Buffalo Bills: Five Biggest Draft Busts In Recent History

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JANUARY 01: EJ Manuel #3 of the Buffalo Bills gets back to his feet after a fumble against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on January 1, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Quarterback, E.J. Manuel, 1st Round (16th overall), 2013

To swing and miss on a quarterback hurts more than any other position. Missing on what you think is a possible franchise quarterback can set the team back years. Considering the Buffalo Bills’ last franchise quarterback is now the third string QB on the Oakland Raiders, I’d say that’s about what they did.

The 2013 draft class as a whole is an absolute bust. Dion Jordan, Barkevious Mingo and Jonathan Cooper were all top-10 picks. None of those players are still on their drafted teams. Also, the next QB taken off the board was Geno Smith. So the Bills did not have many options, but they were fine with that because of who they believed they were drafting.

Here is a quick look at the players that came off the board right before him and right after him.

13th – Sheldon Richardson (DT)
21st – Tyler Eifert (TE)
27th – DeAndre Hopkins (WR)
39th – Geno Smith (QB)
73rd – Mike Glennon (QB)

Manuel played four seasons with the Bills, mainly as a backup. The Florida State product only started 17 games and earned a 6-11 record. A career stat line of 19 touchdowns to 15 interceptions respectively.

It is safe to say he was probably one of the better quarterbacks in the draft class, but his production was nowhere near a first-round pick. Sometimes it’s tough being in a spot where you feel you need to draft a QB, especially when there isn’t a can’t-miss prospect in the draft. In 2013, the Bills might have been better off trading for a QB or signing a stop-gap veteran.

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