The Cincinnati Bengals have long been associated with failings from the front office. Accusations of ownership being cheap and not interested in winning.
With this attitude, the Bengals have whiffed on many draft picks. To be fair, the Bengals have nailed many draft picks but this list isn’t about the good, only the bad.
Let’s take a look at the worst of the worst. We’ll go in order from the earliest picks to the more recent picks.
Billy Brooks, WR (Oklahoma)
Drafted 11th overall in 1976
Billy Brooks was a standout wide receiver and looked to make a statement in the NFL. He was quite a large target at 6’3” and 202 pounds. He should’ve been a solid pass catcher in the black and orange.
Unfortunately, his career never really took off. He only played four seasons in Cincinnati and during that time amassed 1,683 yards and seven touchdowns. His bright spot was his sophomore season with 772 yards and four touchdowns being added to his resumé.
Brooks regressed after the 1977 season and played for two other teams before being completely out of the league by 1981. The 1976 draft class wasn’t one for the ages. Archie Griffin almost landed in this spot as the Bengals’ 24th pick.
Brooks edges Griffin out only because higher expectations fell onto his shoulders. Larry Gordon was a player Cincy could’ve gotten. Instead, the Dolphins snagged him with the 17th pick. He was a solid linebacker for the Dolphins.
Mike Cobb, TE (Michigan State)
Drafted 22nd overall in1977
Mike Cobb caught exactly zero passes during his 13-game outing in the striped uniform in 1977. He was then traded to the Bears.
He found slightly more success in his four years in Chicago, catching 11 passes for 134 yards and no touchdowns during his Chicago tenure. Cobb fared better in the USFL where he played for the Michigan Panthers for two seasons. The Michigan State product had over 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a Panther.
The game has come a long way since 1977. Tight ends are utilized much differently now than they were back then. He could’ve been more of a pass blocker rather than a pass-catching tight end but to not catch one single pass during a season almost seems implausible.
Stanley Morgan was selected just three picks later by the Patriots. Morgan made four Pro Bowl appearances during his career. In the second round, the Jets selected Wesley Walker at receiver. In his second season, he led the NFL in receiving yards.
Jack Thompson, QB (Washington State)
Drafted 3rd overall in 1979
Jack Thompson may be remembered as a bad draft pick, but he at least had one of the greatest nicknames in the game — Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson. The Washington State product was selected so high because Cincy thought Ken Anderson’s days were numbered.
Anderson broke a bone in his right hand and missed the first four games. After an 0-5 start their coach quit and Anderson finished the season 4-8. The front office was prepped for a rebuild and decided to start with the quarterback position and took the standout at Washington State.
Thompson only started four games in 1980 and stayed on the team for two more seasons but never started. He sat behind Ken Anderson as the star quarterback led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in the 1981 season.
In 1983, Thompson was traded to Tampa where he only played two more seasons of football. In 1979, Phil Simms and Kellen Winslow Sr. were still on the board. It would’ve been interesting how it would’ve played out with Anderson and Simms on the roster.
David Verser, WR (Kansas)
Drafted 10th overall in 1981
A decent receiver from the University of Kansas, the front office clearly thought David Verser could be their X-Factor since they drafted him 10th overall. Yes, the Bengals used a top 10 pick on a returner and Verser never really started as a wide receiver.
There have been some amazing kick and punt returners in NFL history. Darren Sproles was amazing, but he also played a lot on offense. Devin Hester might be the only returner who is primarily a special teams player that might be worth a top 10 pick.
Even still they don’t impact every game often enough to warrant a top 10 pick. The Bengals went ahead and drafted Verser 10th overall. In his four seasons, he amassed 1,310 return yards and zero touchdowns. He also totaled 454 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Not now but in 1981 maybe it would’ve been considered a reach, but the Bengals could’ve drafted Mike Singletary or Howie Long, both fell to the second round. Hindsight is always 20/20 but those are two names any franchise would love to have in their Ring of Honor.
Rickey Dixon, DB (Oklahoma)
Drafted 5th overall in 1988
Rickey Dixon was a great defensive player at Oklahoma. The Bengals were looking to build their team into a championship and they thought that Dixon could help shore up the defense. Though he did start most of his rookie season and help take the Bengals to the Super Bowl, that was the highlight for the Sooner DB.
After the 1989 season, Dixon lost his starting position and that was all she wrote for the former fifth overall pick as a starter. What makes the Rickey Dixon pick stand out more is who he was drafted above.
1988 was somewhat of a stacked draft with three Hall of Famers being drafted in the top 20. Just one pick after Dixon went off the board, the Raiders selected Tim Brown; Only one of the greatest NFL receivers ever. At 11th, the Cowboys selected Michael Irvin. You get the point.
David Klinger, QB (Houston)
Drafted 6th overall in1992
Usually, it’s a little hyperbolic when someone says this person was prolific at something. Well, it’s pretty accurate for David Klinger in college while at Houston University. During his 1990 season at Houston, Klinger threw for 5,140 yards and 54 touchdowns.
This includes a game against Eastern Washington when Klinger threw for 11 touchdowns and 572 yards in an 84 – 21 route against the Panthers. In 1990 Klinger set a record that still holds today. with the most passing yards per game for a season at 467.3 yards per game.
Boomer Esiason’s time in the striped jersey was coming to an end and the organization knew they needed to replace him. Who better than a player who threw for over 9,000 yards in two seasons in college? Cincinnati selected David Klinger sixth overall in the 1992 draft.
He only played three seasons in the black and orange. Plagued by the injury bug, the Houston product never started a full season in Cincy. He only threw for 3,800+ yards in three seasons as a Bengal. He was truly one of the biggest disappointments in Cincinnati history.
Ki-Jana Carter, RB (Penn State)
Drafted 1st overall in1995
A superstar at Penn State, Ki-Jana Carter was the no-brainer pick for the Bengals to be their next star running back. He was the projected and obvious pick with the number one overall pick and was looked at as the kind of player you’d only pass on if you had Barry Sanders.
The Bengals did not have the first overall pick, which was held by the new expansion team the Carolina Panthers. Cincy knew that Carter would ignite the franchise back into relevance. Instead, the franchise kept floating in the ether.
In a preseason game, Carter tore his ACL. Now that injury isn’t a career killer that to medical advances but back then it was essentially a career-ender, which is what happened to Carter. He was never the same after his injury and after just four years was out of Cincy.
Carter bounced around to three other teams in a four-year span before leaving the NFL for good. It’s a shame medicine wasn’t where it was at like today. So many players might not have turned into draft busts and Ki-Jana Carter is one that we’ll always wonder about.
Akili Smith, QB (Oregon)
Drafted 3rd overall in1999
Easily the worst pick the Tiger Stripes ever made and possibly one of the worst draft picks in NFL history is Akili Smith. The quarterback only played 23 college games for the Oregon Ducks during his college career. He threw 45 touchdowns in 23 games.
Clearly, the Bengals thought that Smith could turn their franchise around. Even going so far as to turn down Ditka and his trade offer so the Saints could move up to draft Ricky Williams (who they eventually drafted at five after a blockbuster trade with the Redskins).
Smith’s time in the striped uniform is now infamous. Every “highlight” that appeared on ESPN was him either fumbling or throwing an interception. It might sound hyperbolic but Bengals fans remember. He played four seasons in Cincy totaling five touchdowns and 13 interceptions and 13 fumbles.
The 1999 draft was considered one of the deeper drafts for signal-callers. After Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb were off the board, Smith was the third quarterback taken. The good guys could’ve drafted Daunte Culpepper. Oh, what could’ve been…
Peter Warrick, WR (Florida State)
Drafted 4th overall in 2000
Every Florida State fan knows Peter Warrick, who was a beast at Florida State and helped lead the team to two BCS national title appearances including a victory in the 1999 season. During that season he had just under 1,000 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.
During his entire college career, he amassed 3,517 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns. Unfortunately, his professional career never lived up to the hype that his college career promised. During his first three seasons in the black and orange Warrick never accumulated more than 667 receiving yards a season.
His fourth season was better, as he totaled 819 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. However, during his fifth season, he suffered an injury and missed most of the season. T.J. Houshmandzadeh replaced Warrick as WR2 and Warrick never made it back to the starting squad.
Before the start of the 2005 NFL season, Warrick was released by Cincy. He was picked up by Seattle but only played one other season. He did sign a deal with the Las Vegas arena football team but was a no-show.
Chris Perry, RB (Michigan)
Drafted 26th overall in 2004
After Corey Dillon hung up his stripes to head to New England at the end of the 2003 season, the Bengals needed to fill the running back spot. They were hoping Chris Perry could be that guy. Perry had over 1,000 yards rushing in his last two seasons in Michigan. He also ran for double-digit touchdowns in both seasons as a Wolverine.
However, in a story that is all too common, injuries derailed Perry’s NFL career. Due to injuries, Perry only started two games in his rookie campaign.
In 2005, Perry complimented Rudi Johnson as he played just a supporting role on the offense. In 2006, Perry fractured his leg ending his 2006 season and leaving off the field in 2007. Johnson was cut in 2008 making Perry the starting running back in 2008.
However, he only had 269 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. These were his only two rushing touchdowns in his entire NFL career. After 2008, Perry was out of the NFL.
David Pollack, LB (Georgia)
Drafted 17th overall in 2005
2004 & 2005 were not good back-to-back drafts, at least for the first round. David Pollock was an All-American linebacker for three seasons at Georgia from 2002 to 2004. Pollack was a reserve for the first six games in the 2005 season.
He had a good rookie outing ranking second on the team in sacks with 4.5. It was clear that Pollack seemed to be on his way to a good career, at least showing promise. Sadly, as a starter in the season opener against division rivals Browns, Pollack suffered a serious injury. He broke his sixth cervical vertebrae.
It was feared this injury would be career-ending. However, on ESPN in 2007, it was announced that Pollack could make a return on the gridiron. In 2008, Pollack decided he was not mentally able to return to the game effectively retiring.
It’s a sad and scary reminder of how fragile life is and how dangerous this game can be.
John Ross, WR (Washington)
Drafted 9th overall in 2017
Two years removed from the teams’ five-year span of playoff losses the Bengals were beginning to slip back into obscurity. If they had not already, fans were losing faith in Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton. Though they still had plenty of talent, something wasn’t clicking.
To try to spark something on offense the Bengals selected speedster John Ross with the ninth overall pick. However, Ross never really amounted to much in his injury-plagued tenure as a striped player. After Marvin Lewis parted ways with Cincy, Ross still never took off.
He did have a 500-yard receiving season in 2019 with three touchdowns but much more is expected from a first-round selection, especially a top 10 pick. As our own Leigh Oleszczak points out:
"Had the Bengals not managed to land Joe Burrow a few years later, this pick would have looked a lot worse, as Ross went one pick ahead of MVP-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who went No. 10 overall to the Chiefs."
This is probably why Ross isn’t mentioned as a bigger draft bust, but if selecting him meant the Bengals missed out on Patrick Mahomes and then missed on Burrow three years later, Ross would be much more infamous in the Queen City.
Billy Price, C (Ohio State)
Drafted 21st overall in 2018
Over the last two seasons, Joe Burrow has been one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league. A big reason for that is a bad offensive line. Before Burrow’s woes, Cincinnati selected Billy Price with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 draft.
Price, unfortunately, just didn’t work out as he only started 19 games during his three seasons in the black and orange stripes. He was a star center at Ohio State and seemed to be a logical pick to protect Andy Dalton and their new investment when they moved on from the Red Rifle.
As stated before, unfortunately, Price never developed. He missed six games in the 2018 season due to injury and never recovered. The difference between Price and KI-Jana Carter though is that Carter had promise. Price looked like a mistake from the beginning.
Not only did Price’s playing time regress but he seemed to regress as a player. Instead of the Bengals taking a hit in season four, they traded him to the Giants for B.J. Hill in the 2020 offseason; a move that worked in Cincy’s favor.
Which of these picks was the worst in your opinion?