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10 biggest NFL draft busts in Texas football history

There have been 46 Texas Longhorns taken in the first round of the NFL draft, with more to come, but these are the 10 players who were the most disappointing in the league.

By Josh Yourish

Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young (10)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young (10) / Robert Smith / The Leaf-Chronicle
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4. Russell Erxleben, P. Russell Erxleben. . . No. 11 overall. Russell Erxleben, P. player. 15. 1979

Russell Erxleben was the highest-drafted punter in NFL history at the time and still holds the distinction to this day. Maybe, Erxleben’s struggles taught teams across the NFL a valuable lesson. 

New Orleans hoped that Erxleben, a great punter and kicker at Texas, would be able to fill both roles for their team, and therefore drafted him early in the first round as a way to save a roster spot. The experiment failed spectacularly. 

In his rookie season, Erxleben played just one game before pulling his hamstring, and New Orleans was forced to sign both a kicker and a punter. He did not play the rest of the year, but returned in 1980, played all 16 games, but was not the primary placekicker anymore. 

He played in New Orleans through 1983 and after four years out of football, tried to return in 1987 with the Detroit Lions, but only punted once. 

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