Former Raiders QB Russell Named Biggest Bust Since 1990

Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell was at the top of an unfortunate list.

For football fans, hope springs eternal during the NFL Draft. The optimism and deep desire for a first-round pick to blossom into the league’s next big star is evergreen.

However, as Las Vegas Raiders fans know, this isn’t always true.

Especially in the case of one former Oakland Raider. CBS’ John Breech put out a list of the top 10 biggest draft busts since 1990, and topping off said list was quarterback JaMarcus Russell of the Raiders.

Russell was picked first overall in the 2007 NFL Draft out of LSU. He played just three seasons in the NFL, throwing for 4,083 yards, only 18 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. He started 25 career games and had a 7-18 record.

Russell’s story is one of great intrigue for a number of reasons. There were obvious red flags about him as a prospect that the Raiders just simply ignored, and they paid the price for it.

While Russell was an athletic marvel at LSU with great size and tremendous arm strength, concerns about him were not football related. As Breech writes, Russell despised studying -- made obvious by the infamous blank DVD story -- and conditioning, as he showed up to minicamp ahead of the 2010 season 20 pounds overweight.

The Raiders hold the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and hope this year’s selection has a better career than Russell.

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The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period began at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.

The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this offseason.

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