Cleveland Browns 2016 NFL Draft Class The Worst In Franchise History?

The 2016 NFL Draft class will go down as the worst in Cleveland Browns history, unless someone shocks the world and becomes a superstar.

The Browns 2016 NFL Draft class will go down as the worst crop of rookies in franchise history.

With 14 selections, the Browns whiffed on every one and the impact will be felt for years to come.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano couldn’t have summed the Browns spring debacle any better than this: “This is a team built on draft picks it hasn’t made yet, and most of the players on the roster won’t be there by the time the team is any good.”

Need a depressing translation? The Browns blew the 2016 NFL Draft and this miserable season truly was a waisted year.

Joey Bosa‘s return to the Buckeye State as member of the San Diego Chargers was a brutal reminder of this, even though Cleveland earned their first win of the season.

Against Cleveland, Bosa tallied 2 sacks, a quarterback hit and two hurries. He has 9.5 sacks on the season. His 53 pressures are the most ever by a rookie. All of this and Bosa missed the first four games of the season because of a contract dispute.

Pro Football Focus rates him as the fifth best pass rusher in the game.

Bosa could’ve been a Brown, just like his former OSU teammate, Ezekiel Elliott, who tore up the Cleveland just weeks ago.

Bosa’s Christmas Eve performance only serves as a reminder of how poor the Browns performed in the 2016 NFL Draft. Of the team’s 14 draft picks, none have shown any kind of star potential.

The jury is still out on Corey Coelman. A broken hand cost him six weeks. But when he’s been on the field, he’s been relatively quiet. He was advertised as a dazzling showstopper. Just get him the ball, and look out. Entering Week 17, the Dawg Pound is still waiting.

The Browns passed over impact players such as Ezekiel Elliott and Bosa, as well as a potential franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz to collect more picks via trading down. They picked Coleman at No. 15. His lottery ticket needed to hit and it hasn’t…yet.

When all you can say about your No. 32 overall pick is that he’s a physical talent, and in this case, I’m referring to Emmanuel Ogbah, you screwed up. Like Coelman, you can’t close the book on Ogbah, but the Browns should be getting more production from a player selected in the the top 32. While Bosa borders on elite, Ogbah is PFF’s 96th ranked pash rusher with a 43.8 grade. Not up with the lingo from the increasingly popular analytics site? I’ll save you the research. Ogbah’s grade is so bad, it’s highlighted in red, as in “Danger.”

Penn State edge rushing rookie Carl Nassib looked like a good pick early on, but probably needs to hit the weight room. Like Ogbah, he’s rated as one of the worst edge defenders in the game (107th).

Third rounder Cody Kessler might the team’s best pick. At the very least, Kessler’s got a career in the NFL as a backup. Unfortunately for the Browns, that sentence equates into losing the 2016 draft. They needed a franchise savior a la Dak Prescott. They got an OK player in Kessler.

Maybe Spencer Drango develops into a capable lineman. He was a fifth round pick and graded out well against San Diego. He’s getting better as the season progresses. It’s a positive, folks.

And the Browns 9 other picks? The truth is they aren’t worth writing about. Want to talk about Jordan Payton getting popped for PEDs? What have receivers Ricardo Louis and Rashard Higgins done?

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Third-round pick Shon Coleman can’t get on the field. The line’s been brutal. He’s had opportunities but can’t crack the lineup.

Cleveland isn’t a stranger to bad drafts. In 1987, the Browns traded away corner Chip Banks for the “Mad Dog in a Meat Market,” Mike Junkin with the fifth overall pick. The Genius, Bill Belichik drafted “Touchdown” Tommy Vardel in 1994.

The 2000 class, which yielded 13 picks, may the one class to rival 2016. Courtney Brown is one of the biggest busts in NFL history. That same year, the Browns drafted a running back, Travis Prentice, from Miami of Ohio. That was also the year the front office took Spergon Wynn six spots ahead of Tom Brady.

But 2016 should stand tall above all the rest, unless one of the players from the class proves us wrong. At least in 2000, Carmen Policy and Chris Palmer had the cojones to use the No. 1 pick. The Harvard trio traded out of No. 2, when blue chip players could’ve been had. Smh.

Cleveland will probably pick 13 times in the 2017 NFL Draft, depending on how the compensatory picks the Browns will be awarded for losing free agents shakes out.

Next: Watch Hue Jackson's Emotional Postgame Speech

It’s hard to imagine the front office could do worse than they did last spring, but we all know that anything’s a possibility with this franchise.

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