Warrick, Klingler fell way short in Cincy

Every year, players enter the NFL draft who are expected to be the next big thing. They're projected as top-10 picks; their scouting reports are flawless; and they are supposed to change the way their position is played.

But for every player who comes in, makes an immediate impact and becomes a perennial Pro Bowler, there are those who struggle to find their way and are out of the league in no time.

Here is ESPN.com's ranking of the top 50 busts in NFL draft history. These lists reflect players selected since the NFL and the old American Football League merged drafts in 1967.

1-15 | 31-50

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Drafted by: Bengals, first round, No. 4 overall, 2000
Warrick posted decent numbers in his five seasons with the Bengals but never lived up his potential after being one of the all-time great offensive players in college football history at Florida State. Warrick would spend one season with the Seahawks.

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Drafted by: Bengals, first round, No. 6 overall, 1992
Klingler was supposed to be the heir apparent to QB Boomer Esiason, but he may have picked up too many bad habits running the Cougars' version of the run 'n' shoot offense in college. In his first three NFL seasons, Klingler went 4-20 as a starter, throwing 15 TD passes, 20 interceptions and getting sacked 82 times.

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Drafted by: Giants, first round, No. 14 overall, 1992
New York Giants. Tight end. Notre Dame. Unfortunately for Brown, he had the tools but was no Mark Bavaro. In three seasons, Brown played in 45 games and caught 11 passes for one TD before bouncing around the league the next few seasons.

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Drafted by: Browns, first round, No. 1 overall, 1999
The Browns re-entered the NFL in 1999 hoping Couch would be their franchise quarterback for years to come. And while his 22-37 record as a starter can't be blamed completely on him, his failure to endear himself to the home fans and subsequent injury problems made him a big disappointment.

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Drafted by: Bears, first round, No. 5 overall, 1998
Enis dominated the Big Ten while at Penn State, scoring 36 touchdowns in three seasons. Unfortunately for the Bears, that's also how long his NFL career lasted. His longest run in three seasons in the windy city was 29 yards.

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Drafted by: Seahawks, first round, No. 2 overall, 1976
Similar to their expansion brethren, the Buccaneers, that year with DE Lee Roy Selmon, the expansion Hawks had the right idea trying to build in the trenches. But Selmon wound up in the Hall of Fame while this former Golden Domer started just 20 games in three years in Seattle before ending his career with the Vikings in 1979.

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Drafted by: Jets, first round, No. 2 overall, 1990
The former Nittany Lion lasted four seasons with the Jets and never reached 1,000 yards rushing. After being let go by New York in 1993, Thomas made brief appearances with the Patriots, Cowboys and Panthers. He rushed for 2,236 yards and seven touchdowns in his disappointing career.

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Drafted by: Cardinals, first round, No. 6 overall, 1987
After he was drafted by the Cardinals, Stouffer and the team could not agree on a contract and he held out the entire season. In 1988, the Cardinals traded his rights to the Seahawks, where Stouffer started 16 games over four years before being let go in 1992. He briefly reappeared with the Carolina Panthers in 1996 but never played in a game.

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Drafted by: Cardinals, second round, No. 46 overall, 1992
This former Nittany Lion played in just two NFL games (never starting) and would eventually find his way to the World League of American Football (the original version of NFL Europe), where he saw action with the now-defunct Barcelona Dragons.

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Drafted by: Steelers, first round, No. 7 overall,1989
After a so-so start, Worley got hot late in his rookie season, led the team in rushing and helped the surprising Steelers rally from a horrible start to make the playoffs as a wild card. But his numbers decreased each year with Pittsburgh and he was eventually dealt to the Bears midway through the '93 season.

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Drafted by: Bengals, first round, No. 3 overall,1979
In five-plus seasons with the Bengals and Buccaneers, the "Throwin' Samoan" was never really able to unseat veteran QB Ken Anderson, and when he played, he put up mediocre numbers at best. He was eventually dealt to Tampa Bay.

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Drafted by: Bills, first round, No. 1 overall,1972
You would expect a lot more from a first overall selection, but this former Golden Dome standout never delivered in four seasons with the Bills. He was dealt to St. Louis in 1976 (and missed that season with a knee injury) and would end his career after the '77 campaign after a year with the Cardinals&

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Drafted by: Packers, first round, No. 2 overall, 1989
Dubbed "The Incredible Bulk" by Sports Illustrated, this man-mountain was expected to be the next great offensive tackle. But he appeared to be more hype than anything else and soon became a punch line for draft busts (especially since RB Barry Sanders was picked No. 3 that year). To his credit, Mandarich revived his career in the late '90s at guard with the Indianapolis Colts.

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Drafted by: Chiefs, first round, No. 7 overall,1983
The biggest disappointment of the fabled quarterback class of 1983, Blackledge led the Nittany Lions to a national title in 1982. But he never started a full season with the Chiefs, was dealt to the Steelers in 1988 (where his father was a longtime assistant) and unspectacularly finished his career the following season.

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Drafted by: Lions, first round, No. 27 overall, 1999
It didn't take long for the Lions to realize they missed on the 6-foot-6, 375-pound offensive tackle. After he appeared in only 11 games over three seasons, the Lions parted ways with Gibson. He would play briefly for the Cowboys and Bears before taking his game to the AFL, where he now plays for the Austin Wranglers.

Russell S. Baxter, Ryan McCrystal, Jon D. Kramer, Jon T. Stewart, Chris Fallica and Paul Kinney of ESPN research contributed to this report.

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