They say first impressions matter. That’s not always the case in the NFL world, where teams give young players a longer leash, even if their first impressions were subpar, in hopes that they’ll eventually put it all together. But teams can’t wait around forever. Not with a 53-man roster limit.
So with that said, let’s dive into 10 recent NFL Draft busts who have one last chance to save their careers in 2025.
Which NFL Draft busts need to play well in 2025?
Anthony Richardson
Richardson was considered the ultimate boom-or-bust quarterback prospect when the Indianapolis Colts drafted him third overall in 2023. Fast forward two years, and he can only be labeled as a big-time bust.
Richardson was limited to four games in his rookie year because of various injuries, but there were some flashes and highlight reel plays suggesting that Indy had its guy.
But the Florida product had a disastrous sophomore year, during which he admitted to missing a play because he was tired, missed two games due to injury, and was benched in favor of veteran Joe Flacco.
In 11 games, Richardson completed a horrid 47.7 percent of pass attempts for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He never had a 300-yard game and only eclipsed 200 yards passing in three of his 11 games.
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So anyway, it’s officially now or never time for Richardson. He’s got a solid offensive line in front of him and a dream set of playmakers led by star running back Jonathan Taylor, promising rookie tight end Tyler Warren, and receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs.
If Richardson can’t get it going with all that talent around him, head coach Shane Steichen won’t hesitate to put in Daniel Jones. If it comes to that, Indy will be well-positioned to tank and get a high draft pick that would let them take a prized quarterback prospect in the 2026 class.
Last chance, A-Rich. Go get it if you want it.
Justin Fields
We know the New York Jets just handed Fields a two-year deal worth $40 million in free agency. But if he doesn’t perform well in year one of his deal, the Jets won’t hesitate to cut him and restart at QB. Again.
Hey, they just did it with Aaron Rodgers.
The No. 11 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft was stuck on a lousy Chicago Bears team for his first three seasons, so you can’t fault Fields too much for what has been an underwhelming start to his career.
But the fact is, this is a QB with a 10-28-0 career record, 45 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. He has a lackluster 83.9 passer rating and has only averaged 155.6 passing yards per game. If Fields weren’t so explosive with his legs, he would not be in the NFL right now.
Fields looked solid in his one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers before Russell Wilson returned from injury, going 4-2-0 with five touchdowns and one interception. Fields turned that into $40 million from the Jets, which is their overly generous way of showing it’s time to become the real deal.
Fields will have a solid set of weapons in Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Allen Lazard, and Mason Taylor, and a potential top-10 defense to help out.
Suppose Fields can assemble a solid campaign on the retooling Jets, great. He’ll have proven that he just needed the right team to come along to hit his potential. If not, the Jets will cut or trade Fields next year, and he’ll have to accept a career as a backup.
He’s had four years now to prove himself as a real starting QB.. This is Fields’s last opportunity.
Kayvon Thibodeaux
There was a time ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft when Thibodeaux was considered the early front-runner to go first overall. But questions about Thibodeaux’s work ethic and effort arose before the draft, and he wound up slipping to the New York Giants at No. 5 overall.
Sure enough, Thibodeaux’s first three seasons have been a mixed bag. He showed signs of breaking out as a sophomore in 2023 after recording 11.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.
But Thibodeaux had a lackluster 2024 season, tallying just 5.5 sacks. He finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 69.0, 58th among 211 graded edge rushers. Not what you want for a former highly-touted No. 5 pick.
The Giants decided to pick up the fifth-year option on Thibodeaux’s rookie year, but by no means is a roster spot guaranteed for 2026. They already have Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns to lead the front seven, and Big Blue just drafted a can’t-miss Penn State product, Abdul Carter.
The Giants can get by without Thibodeaux if he doesn’t pick it up in 2025. Up to him to secure his future in the Big Apple.
Evan Neal
Speaking of the Giants’ 2022 first-round picks.
Neal was also once considered a potential candidate to go first overall in the weak 2022 Draft. So it felt like a mega win for the Giants when they got Thibodeaux AND Evan Neal at No. 5 and No. 7 overall, respectively.
Injuries have, unfortunately, limited the Alabama product to 29 total games over his first three seasons. But when he’s been on the field, Neal has been a liability on the Giants’ already-terrible offensive line.
He finished with a mediocre 61.2 PFF grade in 2024, allowing six sacks and two penalties on just 314 pass-blocking snaps. His 49.6 pass-blocking grade ranked outside the top 100 for tackles, too.
New York declined Neal’s fifth-year option, so 2025 is the make-or-break year for him. There’s no other way to put it.
Greg Newsome II
Newsome’s first four NFL seasons can best be described as a roller coaster. After decent rookie and sophomore seasons, the Cleveland Browns’ 2021 first-round pick showed signs of reaching stardom in 2023.
Newsome finished with a superb PFF grade of 75.8. He had 14 pass breakups, two interceptions, and allowed a passer rating of just 74.8 when targeted, according to Pro Football Reference.
The Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Newsome’s rookie deal, but they probably wouldn’t have done so if they knew the 2024 season he had in store.
He finished with a terrible 52.2 PFF grade, ranking 177th among all cornerbacks, including a woeful 54.0 coverage grade. Newsome also allowed four TDS in coverage and a 112.5 passer rating when targeted.
So, which version of Greg Newsome will the Browns get in 2025? If it’s anything close to the 2023 version, he’ll play himself toward a lucrative multi-year deal. If it’s closer to what we saw in 2024, then it’s adios, amigos, for his tenure in Cleveland.
Trevor Penning
The New Orleans Saints traded up via the Philadelphia Eagles weeks before the draft, obtaining the No. 16 and No. 19 picks in a blockbuster deal. With the 19th pick, they selected hulking Northern Iowa offensive lineman Trevor Penning.
But Penning’s career has been nothing short of a letdown up to this point. He missed all but six games in his rookie season and was used as a rotational player in 2023, playing just 36 percent of New Orleans’ offensive snaps.
Penning was a full-time starter in 2024, but he committed 13 penalties and allowed five sacks, per PFF. Penning also finished with a mediocre 60.2 grade, ranking 75th among all offensive tackles.
New Orleans has used its last two first-round picks on offensive linemen, Taliese Fuaga and Kelvin Banks Jr., in 2024 and 2025, respectively. That means Penning is officially on notice, and anything less than a real breakout season will mark the end of his tenure in New Orleans.
And maybe, perhaps, his NFL career.
Quay Walker
The Green Bay Packers surprised many by doubling down on defense with their pair of first-round picks in the 2022 Draft, taking Georgia linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt at No. 22 and No. 28, respectively.
While Wyatt has slowly started to come along as a quality pass-rusher, Walker has been a big-time disappointment through his first three seasons. He was supposed to be a do-it-all menace across the field, but Walker has just 6.5 sacks, 12 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and one interception.
Walker was also supposed to be useful in coverage, but he’s been lit up there like a cigar. In 2024, PFF graded him at 57.4 with a 48.8 coverage grade that ranked 137th among linebackers.
The Packers picked up Wyatt’s fifth-year option and declined Walker’s. Green Bay already has one of the league’s deepest front sevens, so moving on from Walker will be an easy call if he has another disappointing campaign in 2025.
Kenyon Green
The Houston Texans hit the jackpot with their first selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, when they took future superstar cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. at No. 3 overall. But man, did they swing and miss for a strikeout on the Kenyon Green pick at No. 15 overall.
CJ Stroud’s first two NFL seasons were nothing short of impressive, considering how helpless his pass protection was. Take 2024 Kenyon Green, for example: A 38.6 PFF grade that ranked 132nd among 136 guards. Seven penalties. Five sacks allowed. Pathetic.
After three awful years in Houston, Green was traded to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, with the clubs swapping late-round picks as well.
And so, Green now goes to a team that has churned out one of the league’s best offensive lines for over a decade. That includes the league’s best offensive tackle tandem of Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson and Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens.
If the Eagles, of all teams, can’t get the most out of Green, then we say farewell. He will never get another look as a starter, considering he’s been well below average up to this point. No pressure, Mr. Green.
Kenny Pickett
Pickett was the only quarterback taken in round one of the 2022 NFL Draft, going 20th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.
Pickett was awfully inconsistent over his two seasons in Pittsburgh, playing musical chairs at quarterback with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Pickett had 13 touchdowns against as many interceptions in 25 games with the Steelers, with a woeful 78.8 passer rating.
The Steelers gave up on Pickett and traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 offseason. Pickett backed up Jalen Hurts and won a Super Bowl 59 ring before getting traded to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for fellow QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick.
Pickett joins a Browns QB room with Joe Flacco and rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, with Deshaun Watson expected to miss most – if not all – of 2025 with a torn achilles.
Flacco is the early favorite to be the Week 1 starter, but he’s a 40-year-old journeyman. He’ll get a handful of starts before Kevin Stefanski inevitably turns to Pickett, assuming Sanders and Gabriel don’t look ready for prime time.
We know the Browns are rebuilding, but Pickett at least gets to work with a two-time Coach of the Year and star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, with a strong offensive line in front of him. If Pickett can at least improve in 2025, the Browns or another team will certainly give him an extended look in 2026.
But if Pickett gets lots of action and flops again, that’ll be it for his chance to be a regular starting QB in this league. And he’ll have to settle for a career as a clipboard holder.
Treylon Burks
In a move that led to the beginning of the end of the special thing Mike Vrabel had built in Music City, the Tennessee Titans traded superstar wideout AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles at the 2022 NFL Draft.
In return, the Titans got first and third-round picks from Philly. They used the No. 18 pick obtained in the trade on Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks, believing he could quickly step in and replace Brown’s talents.
But everything about Burks’ career has been a disappointment up to this point. Injuries have limited him to 27 total games up to this point, with Burks recording only 53 receptions for 699 yards and a single touchdown.
Burks has just a single 100-yard game under his belt. And to think we’re coming up on three years since his last touchdown? Woof.
Calvin Ridley took over as the new No. 1 receiver last year, and free agent pickup Tyler Lockett should get plenty of targets as well. The Titans don’t need Burks at this point, and the decision to decline his fifth-year option indicates they’re ready to move on if he doesn’t break through in 2025.
Not only is Burks fighting for his future in Tennessee, but he is also very likely fighting for his NFL career. Another completely unproductive year could take him out of the NFL for good.
