USC Football’s 25 Biggest NFL Draft Busts

A first-team All-American offensive tackle in 1970, Marv Montgomery was a highly coveted prospect entering the 1971 NFL Draft. He was selected 12th overall by the Denver Broncos.

Turning out to be a solid player, Montgomery locked down the starting left tackle position in just his second season. In fact, he started 24 total games in 1972 and 1973.

That’s when injuries and personnel issues started to rear their ugly head. A broken leg cost him most of 1974, and a riff with head coach John Ralston and offensive line coach Doc Urich set him back.

“I had played all the way up to then with my right hand down,” Montgomery told the Denver Post in 2010. “I couldn’t figure out why [Urich said] my left hand was going to make me a better player.”

After becoming a rotation player in and out of the starting lineup, Montgomery was waived early in the 1976 season. He revitalized his career with 14 starts as a New Orleans Saint in 1977, before finishing up in Atlanta the following year.

In nine seasons as a NFL player, Montgomery made 53 starts and appeared in 81 overall games. He wasn’t a bust in a traditional sense. Though his talent level and mismanagement in Denver make you wonder how good he could’ve been if everything went smoothly.