Georgia Bulldogs NFL Draft bust No. 2: Royce Smith
1972 NFL Draft, Round 1, Pick 8
New Orleans Saints, 1972-1973
Atlanta Falcons, 1974-1976
The Saints looked at Royce Smith as one of the next big anchors of their offensive line. His legendary Georgia career led New Orleans to take the massive guard with the No. 8 overall pick in the 1972 draft.
Instead of getting a roadblock to protect quarterback Archie Manning, the Saints ended up with barely serviceable backup.
Smith never started a single game during his New Orleans career or during his subsequent three seasons in Atlanta. A top-ten pick that never even gets a start can only be labeled as a tremendous bust.
Truthfully, Smith would probably land higher on this list if the Saints were a more established franchise who weren’t still trying to build a team.
Sadly, Smith died at the young age of 54 in 2004.