49ers NFL Draft: 10 high-profile picks who never panned out

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NFL Commissoner Roger Goodell greets Aldon Smith, #7 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /

4. player. 822. . EDGE. Tigers . Aldon Smith

49ers EDGE Aldon Smith, Missouri

Selected No. 7 Overall in the 2011 NFL Draft

It seems a little unfair to put EDGE Aldon Smith so high on this list, let alone on it at all. Because truly, Smith was an elite-level player for his first two years, threatening the record for most sacks by a rookie with the 14 he recorded after being taken by San Francisco No. 7 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.

And the following year, Smith shot up the single-season all-time sack leaders list by recording a whopping 19.5 in 2012 amid both a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro campaign, suggesting the 49ers had found themselves a pass-rusher in the mold of the Hall of Famer, Charles Haley.

Even in 2013, when Smith wasn’t quite where he was the year before, he still managed to record 8.5 sacks.

Yet Smith never quite panning out had to do with his off-field issues and struggles with alcoholism more than anything else, and fans know those storylines all too well. Multiple arrests and run-ins with the law ultimately decreased his value to the Niners, which led to his eventual release in 2015 and subsequent lengthy suspensions by the league from 2016 through 2019.

If there’s a positive, however, Smith attempted to turn his life around and made it back into the NFL ranks.

Just not with San Francisco.