The 5 WORST Indianapolis Colts Draft Picks of All Time

Recently, the 2024 Indianapolis Colts draft class was given an underwhelming grade by Pro Football Focus (PFF), though blame could largely be laid at one person's feet: wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell's pick was controversial, due to his Type 1 diabetes, but he initially was impressive during training camp. Unfortunately, that potential seemed to dissipate once the season actually started, though some analysts think there's still hope for him in the future.

Sports Illustrated recently named the biggest draft busts for every team. Given that article, the PFF grade for the Colts' most recent draft class, and the upcoming draft, we got to thinking: who are the worst draft picks for the Colts of all time? Here's our top five.

#5: Jeff George

George started his college career at Purdue before transferring to the University of Illinois, where he played quarterback; there, he was massively successful. He led Illinois to back-to-back bowl games, including winning the Citrus Bowl in 1989. That same year, he set a single-season record with 22 touchdown passes. He left Illinois early after receiving assurances that he would be chosen early in the 1990 NFL Draft.

His wish came true; George was the first overall pick that year. The Colts took him with, at the time, the largest rookie contract of all time. Yet his time in Indianapolis was, to say the least, painful. He threw more interceptions than he did touchdowns (46-41), and lost 35 of the 49 games he started as a Colt. In 1991, he led the team to a dismal 1-15 record, which remains their worst season ever. The Colts had a winning season the next year, in 1992, but George continued to throw more interceptions than touchdowns. George refused to play in 1993 until Bob Irsay threatened him with a massive fine, and after the 1993 season, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons.

To add insult to injury, the Colts traded away two Pro Bowlers to get George in 1990. Ouch.

#4: Tony Ugoh

The Colts traded to get Ugoh in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, thinking - like many analysts did - that he would be a great offensive lineman in the NFL. Ugoh played in college for the Arkansas Razorbacks, where he was named as a third-team All-America by the Associated Press and first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a senior.

Ugoh was named a starter right away, replacing the legendery Tarik Glenn, and right away, he failed to gain any traction. While he initially showed some promise during his rookie season, he began struggling halfway through, and arguably, lost the Colts the chance to go to the Super Bowl that season, when he allowed Chargers linebacker Shawn Merriman to get around him, putting pressure on Peyton Manning and forcing an incomplete pass when the Colts were down just four points, and just seconds left to go. Indianapolis had made its way to the San Diego goal line, poised to make a comeback. Instead, the Chargers eked out a win, and as for Ugoh? His career never quite took off.

By 2010, the Colts waived Ugoh, and he retired from football just two years later.

#3: Trev Alberts

Alberts is one of the most notorious draft busts of all time, and not just for the Colts - he's known as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. Nebraska linebacker Trev Alberts was selected by the Colts with the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, following a phenomenal college career. He received both the Dick Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Trophy, was a first-team All-American, and notably, played with a cast on his arm during the national championship game against Florida State University in the Orange Bowl. Suffice it to say, there were high hopes for his future in the NFL.

Those hopes would not pan out. He was never able to consistently be a starter, and in his three seasons in Indianapolis, he had just 69 tackles and four sacks. Out of 52 games during his career, he was able to play just 29, and started only seven of them. Injuries kept him sidelined, and when he did play, he was never quite able to fit in well with the Indianapolis defense.

He did end up landing on his feet, though; Alberts retired from the NFL in 1997, just three years after being drafted, and has since made a decent career for himself as the athletic director for the University of Nebraska, and now, Texas A&M.

#2: Steve Emtman

Emtman's tragedy is particularly difficult, because unlike the other picks on this list, his failure had nothing to do with his talent. Instead, his promising NFL career was cut short due to horrific injuries that he wasn't able to recover from.

At the University of Washington, Emtman helped the Huskies win the Rose Bowl in nearly a decade, and is widely considered to be one of the best college defenders of all time. In the 1992 NFL Draft, he was chosen by the Colts as the first overall pick, and it seemed well worth it at first. One of his most well-known plays came against the Miami Dolphins, when he intercepted a pass from Dan Marino and ran it back 90 yards for a touchdown.

Unfortunately, he then suffered a torn ACL and MCL, completely blowing out his left knee, just nine weeks into his rookie season. That put an end to his rookie season, and he came back the next year not quite at 100%, but still able to play... until he blew out his other knee.

#1: Art Schlichter

Schlichter started his college career promisingly enough, throwing 50 touchdown passes and 7,547 passing yards for Ohio State. Yet even in college, there were rumors of gambling, and by his junior year, was known to be engaging in sports betting, and had lost thousands of dollars in bets on college and professional sports.

Did that dissuade Indianapolis from taking him? Nope! He was picked fourth in the 1982 NFL Draft, and it was immediately clear that there was a problem. He was originally meant to be the Colts' franchise quarterback, but lost the starting job his rookie season to Mike Pagel and showed up at practice out of shape. When he did play, it wasn't well - he threw for zero touchdowns and two interceptions - and all the while, he was gambling. He lost his entire six-figure signing bonus, and by the end of the 1982 NFL strike, he owed over $700,000. When the bookies he owed money to began threatening him, he 'fessed up to the FBI, which netted him a one-year suspension.

Yet during that suspension, Schlichter... continued gambling. Nevertheless, he was reinstated in 1984, where he continued to play poorly. He appeared in just nine games, and threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He returned again in 1985, but was let go after the team realized he was still gambling.

Schlichter continued gambling throughout his life, has been arrested numerous times, and even continued gambling from prison. He has continued to spend time in and out of prison, due to arrests for drug use and gambling, and currently has diagnoses of Parkinson's disease, dementia, and possible CTE.

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