Texas Football: 5 biggest NFL Draft busts ever among former Longhorns

Lam Jones, WR

The reason why the former Texas All-American wide receiver and second overall pick of the New York Jets in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft Lam Jones made this list is a combination of two things. Jones did have a much more productive NFL career, purely by the numbers, than another wide receiver on this list like Sweed.

But considering Jones didn’t have the same level of injury issues, and he was selected much higher in the draft than Sweed, the expectations were much higher. In an era where the college game was not played at the same pace or space in the passing game as it is today, Jones still had a very productive career on the Forty Acres.

The electric skill position player for the Longhorns registered nearly 2,500 career total yards from scrimmage, more than 10 yards per touch, and 20 total touchdowns. But he didn’t really come close to matching that level of potency during his run at the next level with the Jets that he did during his four years playing for Texas.

Jones ultimately played for the Jets for five seasons. And his career production wasn’t all that shabby. Still, he didn’t have that complete body of work you would look for out of a second overall pick.

During his time with the Longhorns in college and the Jets in the NFL, Jones got more of a rep as someone that had elite speed and athleticism but had flaws in his skill set. Jones dropped the ball often and did start to have some injury issues and four or five years into his NFL career.

He registered 2,322 receiving yards on 138 catches (16.8 yards per catch), and 13 touchdown catches. There was only one season for Jones where he averaged at least four receptions per game. Two of his five years in the NFL also saw him average less than two receptions per game.