10 biggest NFL draft busts in Oklahoma football history
By Josh Yourish
. player. No. 5 overall. 1. 1996. 31. Cedric Jones. . Cedric Jones, DE. Cedric Jones, DE
Three months before the 1996 NFL Draft, Cedric Jones underwent a cornea transplant in his left eye, just two months later he re-injured it. After the New York Giants selected Jones fifth overall, there were conflicting reports about whether or not their front office knew about the re-injury.
Regardless, the Giants were stuck with Jones, who was legally blind in his left eye and therefore could only play on one side of the defensive line. Jones and his agent claimed that he played his entire career at Oklahoma while legally blind in the eye, but it’s unclear how much worse if at all, it was during his NFL career.
It certainly affected Jones’s play in his five seasons with the Giants. He only started two games over his first two seasons, recording just 21 total tackles and no sacks. In 1998, his third season as a pro, he racked up 4.0 sacks and in 1999 posted 6.5 with 60 tackles.
Jones started all 16 games in both 1999 and 2000 but was out of the NFL after the 2000 season. He finished his career with just 35 starts, 15.0 sacks, and 151 tackles, more than a bit underwhelming from the fifth overall pick.
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