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The biggest all-time Mississippi State football NFL Draft busts

Though many Mississippi State football alums have excelled in the NFL, these Bulldogs have to be considered busts after being high draft picks.

By Matthew Conner

Nov 28, 2013; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs helmet during the game against the
Nov 28, 2013; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs helmet during the game against the / Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
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Mississippi State has a long history in the NFL Draft. In fact, the first player from the university to be selected was Chuck Gelatka all the way back in 1937.

Since then, 223 players from MSU have heard their names called in the draft. That's likely to continue this year with as many as nine Bulldogs hoping to be taken in this month's draft in Detroit.

What's great for the program is that the majority of highly drafted Bulldogs have gone on to have excellent, or at least respectable, NFL careers. That means there aren't a ton of glaring draft busts to have come out of Starkville.

Still, there have been a few MSU alums who didn't live up to the billing in the NFL. So let's take a look at the biggest Mississippi State football alums who were busts in the NFL.

Derek Sherrod - OL, Green Bay Packers, 2011

In 2007, Derek Sherrod turned some heads at Mississippi State by playing in 11 games as a true freshman. A season later, he started the last 11 games of the season for the Bulldogs.

As a junior, he was a 12-game starter at left tackle as MSU running back Anthony Dixon set a single-season school rushing record with 1,391 yards. Then, as a senior, he racked up first-team All-SEC honors.

In 2011, the Mississippi native went to the Green Bay Packers with the No. 32 pick in the first round. However, his career would not live up to the hype of being a first-round selection.

In December of 2011, he broke his right leg and he would miss the entire 2012 season as a result. Then, in 2013, he began the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He was then removed from the active roster in November. A year later, he was waived by the Packers.

Sherrod was then claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs in December of 2014. However, he was cut from the roster in September of 2015 at the end of training camp. That would be the end of Sherrod's NFL career. Unfortunately, he has to go down as a bust given the value of first-round picks. It is a shame that an injury ultimately cost him a chance to have a long-term NFL career.

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