The Panthers shocked the NFL world this week when head coach Dave Canales announced they were benching 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.

Young hasn’t had a strong start to his NFL career, but the team around him in Carolina isn’t helping much. The 23-year-old owns a 2-16 record as a starter, completed just 55.4 percent of his passes, and has more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11).

With the Panthers going 0-2 to start the 2024 season and Young throwing for fewer than 300 yards with three picks and zero touchdowns in that span, Carolina is turning the keys over to veteran quarterback Andy Dalton.

The decision to bench Young sparked a conversation around the biggest busts for No. 1 overall picks in NFL history.

The Sporting News ranks the worst top selections of the last 30 years below.

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Ranking the worst NFL Draft No. 1 picks in past 30 years

1. JaMarcus Russell, QB, 2007

Team: Oakland Raiders

Stats: Three seasons — 52.1 completion percentage, 131.7 pass yards per game, 18 TDs, 23 INTs

Stars missed on: WR Calvin Johnson (No. 2), OT Joe Thomas (No. 3), LB Patrick Willis (No. 11), CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14)

Regardless if it’s the biggest No. 1 overall pick bust of the last 30 years or all-time, Russell will end up somewhere near the top of the list. The Raiders missed badly in 2007 when they selected Russell, who lasted just three seasons and compiled a 7-18 record as a starter in the NFL.

He sat behind veteran quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown as a rookie and had a brief bright spot as a starter in Year 2, but it was all downhill from there. In his final season, he completed fewer than half of his pass attempts and threw 11 interceptions to three touchdowns before being benched for good.

2. Ki-Jana Carter, RB, 1995

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Stats: Seven seasons — 19.4 rushing yards per game, 20 rush TDs, 7.9 receiving yards per game, 1 receiving TD

Stars missed on: OT Tony Boselli (No. 2), QB Steve McNair (No. 3), DT Warren Sapp (No. 12), CB Ty Law (No. 23), LB Derrick Brooks (No. 28), Curtis Martin (No. 74), Terrell Davis (No. 196)

Carter tore a ligament in his knee during his first NFL preseason game and missed his entire rookie season. He was never the same after that injury. The Penn State star did not rush for over 500 yards in a single season at any point in his career but still managed to last seven years in the league.

It doesn’t help his “bust” case that Hall of Fame RBs Curtis Martin and Terrell Davis were scooped up much later in the 1995 draft. 

3. Courtney Brown, DE, 2000

Team: Cleveland Browns

Stats: Six seasons — 19.0 sacks, 196 total tackles, 36 tackles for a loss

Stars missed on: RB Jamal Lewis (No. 5), LB Brian Urlacher (No. 9), DE John Abraham (No. 13), RB Shaun Alexander (No. 19), Tom Brady (No. 199)

Brown’s career was also derailed by the injury bug, suffering serious ankle and knee injuries that limited his renowned speed and athleticism for his size. He still collected 17 sacks in the first four seasons of his career in Cleveland, but Brown never lived up to his No. 1 pick billing.

With Brian Urlacher still on the board, the Browns certainly wish they had a do-over. If they could’ve seen the future, that Tom Brady guy in the sixth round could’ve solved decades of quarterback problems, too.

4. Tim Couch, QB, 1999

Team: Cleveland Browns

Stats: Five seasons — 59.8 completion percentage, 179.5 yards per game, 64 TDs, 67 INTs

Stars missed on: QB Donovan McNabb (No. 2), RB Edgerrin James (No. 4), RB Ricky Williams (No. 5), WR Torrey Holt (No. 6), CB Champ Bailey (No. 7), QB Daunte Culpepper (No. 11), DE Jevon Kearse (No. 16)

Cleveland whiffed on Couch with the No. 1 pick the year before missing on Brown.

The Couch decision instantly backfired. Donovan McNabb went to the Eagles with the very next pick and helped turn Philadelphia into a Super Bowl contender. Couch went 2-12 as a rookie and only had one season over .500. He finished with more career interceptions than touchdowns.

5. David Carr, QB, 2002

Team: Houston Texans

Stats: 10 seasons — 59.7 completion percentage, 153.7 yards per game, 65 TDs, 71 INTs

Stars missed on: DE Julius Peppers (No. 2), DE Dwight Freeney (No. 11), DB Ed Reed (No. 24)

If we’re being honest, Carr was set up for failure from the get-go. The No. 1 overall pick was sacked 76 times as a rookie, which still stands as the most in a single season in NFL history. He was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL in three of his first four seasons.

Even running for his life, Carr still had some respectable moments. He threw for 14,452 yards in his career and led the NFL with a 68.3 percent completion rate in 2006. Still, the overall body of work was much more bad than good.

6. Bryce Young, QB, 2023

Team: Carolina Panthers

Stats: Two seasons — 59.3 completion percentage, 173.4 yards per game, 11 TDs, 13 INTs

Stars missed on: QB C.J. Stroud (No. 2), LB Will Anderson Jr. (No. 3), QB Anthony Richardson (No. 4), DB Devon Witherspoon (No. 5), RB Bijan Robinson (No. 8), RB Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12), WR Zay Flowers (No. 22), TE Sam LaPorta (No. 34)

It’s certainly premature to have Young this high, but at his current trajectory, he could end up even closer to the top.

The second-year quarterback has already been benched after going 2-16 in his first 18 career starts. He has more career interceptions than touchdowns, but it’s only fair to mention that Carolina has not set him up for success, either.

Young going No. 1 overall also looks worse because the Panthers gave up a historically bad haul to the Bears to trade up in the draft. Also, AP Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud went to the Texans with the very next pick.

MORE: Panthers QB depth chart | Why did Bryce Young get benched? | Alabama QBs in NFL | 4 stats that doomed Bryce Young

7. Dan Wilkinson, DT, 1994

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Stats: 13 seasons — 54.5 sacks, 390 total tackles, 39 tackles for a loss

Stars missed on: RB Marshall Faulk (No. 2), DE Willie McGinest (No. 4), DT Bryant Young (No. 7), WR Isaac Bruce (No. 33), C Kevin Mawae (No. 36), G Larry Allen (No. 46)

Wilkinson’s “bust” case is built on the fact that he had five future Hall of Famers drafted after him, one of which (Bryant Young) played the same position.

“Big Daddy” played over a decade in the league and collected 54.5 career sacks. That would be a very solid run in the NFL, but being the No. 1 overall selection puts his career in a different lens. 

8. Sam Bradford, QB, 2010

Team: St. Louis Rams

Stats: Eight seasons — 62.5 completion percentage, 234.3 yards per game, 103 TDs, 61 INTs

Stars missed on: DT Ndamukong Suh (No. 2), OT Trent Williams (No. 4), S Earl Thomas (No. 14), C Maurkice Pouncey (No. 18), TE Rob Gronkowski (No. 42)

Bradford got out to a strong start to his career, earning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year after throwing for 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. It didn’t get much better from there, though.

He finished under .500 in his first four seasons before the Rams finally gave up on their No. 1 pick. He also enjoyed stints as a starter with the Eagles and Vikings, but he turned into a backup after six seasons in the league.

9. Jameis Winston, QB, 2015

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stats: Nine seasons — 61.2 completion percentage, 237.7 yards per game, 141 TDs, 99 INTs

Stars missed on: WR Amari Cooper (No. 4), RB Todd Gurley (No. 10), CB Marcus Peters (No. 18)

Winston has been a polarizing quarterback from Day 1 in the NFL. He put up some monster numbers at different points in his career, throwing for over 4,000 yards twice and over 5,000 yards once. He led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and threw 33 touchdowns in 2019, but he also led the league with 30 interceptions.

Winston went under .500 in four of his first five years as a starter in Tampa Bay before he settled into a role as a backup. He is still a reliable QB2 to this day, but that’s not the expectation of a No. 1 overall pick.

10. Trevor Lawrence, QB, 2021

Team: Jacksonville Jaguars

Stats: Four seasons — 63.4 completion percentage, 233.7 yards per game, 59 TDs, 39 INTs

Stars missed on: WR Ja’Marr Chase (No. 5), OT Penei Sewell (No. 7), CB Patrick Surtain II (No. 9), DE Micah Parsons (No. 12), WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (No. 112)

Let’s call a spade a spade: Lawrence has not been the generational quarterback that he was tabbed to be through three full seasons of his NFL career. He was placed into a disastrous situation as a rookie and bounced back once the Jaguars fired Urban Meyer.

He led Jacksonville to an AFC South title with a 9-8 record in 2022, throwing for 4,113 yards with 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He even picked up his first career playoff win that season, but facing steep expectations in Year 3, Lawrence’s Jaguars took a step back.

They finished 9-8 again but missed the playoffs after a 1-5 finish, and they’re off to a 0-2 start in 2024. Lawrence has now lost his past seven starts. 

It works in Lawrence’s favor that every quarterback drafted behind him — Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones — hasn’t panned out, but he’s starting to feel the heat for underachieving to this point.

The real question is whether Lawrence is really more of a bust than Baker Mayfield — who was already on his fourth team by age 28 — or Kyler Murray — who has one fewer playoff win.

There are arguments for all three. Murray has the most Pro Bowls (2) and an Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy. Mayfield has the most playoff wins (2) and same number of Pro Bowls (1) as Lawrence. Lawrence engineered a miraculous 27-point playoff comeback and had the best individual year in terms of passing yards (4,113 in 2022) despite playing the fewest seasons.

Ultimately, though, Lawrence’s overall winning percentage as a starter was the tiebreaker. Jacksonville’s franchise QB is just 20-32 (.385) in his young career. While it’s certainly not all his fault, he hasn’t done much to consistently lift the players around him. Both Mayfield (42-46, .477) and Murray (29-37-1, .440) have fared better despite originally winding up in similarly dysfunctional situations. 

The good news for all three — as well as Young and even Winston — is that they still have a lot of time left to change their legacies and move off this list entirely in the near future.