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5 Broncos draft busts since 2000 you may have forgotten about

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER - OCTOBER 31: Wide receiver Darius Watts #17 of the Denver Broncos gets a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on October 31, 2004 at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The Falcons won the game 41-28. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
DENVER - OCTOBER 31: Wide receiver Darius Watts #17 of the Denver Broncos gets a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on October 31, 2004 at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The Falcons won the game 41-28. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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Denver Broncos
DENVER – NOVEMBER 28: Linebacker Terry Pierce #58 of the Denver Broncos dives in an attempt to tackle punt returner Phillip Buchanon #31 of the Oakland Raiders on November 28, 2004 at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The Raiders won 25-24. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

. LB. Kansas State, 2003. player. 823. . TerryPierce.

The Broncos used their second-round (No. 51 overall) pick in the 2003 draft on Terry Pierce. He was drafted to be an enforcer type of linebacker that made the defense tougher. That never came close to happening.

Unlike the players mentioned so far on this list, Pierce was plagued by injuries that ended up defining his short professional career.

Pierce was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2000 and would go on to have a productive career with the Wildcats. But he was hampered by injuries pretty much right out of the gate in Denver and he was never able to recover.

The Broncos tried to move Pierce to the outside to see if he could help the team as a pass-rusher ahead of the 2005 season, but when it seemed like that was a bad fit, the team cut him that offseason.

The Houston Texans gave him a chance following that season but he was cut ahead of their training camp in 2006 and his career was cut short that quickly.

He ended up playing in just 18 games for the Broncos, primarily on special teams and finished his career there with just eight tackles. Generally you want a lot more out of a second-round pick than that.

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