and Ron Dayne, both of whom might have been top three, did not make the cut because there were no HOFers in the 1992 NFL draft and no HOFers after Dayne was selected in the 2000 NFL draft...
#3. 1995 Tyrone Wheatley (passed on three HOFers - Derrick Brooks, Curtis Martin, Terrell Davis)
#2. 1971 Rocky Thompson (passed on three HOFers - Jack Youngblood, Dan Dierdorf and Jack Ham)
#1. 1996 Cedric Jones (passed on four HOFers - (Marvin Harrison, Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Terrell Owens)
I remember meeting and talking to Paul Zimmerman at a wine tasting around April of ‘91 after winning SB XXV. They actually had the ESPN draft on. I remember him saying after we took Bunch, “the rich just got richer, he’s a steal.”
I'm always going to think Brown could've been a decent QB if he had a better coaching staff and offense to work with
Wheatley didn't help his cause by being lazy and alienating teammates with his weird personality. His nickname in the locker room was "Enigma"
Quote:
...because he only lasted 2 seasons before having to retire. At least the other guys stuck around awhile
. How long did Jones last? I can’t remember
He played for at least 4 seasons. I'm pretty sure he was on the 2000 Superbowl team
Quote:
Tyrone Wheatley
I'm always going to think Brown could've been a decent QB if he had a better coaching staff and offense to work with
I tend to agree with that. I always loved the fact that he was a hometown kid, who grew up a Giants fan. Just didn't work out.
John Hicks and Gordon King...
David Wilson definitely does not belong on the list. He looked good until he hurt his neck.
I read not long ago that Belichick who was HC of Cleveland at the time was going to draft him if the Giants didn't
Its not his fault he had to retire after only two years but still, we spent a 1st rd on the guy and he was gone-o not long after
Receiving yards: 401
Touchdowns: 1
The guy was the 14th pick in the draft.
Those numbers are like what Witten did to us for 2 games per year...
"Looney’s problems immediately carried over to his professional career. He refused to follow the Giants’ dress code. He left folks flabbergasted by ignoring the press. Sometimes he just plain didn’t show up for practice.
"After only 28 days, and before even so much as a preseason game, the Giants traded Looney to the Baltimore Colts for safety Andy Nelson and wide receiver R.C. Owens. Looney would become the problem of Colts head coach Don Shula."
I'd say alienating coaches and upper management enough to be traded less than a month after being traded 12th overall qualifies as the worst pick in team history.
Looney - ( New Window )
David Wilson was at least an All-Pro kick returner and made great plays in limited time. I don't even think he belongs on the list, and besides, he was 1 pick away from being a 2nd rounder...picked at 32 overall.
Cedric Jones was the 5th overall pick and a complete and total bust. He gets my vote...but before you get to Wilson, I would say Eric Moore, Thomas Lewis, Butch Woolfolk, Derek Brown, William Joseph, Tyrone Wheatley, and George Adams. All terrible, all worse players than Wilson and all taken higher. Cedric Jones is the worst.
Willie Anderson was a 3x All-Pro OT taken a few picks later at #10, Marvin Harrison picked a little later in the first round, and Ray Lewis also taken in the first round. If only Jonathan Ogden could've fallen one more spot. And there were many other good players in that draft, like Terry Glenn, Regan Upshaw, Eddie George, Duane Clemons, and Jerome Woods all taken in the first round. One of the best players in that draft was missed twice by just about every team, as Philadelphia drafted Brian Dawkins at the end of round 2.
Jones was a miserable pick to be taken at #5 overall, I don't even think it's close.
Get serious. A life threating injury makes him a bad pick? Jesus, smfh
He made 3 plays. The rest of the time he was mediocre at best.
Derek Brown gets my vote. Though I wasn’t around as a fan for some of the train wrecks being discussed from earlier years.
Totally agree, the guy was an obj game breaker without the diva aspect. If the doctors missed something that's on them not Reese or Wilson.
And I was critical of the pick when it happened.
They should have gone Shaun Alexander, like I was screaming for weeks;)! 100tds!
Receiving yards: 401
Touchdowns: 1
The guy was the 14th pick in the draft.
Those numbers are like what Witten did to us for 2 games per year...
Give Brown a break, that's an unfair comparison, it's tough to play against NFL caliber LBs.
The worst use of a first round pick was probably the Craig Morton trade. That was the #2 selection in 1975, which the Cowboys turned into Randy White. The fourth pick that year was Walter Payton. On the other hand, if the Giants had kept the pick, they might very well have taken Ken Huff or Mack Mitchell.
No he doesn’t.
I agree. Really wanted Simeon Rice but AZ knabed him at pick 3, Baltimore takes Ogden. Young then spends the 5th overall on a one eyed DE. I kept screaming please just take Ray Lewis. Nope. The one sweet thing is they took Amani Toomer in round 2 who I was praying for.
Still, Cedric Jones at pick 5 to me is the worst.
I've always been on the side of Dave Brown that thinks he takes too much shit. He was a starting calibre QB for several years, and was hampered by being part of the Jersey Broncos and Reeves.
Guy gave it his all and it wasn't like he had a supporting cast that he let down.
But if I have to select the worst three actual draft picks, it has to be based on both who they took AND who they missed! So a severe reach pick while leaving "HOF best player available talent" on the board. So Derek Brown and Ron Dayne, both of whom might have been top three, did not make the cut because there were no HOFers in the 1992 NFL draft and no HOFers after Dayne was selected in the 2000 NFL draft...
#3. 1995 Tyrone Wheatley (passed on three HOFers - Derrick Brooks, Curtis Martin, Terrell Davis)
#2. 1971 Rocky Thompson (passed on three HOFers - Jack Youngblood, Dan Dierdorf and Jack Ham)
#1. 1996 Cedric Jones (passed on four HOFers - (Marvin Harrison, Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Terrell Owens)
Unfortunately, injuries did him in.