Best and Worst of the NFL Draft: 40-30

30.  Frank Gore                     RB      San Francisco 49ers              65 overall (3rd round) 2005
A big-time recruit at Miami (Fl.), the 5-foot-10 workhorse suffered two gory (see what I did there) knee injuries that shortened his college career and hurt his draft stock.  People knew Gore could play—he was Big East Freshman of the Year after averaging a whopping 11.3 yards per carry and had beaten out Willis McGahee for the starting job before suffering a torn ACL in his sophomore campaign—but his history of injuries and a 4.68 40-yard dash time scared away potential suitors.  The Niners took a small gamble in the third round and it paid off big, as Gore rushed for an NFC-high 1,695 yards in 2006. 

 Worst Picks

40.  Byron Hanspard            RB      Atlanta Falcons         41 overall (2nd round) 1997
Hanspard won the Doak Walker award as a senior at Texas Tech back in the days when the Red Raiders recognized the position of running back.  A pure speed back, Hanspard was drafted ahead of Corey Dillon and Duce Staley, which in retrospect proved to be huge mistakes.  Atlanta lucked out because former seventh-round pick Jamal Anderson turned into a superstar, so Hanspard’s disappointing transition to the NFL didn’t affect his team much. 

39.  Rod Gardner      WR     Washington Redskins 15 overall (1st round) 2001
The Skins have been looking to add size to their receiving corps ever since Gardner flopped.  A big, physical target out of Clemson, Gardner’s lack of speed ultimately doomed a once-promising career.  He had a career-high 1,006 yards receiving in his second season, but quickly faded and has since been a member of the Packers, Panthers, and Chiefs. 

38.  Rae Carruth       WR     Carolina Panthers     27 overall (1st round) 1997
To an extent, the Panthers got unlucky with this pick, but Carruth is an example of why teams need to do extensive character checks before drafting a player.  Carruth flashed potential in his first few seasons—he made first team all-rookie—but his career came to a crashing halt in 1999 when he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.  Carruth hired a hitman to murder his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time.  She was shot four times in a drive-by shooting and eventually fell into a coma and died a month later.  Carruth was found guilty and his football career was rightfully cut short. 

37.  Maurice Clarett RB       Denver Broncos         101 overall (3rd round) 2005
Mike Shanahan is usually pretty good at pegging running backs, but he made a huge mistake with the last pick of the third round.  All off-the-field issues aside, Clarett ran a disgustingly slow 40 time and didn’t seem to be a fit in Denver’s one-cut system.  Marion Barber and Brandon Jacobs, who came off the board at 109 and 110 respectively, would have each been scary in the Broncos offense. 

36.  Dimitrius Underwood DE Minnesota Vikings            29 overall (1st round) 1999
No one denied Underwood’s physical abilities, but there were serious concerns about his character.  His college coaches at Michigan State said he wasn’t mentally prepared for the NFL, and they were right.  Underwood quit the Vikings on his first day of training camp and signed with the Dolphins, who released him after he attempted suicide.  Shortly thereafter, Underwood was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and for whatever reason, the Cowboys decided it would be a good idea to sign him.  After he ran into traffic in a second attempt to kill himself, Jerry Jones cut him and ended the experiment.  Underwood was drafted one pick ahead of perennial Pro Bowl (and mentally stable) defensive end Patrick Kerney.

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