Gholston Was The Worst Defensive Draft Pick in NFL History

Published on February 26th, 2026 1:04 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


When we talk about famous draft busts, names such as JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter and Trey Lance will often come up.

Here is a name that you don't often hear about who certainly qualifies as one of the biggest busts ever - Vernon Gholston.

In fact, Gholston has a deserving ranking of 10/10 on our list of the biggest draft busts ever.

Vernon Gholston was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

In Gholston, the Jets were getting a formidable pass rusher who was instantly going to make their defense much harder to play against.

Or so they thought.

Gholston terrorized offenses during his time with Ohio State.

In his senior season, Gholston notched 14 sacks and 15.5 tackles for a loss. Despite playing in just 31 games at Ohio State, Gholston managed to notch 22.5 sacks, earning himself a First-team All-Big Ten spot. In addition, Gholston was a second-team All-American in 2007, and was also named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Gholston's combine numbers were excellent, further fuelling his hype. The Jets bought in, drafting Gholston sixth overall and signing him to a $32 million contract, with $21 million guaranteed.

Gholston was expected to immediately start for the Jets, though this didn't happen. Instead, Gholston found himself playing mainly on special teams. In his first full season with the Jets, Gholston had just 13 tackles and zero sacks.

Things didn't improve much usage-wise in his second year either, as he was used sporadically. In total, Gholston had 17 tackles and zero sacks in his second year.

Things went from bad to worse for Gholston in his third year, as he managed to post just 12 tackles and zero sacks. Following his third year with the team, Gholston was quietly released.

After signing contracts with the Bears and Rams, Gholston in both cases before playing a single game.

Unlike other high-profile busts, there were no reports of personal issues or anything of that kind with Gholston.

He just didn't work out.

Source: Biggest NFL Draft Busts By Position