Despite all the possible indicators that draft experts and NFL general managers can use, the NFL draft is still mostly a crapshoot. Sometimes, players who seem destined to be a star wind up falling flat on their faces in the league. The opposite also happens, and players that look like busts become all-time greats.

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However, there are still some players who have managed to shock draft experts and general managers even more than normal. These players managed to blow the expectations given to them out of the water once they actually hit the football field after being drafted. However, that's not always a good thing.

10 Justin Blackmon

Justin Blackmon Jacksonville Jaguars
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For what it's worth, Justin Blackmon did actually play incredibly on the football field... when he was on it. Prior to the draft, he was rated as a possible superstar in the league due to his size and ability to do it all on the football field.

Former NFL great Warren Moon famously compared Blackmon to Dez Bryant, "with all of his brain cells". The Jacksonville Jaguars receiver wound up proving that sentiment wrong by instantly getting in trouble, and being permanently suspended by year two.

9 Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf
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Ryan Leaf was famously selected only one pick after Peyton Manning in 1998, and many believed that the San Diego Chargers got the better player. While the latter was touted as more pro-ready, many, including Colin Cowherd, believed that the former had a higher ceiling.

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Leaf proved all of the draft experts wrong, by playing absolutely terrible. He's regarded as one of the worst drafts picks ever, and was out of the league in four years.

8 Patrick Mahomes

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Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback talent in the NFL today, and it's hard to argue against it. In four seasons starting, his season has never ended sooner than the conference championship in overtime. He's also a former MVP and earned KC their first ring in fifty years.

However, none of that was a given when he began. In fact, Mahomes was rated below many quarterbacks, including Mitchell Trubisky when he was drafted. While many thought the MVP's playing style wouldn't translate to the league, he's more than shattered expectations.

7 Cam Newton

Cam Newton with the Carolina Panthers.
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Cam Newton's NFL career might be over. If it is, he had an incredible run that saw him earn an MVP, and lead Carolina to the Super Bowl. Despite being drafted first overall in 2011, it was still a controversial pick at the time.

Newton had only a year of playtime under his belt and college, which worried many. Furthermore, many analysts were worried about his legal issues and maturity issues. He clearly proved them wrong by the end of year one.

6 Blaine Gabbert

Blaine Gabbert Bucaneers

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Blaine Gabbert was touted as one of the safest picks of the 2011 draft. Many actually rated him higher than Cam Newton due to his size, and ability to be a game manager. The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed and drafted him in round one.

Gabbert is now regarded as a massive draft bust. While he had the physical intangibles, he lacked the mental component. On the bright side, Gabbert has made a solid career of being a backup quarterback over the last few years and got a Super Bowl ring in 2021.

5 Jimmy Clausen

Jimmy Clausen
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Mel Kiper once famously stated that if Jimmy Clausen didn't succeed as an NFL quarterback, he'd retire. It wasn't a crazy statement given that he was good in college, and was drafted in the second round by the Carolina Panthers.

However, Clausen was a massive bust. He couldn't stop turning over the ball and lacked a big arm to succeed at the top level. He was out of the league in six years, and no, Kiper didn't retire.

4 Tony Mandarich

Tony mandarich blocks
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Not just some draft experts were wrong about Tony Mandarich, every one of them was. Sports Illustrated once famously had the lineman on their cover and stated that he was one of the greatest prospects ever for an offensive lineman.

Instead, he flopped tremendously. Due to steroid abuse, and his battles with drug addiction. Mandarich played for nine years but never lived up to the hype that he had coming out of college and having been drafted in the first round.

3 Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson
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While it's not a big deal nowadays, it's important to remember that a decade ago, smaller quarterbacks were instantly ruled out of playing in the NFL. That standard still applied in 2011, and when Russell Wilson was drafted in the third round by the Seahawks, he was seen as a prospect that was too small.

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Obviously, they ended up being wrong. Wilson needed all of two seasons to win a Super Bowl and cement himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the league. Over a decade later, he's still killing it.

2 JaMarcus Russell

JaMarcus Russell
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JaMarcus Russell had it all. He had the size, the arm strength, the running ability, and the on-the-field success to warrant him being drafted by the Oakland Raiders at number one. There were few that doubted that Russell would be a star.

Instead, he went down as one of the worst draft busts ever. While he showed flashes of talent at times, he flunked out of the NFL within three seasons.

1 Tom Brady

Tom Brady
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Yep, there's no doubt that this one was coming. Tom Brady wasn't regarded highly as a prospect at all, especially following his bad combine performance. After six rounds, the New England Patriots decided to take a flier on him in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.

From there, Brady took it upon himself to prove the doubters wrong. He's won seven Super Bowls to date and is still going strong at 44 years old. He's also the greatest quarterback of all time, so that's that.