FanHouse Derrick Thomas

CANTON, Ohio -- Derrick Thomas' induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame may have taken longer than his family wanted. It took longer than the loyal Chiefs' Nation wanted. In the end, their perseverance paid off – even if Thomas is not alive to see it.

The Kansas City Chiefs' pass rushing legend, who was arguably the most feared defensive lineman of the 1990s, finally received his reward for an NFL-most 116 1/2 sacks on Saturday when his bust and legacy were enshrined posthumously in the Hall of Fame.

Thomas' NFL career spanned only 11 seasons, tragically cut short when he died on Feb. 8, 2000 at the age of 33 of complications from injuries sustained in a car accident.

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Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.

Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.

Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.

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The cover of Sports Illustrated's April 24, 1989 issue featured NFL prospect Tony Mandarich, a massive offensive tackle from Michigan State. Mandarich was dubbed "the best offensive line prospect ever." Rick Telander wrote the cover story, titled "The Big Enchilada", in which he described Mandarich's workout routine and published Mandarich's denials of steroid use.

While common sense had long ago labeled Mandarich a liar, it was only some 20 years later, at the age of 42, that Mandarich finally came clean.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced the finalists for the 2009 Hall of Fame class, a list that contains the NFL's all-time sack leader, a current owner, a former commissioner, and six first-time finalists.

The voters will select a minimum of four and a maximum of seven new members on January 31. The complete list of finalists after the jump.