NFL Draft Busts: Where Are They Now?

With the NFL Draft just one day away, we're swarmed with the annual "Biggest NFL Draft Busts" lists (doesn't anyone notice these lists stay the same every year?).

Our question: "Where do these guys go?"

We traced the biggest busts of the last dozen years to see what these guys do with the rest of their lives:


Heath Shuler

Year: 1994
College: Tennessee
Overall Pick: #3
NFL Team: Washington
Update: Trying to get Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. House of Representatives this fall in North Carolina’s 11th District. If you would like to send your support, check out dude's website.

Trev Alberts

Year: 1994
College: Nebraska
Overall Pick: #6
NFL Team: Indianapolis
Update: Fired by ESPN last fall, Alberts lives in Atlanta with his wife and kids. He told the Lincoln Journal Star in September that he was interested in getting involved in construction and real estate (just to give you an idea of how pathetic this guy's career was, we couldn't even find a picture of him in a Colts uniform).

Mike Mamula

Year: 1995
College: Boston College
Overall Pick: #7
NFL Team: Philadelphia
Update: Source: According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, he lives in Villanova, Pa. with his wife and kids. He is the director of business development for CSS Test In., located in Haddonfield, NJ that provides screening services for businesses (How ironic).

Lawrence Phillips

Year: 1996
College: Nebraska
Overall Pick: #6
NFL Team: St. Louis
Update: As of March 3, ordered by a judge to stand trail for assault charges for driving a car into three teenagers after a pickup game in Los Angeles, CA. He will be tried on 7 counts of assault to commit great bodily injury (and if you didn't hear about that story, please click here).

Ryan Leaf

Year: 1998
College: Washington State
Overall Pick: #2
NFL Team: San Diego
Update: Hired as the West Texas A&M (Div. II) QB coach in February.

Andre Wadsworth

Year: 1998
College: Florida State
Overall Pick: #3
NFL Team: Arizona
Update: As of April 2004 interview with CNBC, still appears to live in Phoenix.

Curtis Enis

Year: 1998
College: Penn State
Overall Pick: #5
NFL Team: Chicago
Update: Went completely AWOL. Spoke to a relative last year living in his hometown of Union City, OH, and they didn’t even know where he was.

Tim Couch

Year: 1999
College: Kentucky
Overall Pick: #1
NFL Team: Cleveland
Update: Lives in Lexington and continues to workout in an attempt to make a comeback in the NFL. I don’t believe he has signed anywhere.

Akili Smith

Year: 1999
College: Oregon
Overall Pick: #3
NFL Team: Cincinnati
Update: Hasn’t played in the league since 2002. Was signed by the Buccaneers temporarily in 2005, only to be cut 4 days after arriving in Tampa from NFL Europe.

Cade McNown

Year: 1999
College: UCLA
Overall Pick: #12
NFL Team: Chicago
Update: We assume he is back in LA since the LA Times reported on Feb. 18 that McNown is suing two insurance companies that didn’t pay his $5 million NFL disability policy.

Dimitrius Underwood

Year: 1999
College: Michigan State
Overall Pick: #29
NFL Team: Minnesota
Update: Most recently tried to make the roster of the CFL's Ottawa Renegades, but was cut before the 2005 season started.