Is Jamarcus Russell the Worst #1 Draft Pick of All-Time?

That question was posed to me today. My initial reaction was to say yes; I mean, have you seen him this year? Its incredible. Even when JaMarcus manages to win, it is in spite of him and not because of him. In the Raiders’ 13-10 slop-fest victory against the Kansas City Chiefs during week two this season, Russell went 7-24 for 109 yards. I highly doubt he received the game ball after the W.

But it just didn’t seem fair to give the LSU alum the title of ‘Worst #1 draft pick’, given that its only his third year in the League. Then again, if you compare his stats with other notable draft busts in their first few seasons, JaMarcus still comes out in last place. Even guys like Courtney Brown in 2000 and Ki-Jana Carter in ‘95, who both had injury-plagued careers, managed to scrap together enough playing time to contribute more for their respective teams than Russell has to date.

His career stats read like this: 3687 yards, 17 TDs, 20 INTs.

Chad Pennington did better than that last year alone. Hell, Tom BradyTom Brady did better than that in 15 minutes last week.

Is this really the best JaMarcus can do? How can someone go from being the most highly touted player coming out of college, to being benched for Bruce Gradkowski? Russell’s career passer rating sits at 66.7. That is the lowest of all quarterbacks with enough passing attempts since 2007, making him THE WORST passer since he came into the League. Then again, pre-prison Michael VickMichael Vick (another former #1 pick) wasn’t really known for his passing accuracy either. He made his living on the ground, using his speed to destroy secondaries. JaMarcus doesn’t have that luxury. He stands at 6’6” and is listed as weighing 260, but if you’ve ever seen him play, you know that number is probably closer to three bills. He has to pass; you take that away from him and you know what you have? An offensive lineman with no blocking abilities. Having said all of that, the NFL has been around for quite a while; there’s got to be at least one other #1 pick with worse numbers.

Turns out, you have to go all the way back to 1959 to find somebody as pathetic as JaMarcus RussellJaMarcus Russell- Randy Duncan. This guy played one year in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and did so little, it technically counts as nothing. Randy “Nothing” Duncan. On the other hand, that was fifty years ago, before the NFL became the huge powerhouse it is today. Back then, the League was small and much weaker on talent; it didn’t have the constant media coverage today’s NFL has. Basically, to make a career out of football in 1959 was much more difficult than it is in 2009. Given all of the contributing factors, JaMarcus Russell has to be the most disappointing of the two men.

Yet he continues to start for the Oakland Raiders. Why? Because Al DavisAl Davis has completely lost his mind. There are three things Al loves: winning, speed and cannon arms. The problem is, he forgot which one of those things is most important. Since the ass beating handed to them by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Raiders have resided in the AFC West cellar, never making it back to the playoffs. And you can attribute some of that to their poor drafting history. In the 2009 draft, Al Davis decided to pick wideout Darrious Heyward-Bey instead of taking the best eligible receiver, Michael Crabtree. His reason? Heyward-Bey had the fastest 40 yard dash time. I shouldn’t need to explain how flawed that strategy is. You just don’t draft a guy because he can throw the ball fifty yards from his knee.

Other notable players the Raiders could have drafted first overall in 2007 instead of JaMarcus Russell:

Adrian Peterson, Joe Thomas, Patrick WillisPatrick Willis, Darrelle Revis, Jon Beason, Marshawn Lynch- all having made at least one Pro Bowl.

Trent Edwards, the Buffalo Bills QB, would’ve been a better choice than Russell, and he wasn’t taken until the third round.

After the 38-0 loss at the hands of the New York Jets, Tom Cable verified in the post-game news conference that indeed Russell will be starting next week against the division rival San Diego Chargers. The look on his face said it all, “This is NOT my decision”. Clearly, it is Mr. Davis’ way, or the highway in Oakland and I doubt that will be changing any time soon. That must come as good news for JaMarcus, who’ll be given all the time in the world to shake loose of the title of ‘Worst #1 Draft Pick of All-Time’.

But don’t count on that happening.