NFL Draft: 10 most foolish first-round decisions include Bears taking Mitchell Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes

While April Fool’s Day is known for its fakeouts, some of the annual NFL Draft foolishness in April is very real. NFL GMs have seen their regimes fall to pieces over faulty first-round decisions, and over the years those moves have been talked about as the precipitous for their demise.

NFL Draft: 10 most foolish first-round decisions

Every year, an NFL team makes a ridiculous decision in the first round that ends up biting them immediately. Pro Football Network decided to take a look back at the 10 most foolish draft decisions of the past five seasons in order to celebrate April Fool’s Day in earnest.

1) Bears trade up for Mitchell Trubisky, while Patrick Mahomes falls to the Chiefs (2017)

With the San Francisco 49ers holding the second overall pick, the Chicago Bears got antsy at No. 3 and decided to move up the board. The Bears gave the 49ers third- and fourth-round picks to move up one spot and select QB Mitchell Trubisky.

While the Bears did the right thing by going after their guy, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson remained on the board. Mahomes fell to No. 10, and the Chiefs traded up with the Buffalo Bills to nab him.

Mahomes is a Super Bowl winner and a former league MVP who is seen as the best player in the sport. Trubisky recently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his third team in three years. Ryan Pace, the Bears GM who made the Trubisky move, is no longer in charge.

2) Browns, Jets pass on Josh Allen (2018)

The Cleveland Browns owned the first overall pick, and the New York Jets had the third overall selection. The Browns went with Baker Mayfield, while the Jets went with Sam Darnold. Josh Allen then slid to the Bills, and the rest is franchise-altering history.

The Jets moved on from Darnold after just three seasons, as the new regime gave him just one season to continue his decline. In Cleveland, the Browns can’t wait to get rid of Mayfield after trading for Deshaun Watson. Meanwhile, Allen has ascended into the league’s echelon of elite QBs and has the Bills seen as perennial contenders for years to come.

3) Eagles select Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson (2020)

B-R-U-T-A-L. The Eagles were searching for a No. 1 wideout in the 2020 NFL Draft with the 21st overall selection. The front office and coaching staff were split on two prospects: TCU’s Jalen Reagor and LSU’s Justin Jefferson.

Reagor had been a dynamic gadget weapon for the Horned Frogs and possessed the deep speed that the coaching staff craved. Jefferson was a dominant slot receiver who did most of his damage between the numbers as he filled out the stat sheet, and scouts loved him. The Eagles opted to go with the outside speed of Reagor over the slot perfection of Jefferson.

Two years later, Jefferson is a two-time Pro Bowler, and Reagor is the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver, at best.

4) Cardinals select Josh Rosen (2018)

Few top-10 picks have fizzled out as fast as Josh Rosen. The former UCLA standout was taken by the Arizona Cardinals with the 10th overall pick in 2018. Rosen played most of the year as the Cardinals’ starter and struggled mightily to the point that Arizona was set up to pick first overall the following year. The Cardinals used that pick to select current starter Kyler Murray.

The Cardinals traded Rosen to the Miami Dolphins for second- and fifth-round selections in 2019. Rosen’s career continued to crumble, and he was quickly thrown out by the Dolphins. He is currently a free agent after working for five different teams over the past four seasons.

5) Dolphins pass on Justin Herbert for Tua Tagovailoa (2020)

While the jury is still out on Tua Tagovailoa, the decision to select him over Justin Herbert has become a cringe-worthy topic in South Florida. The Dolphins took Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick, and the Los Angeles Chargers selected Herbert just one pick later.

Tagovailoa has dealt with constant rumors of the Dolphins seeking QB upgrades, while Herbert has quickly become a Pro Bowl-level talent. It’s a make-or-break season for Tagovailoa, but Herbert is preparing to get paid big money in the coming years.

6) 49ers pass on Jonathan Allen for Solomon Thomas (2017)

Many pundits, including this one, were impressed that the 49ers were able to trade back one spot, get additional draft ammo, and select Stanford standout Solomon Thomas with the third overall pick in 2017. Unfortunately, the 49ers passed up Jonathan Allen, Thomas’ main draft adversary.

Allen has turned into one of the best players for the Washington Commanders, while Thomas has been on three squads in three seasons. Thomas never lived up to the hype, while Allen proved that he shouldn’t have fallen into the teens.

7) Raiders select Clelin Ferrell over Brian Burns (2019)

This is probably one of Mike Mayock’s biggest regrets in Las Vegas. Clelin Ferrell was a lanky, quick edge rusher with upside, and the Raiders thought he could be a centerpiece of their defense. However, they passed on another prospect with a similar profile in Brian Burns.

Over the past three years, Ferrell has 7.5 sacks, while Burns, who went 16th overall, has 25.5 and recently went to the Pro Bowl.

8) Washington ID’s Dwayne Haskins as a franchise QB (2019)

This move probably makes the Dolphins blush.

Anyway, Washington was looking for a franchise QB in 2019 and pegged Dwayne Haskins as that guy with the 15th selection in the draft. Over the span of two seasons, Haskins proved his draft doubters right, as he showed poor decision-making on and off the field.

Washington cut Haskins in 2021, and he spent last year as the third-string QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Commanders are still searching for a franchise QB but hope that Carson Wentz can fill those shoes.

9) Eagles trade up for Andre Dillard (2019)

The Eagles went through a poor first-round draft decision the year before Reagor arrived on the scene. Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard fell in Round 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft, and the Eagles decided to pounce. They were hoping he could eventually succeed franchise legend Jason Peters. The Eagles traded fourth- and sixth-round picks to the Baltimore Ravens to jump from the 25th overall pick to 22nd and select Dillard.

Philadelphia passed on wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and defensive end Montez Sweat in favor of moving up for Dillard, who has started just nine games in three seasons. The Eagles recently gave former seventh-round pick Jordan Mailata a massive contract extension to solidify him as the team’s starting left tackle. Dillard is currently the team’s swing tackle.

10. Jaguars try to replace Jalen Ramsey with C.J. Henderson (2020)

After trading superstar CB Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for a massive trade haul in 2019, the Jaguars decided to fill his shoes with a local prospect in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Jacksonville selected Florida CB C.J. Henderson ninth overall, and the signs of a bust were immediately presented.

Henderson lasted just 10 games (or a year and a half) with the Jaguars, as a new regime quickly traded him away. He’s now looking to pick up the pieces in Carolina while Jacksonville tries to salvage his value with TE Dan Arnold and the third-round pick they acquired in the trade for him.