Cleveland Browns: Ranking the 20 best former players since 1999

15) C Jeff Faine

Started 36 games at center.
Traded for 2nd round pick that became D’Qwell Jackson
– Jeff Faine was expected to be the staple of the offensive line for a decade but never stuck around long enough to see what he could’ve been. While he’s not more talented than O’Hara, he gets the nod because he was a higher draft pick, and was traded for a longtime mainstay in the middle of the defense, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. While I think it’s debatable if he was the 21st-best player in the 2003 draft, at least he was flipped for someone of note and was a viable lineman during his time with the team.

14) WR Josh Gordon

Receiving: 3,089 yards
Total TDs: 16
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2013
– Josh Gordon was a second-round pick in the 2012 Supplemental Draft, following in the footsteps of former Browns QB Bernie Kosar. He caught an impressive 1,646 yards in his second season at only 22 years old. That one year is the single highest yards a receiver put up since the team came back.  Gordon thought would sabotage his career in Cleveland, being unable to stay sober and getting suspended multiple times. His raw talent couldn’t be ignored despite his being long gone from the team.

13) WR Braylon Edwards

Receiving: 3,697 yards
Total TDs: 28
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2007
– Braylon Edwards looked like the next great wide receiver, being drafted out of the University of Michigan in 2005. A slow start to his pro career caused massive doubts, however. A pivotal player in that magical 2007 season, where he earned his only pro bowl. That said, when you were taken 21 picks ahead of Aaron Rodgers, you better deliver more than ONE great season. He was traded only two years later to the New York Jets after leading the league in dropped passes.

Tied 12) TEs Jordan Cameron/Gary Barnidge

Receiving: 1,600/ 1,938 yards
TD’s: 10/ 13
Pro Bowler in 2013/2015 Respectively (1x each)
– Neither player really did much on the team individually but they played so similarly and had similar stays with the team you couldn’t do anything but count them together. Cameron was a 4th round pick by the Browns in 2011 and played four good years for the team, earning a pro bowl nomination in 2013. Concussions and other mounting injuries caused the Browns to let him go. Barnidge was a fifth-round pick in 2008 and shared one season with Cameron in 2013. After Cameron’s departure, Barnidge posted a 1,000-yard season and earned a pro bowl spot in 2015. Despite racking up nearly 2,000 yards in two seasons, he was let go in 2017 and hasn’t played football since.

11) DT Shaun Rogers

Tackles:129
Sacks: 8.5
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2008
– Shaun Rogers might be a bit high for this list. Picked in the second round of the 2001 draft by Detroit, Rogers earned three pro bowl selections, but only one in Cleveland. He anchored the 3-4 defensive for Romeo Crennel but the team was terrible that year, and Rogers was a minimal highlight alongside Ryan Pontbriand and Joe Thomas.