10 biggest NFL draft busts in Auburn football history
By Josh Yourish
. Tucker Frederickson, RB/FB. player. Tucker Frederickson. . 1965. Tucker Frederickson, RB/FB. 31. 3. No. 1 overall
A few of Auburn’s running back busts can blame injury, but none has as legitimate a claim as Tucker Frederickson. After he was selected first overall in 1965, Frederickson ran for 659 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie and made the Pro Bowl.
Then, Frederickson missed the entire 1966 season with a knee injury. He wasn’t the same over the next five years with the Giants and never cleared 500 yards rushing again. The same knee injury that forced him to miss the 1966 season, caused him to retire after 1971 when he rushed for 242 yards on 64 carries.
Drafting a running back wasn’t New York’s mistake in 1965, the Giants just grabbed the wrong one. Ken Willard was taken second and ran for 6,105 yards and 45 touchdowns with four Pro Bowls in his career and the Chicago Bears landed Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers fourth overall.