Five of the most infamous NFL Draft slides

By Andy Davies

The 2025 NFL Draft is now in the books, and the slide of Shedeur Sanders is a moment that will be remembered for a long time.

Once projected to go first overall, there was split opinion on whether he was a first rounder or not on Thursday morning. Some had him going third overall to the New York Giants, some predicted he would be taken 21st overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, others had him going early in the second round by the Cleveland Browns in their mock drafts. Nobody expected him to be still on the board in the fifth round.

There were other moments that will be remembered, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up to take Travis Hunter second overall or hosts the Green Bay Packers drafting a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. However, the slide of Sanders before being taken 144th overall will go down as the most infamous moment of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Here are five other infamous NFL Draft slides in the history of the sport.

Dan Marino, 27th overall to the Miami Dolphins, 1983

It is hard to include many NFL Draft slides from the 20th century, due to the lack of television coverage for the majority of the first 81 years of the league. Despite this, Dan Marino’s slide in 1983 is one that cannot be ignored.

In 1983, even with the most celebrated quarterback class of all-time, the television coverage was not the media bonanza that it is today. John Elway was taken first overall and Jim Kelly was taken 14th overall. Marino was made to wait.

Concerns started to arise about Marino’s party lifestyle whilst at the University of Pittsburgh and alleged drug use. Even after voluntary drug testing from the man himself, it took until the Miami Dolphins were on the clock with the 27^th overall pick for Marino to be selected.

This would prove to be one of the best decisions the franchise ever made, Marino going to have a legendary career. He ended his career with 61,361 passing yards, 420 passing touchdowns and many records that took many years to be broken. After retiring following the conclusion of the 1999 season, he would go on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2005.

He may have the unwanted title of the greatest quarterback (and arguably player) of all time to never win a Super Bowl, but the fact he fell down so far in the first round remains one of the biggest slides in NFL Draft history.

Aaron Rodgers, 24th overall to the Green Bay Packers, 2005

The rise in media coverage saw the introduction of green rooms, and the look on Aaron Rodgers’ face as teams continued to pass him up, is a memorable one.

After playing for the University of California, it was seen as a toss-up between Rodgers and fellow quarterback prospect Alex Smith. With his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers selecting first overall, you would not blame Rodgers for believing all his childhood dreams were about to come true.

Instead, Smith was taken with the first overall selection by the 49ers. Pick after pick went by and even though he was the next quarterback taken, he had to wait until pick number 24 before being drafted.

The Packers took Rodgers as the successor to Brett Favre and after three years as the backup, he made the most of his opportunity when it arrived. He has since gone on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, winning a Super Bowl in his fourth year as the starter, something Smith never did with the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs or Washington Redskins/Football Team.

Rodgers might have his detractors and naysayers for his off the field conduct. He has also been criticised for only reaching one Super Bowl despite being in the other conference to Tom Brady for 80% of his NFL career. You have to wonder whether the 49ers would have won a Super Bowl with Rodgers as their quarterback, therefore making his slide on draft day even more perplexing.

Brady Quinn, 22nd overall to the Cleveland Browns, 2007.

Quinn was predicted by many to go in the top 10 after the quarterback’s impressive time with Notre Dame.

He later spoke about his beliefs that the Dolphins would take him with the ninth overall pick, but they went with wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr instead.

He was made to wait and wait, despite no injury or off the field concerns. He was eventually taken, seen taking a big sigh of relief as he walked onto the stage. Unlike most of the players in this list, NFL front offices were proved right in not taking him. His career ended with just 20 starts in seven years, with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and he did not play in three of those years.

Laremy Tunsil, 13th overall to the Miami Dolphins, 2016

Tunsil went into the 2016 NFL Draft as one of the top prospects. After three-years as a starting tackle for Ole Miss, there was a lot of expectation on Tunsil.

In March of that year, Daniel Jeremiah rated him as number one amongst all prospects in the draft class. In his Mock Draft 4.0, Tunsil was touted by him as the first overall pick to the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans would later trade the first overall pick to the Los Angles Rams and even though quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz were expected to be taken with the first two selections, you would have expected Tunsil to still go high.

Just before the start of the NFL Draft, a video went viral on Tunsil’s Twitter account of him wearing a gas mask and smoking from a bong. Despite the claims that the account was hacked, two offensive tackles in Ronnie Stanley (6^th overall) and Jack Conklin (8^th overall) were taken before him.

Tunsil would end up being taken 13^th overall by the Dolphins and has managed to forge a good NFL career, staying out of trouble ever since this viral video. He has earned five Pro Bowl nods and was part of one of the most infamous trades in NFL history.

Lamar Jackson, 32nd overall to the Baltimore Ravens, 2018

The draft slide of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson seems even more crazy now that we know how the careers of the quarterbacks taken ahead of him have gone.

Jackson was seen by many draft experts as a first rounder but maybe not a top 10. He was predicted to go 15^th overall to the Arizona Cardinals in a Bleacher Report Mock Draft, an opinion that was seconded by Mel Kiper. Jeremiah had him as his eighth biggest prospect.

Jackson was made to wait, with five quarterbacks taken before him. Baker Mayfield went first overall, Sam Darnold being taken two picks later. Josh Allen (seventh) and Josh Rosen (10^th) were also taken earlier in the evening.

The Ravens would trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to grab the 32^nd overall pick and Jackson was the man they picked.

What has followed for Jackson since he joined the Ravens has been a 70-24 record in the regular season as a starter, with 20,059 passing yards and 166 touchdowns on the ground. He has also recorded 6,173 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns and gone on to win two Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, a number some argue should be three.

The Ravens have gone on to pick one of the greatest players in the NFL right now, and it makes the fact he was taken so low a baffling scenario. Mayfield, Darnold and Rosen have all struggled in one way or another in their NFL career.

Mayfield guided the Cleveland Browns to their first win in 635 days during his NFL debut and would then end a 17-year playoff absence. He struggled for consistency before finding it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his career has been far from what a first overall pick should get you.

Darnold had a poor three years for the New York Jets, flattered to deceive for the Carolina Panthers and was a backup for the San Francisco 49ers. He had a resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 before earning a big money deal for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. So far, he is just a one season wonder.

Josh Rosen has had a far from ideal NFL career, retiring from the league after the 2022 season after five years in the league with just three wins in 16 total games.

Allen has been the only other success in the NFL, as the current reigning MVP of the NFL. However, like Jackson, Allen has yet to answer one question. Can they win the big one? Despite this, it is clear to see the mistake the majority of NFL teams made by not taking Jackson earlier.

Honourable mention: Will Levis, 33rd overall to the Tennessee Titans, 2023.

The most recent example, Levis had the embarrassment of being invited to the green room on NFL Draft opening night but not being taken.

He declined the option to go back on the second day, but his green room footage will never be forgotten for someone who was projected to go in the top 15 picks.

ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS THE SUPER BOWL, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.