NFL Draft: Top Five Ravens Draft Busts
By Ben Palmer
3. Mark Clayton – WR, Oklahoma, 2005 NFL Draft, First Round, 22nd Pick
Another notch in the belt of the Ravens’ wide receiver drafting woes, Mark Clayton seemed like a pretty sure thing coming out of Oklahoma, but the Ravens learned the hard way something I’ve always believed, which is you don’t draft wide receivers from the University of Oklahoma (you have to go all the way back to Tommy McDonald to find a worthwhile Sooner receiver, though I still maintain the Ryan Broyles would’ve been really good if he could’ve stayed healthy, and the jury is still out on Kenny Stills).
Clayton ended up having a career similar to other entry Travis Taylor, peaking in 2006 with a 16 catch, 939-yard season with five touchdowns.
Outside of that year, he averaged around 450 receiving yards per season, which is not what you’d expect out of a first-round receiver.
After spending five years with the Ravens, he went to St. Louis, spent two years there doing much of the same, and then sputtered out entirely.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if the Ravens had picked, say, Roddy White, who went five picks later in the same draft?