The Cleveland Browns have a pretty sad record of gaining talent that is synonymous with the franchise, but there are a few and it’s time to rank them.
First things first, this will not include anyone on the Cleveland Browns active roster, or was just on the active roster for the 2019-2020 season. So Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett, Joe Schobert, and others aren’t eligible. That said, all of them would probably be on the list. There will eventually be a follow-up list, ranking the top 20 players who are/were just active but today we’re focusing on the franchise “icons” of the last 20 seasons. It should be emphasized that the word “icon” is being stretched to fit the topic of this article.
The criteria for the list are pretty simple; Pro Bowl appearances, helping achieve winning seasons (all two of them), that one time they went to the playoffs, and lastly the overall performance of the player despite the team around them. This list is going to be a sad reminder of how bad this franchise has been when you see some of the names on it. Many only had one or two good years, or a single Pro Bowl to their name. Some don’t even have that going for them.
With that said, let’s take a look at the honorable mentions.
*All stats and awards listed from Browns’ tenure only
WR/KR Dennis Northcutt
Receiving: 3,438 yards
Rushing: 298 yards
KR/PR: 2,149 yards
Total Yards: 5,885
Total TD’s 15
– Dennis Northcutt would have made the top ten easily if it wasn’t for the fact Joshua Cribbs raised the level of expectation so high for returners. Cribbs and Devin Hester should be bound for the Hall of Famer, but that seems unlikely. Northcutt, however, was the king of the return play before Cribbs showed up. He was decent enough to be a slot receiver but despite his few good years and helping the team get to the playoffs once, he never was a starter on the team.
TE Kellen Winslow
Receiving: 2429 yards
Total TDs: 11
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2007
– Kellen Winslow is a scumbag, but we can’t just wash away his history with the team for the sake of being sensitive. Winslow was expected to be a Hall of Famer, following in the footsteps of his father but constant missteps and injuries derailed his career. He was taken with the sixth pick in the 2004 draft out of Miami (FL) but missed nearly the first two years of his career thanks to a motorcycle wreck. Remember that? Winslow was doing stunts on a motorcycle that he didn’t even know how to ride yet. He was still part of that magical 2007 team that won 10 games and somehow missed the playoffs but was ultimately shipped off to Tampa Bay.
QB Kelly Holcomb
Passing: 3,438 yards
Passing TDs: 26
Interceptions: 21
Completion Percentage: 62.6%
– The undrafted Kely Holcomb came into the league in 1995 but didn’t see any success until 2002, subbing in for an injured Tim Couch in the season opener. He produced some of the highest-scoring games in that season, causing a quarterback controversy. Couch would regain his position but would start the team’s playoff game due to an injury to Couch.
RB Jamel White
Rushing: 1,324 yards
Receiving: 1,246 yards
Return: 1,165 yards
Total Yards: 3,735
Total TD’s 11
– While now we respect players like Jamel White, back in his time in the league, all-purpose players like him were looked past because they weren’t seen as conventional between the tackle runners. Undrafted in 2000, White went on to have four productive years as a versatile offensive player at a time when the team didn’t have many playmakers.
D’Qwell Jackson
Tackles: 822
Five seasons of 100+ tackles.
– D’Qwell Jackson will go down in history as the best middle linebacker since the team’s return in 1999. There have been some solid players in the middle, but none were the tackler that Jackson was. He was a black hole for the offense, sucking in any running back or wide receiver that dared to challenge his dominance. The future Pro Bowler was cut by Ray Farmer for some reason and would go on to have three more good years in Indianapolis. Had management not cut him, it’s possible the team may have been good enough in 2014 to have a winning record. No Pro Bowl or Year-End Awards cost him a top 20.
20) QB Tim Couch
Passing Yards: 11,131 yards
Passing TDs: 64
Interceptions: 67
Completion Percentage: 59.8%
1999 No. 1 Overall Pick
– Some call Tim Couch a bust, but that’s not fair. Before Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach, the two best offensive linemen the Browns had were Dave Wohlabaugh and Jim Pyne. That’s the two best Couch had to play with for the first two years. Not to mention his best receiver was Kevin Johnson; who at best was the second-best wideout on any other bad team. I think Couch is simply a disappointment, and being the first overall pick in not just the 1999 NFL Draft but also the Brown’s first pick in years doesn’t help. If you look at his run in 2001 and 2002 under Butch Davis he was very productive and even lead the team to several comeback wins. Not to mention Couch lead the team to the only playoff appearance since the team came back in 1999 (as of this post). He and David Carr are often seen as examples of what happens to talented players when they lead the league in getting hit. Poor play by the offensive line caused more injuries and forced Couch to retire.
19) C/G Shaun O’Hara
Started 38 games at guard and center.
– Shaun O’Hara went undrafted by the Browns in 2000 but he quickly became their best lineman of the year. He’d go on to be a three-time pro bowler and a Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, proving to be another example of the inept management in Cleveland. During his time with The Browns, he showed his versatility by playing left guard and center at times, often filling in for an injured Wohlabaugh. Arguably the team 4th best offensive lineman for the modern-day Browns organization.
18) QB Derek Anderson
Passing Yards: 7,083 yards
Passing TDs: 46
Interceptions: 45
Completion Percentage: 51.9
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2007
– It’s nucking futs to see Anderson this high, right? The former Oregon State Beaver and classmate of 2007 Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood, was a 2005 sixth-round pick and much like Couch, his singe season performance can’t be overlooked. He won ten games in his first season as a starter, went to the Pro Bowl (only Browns QB to do that since 1999), and threw the second-most TDs in a season for the Browns with 29 (Brian Sipe had 30 in 1980). Unfortunately, like Couch, bad management and a bad head coach cost him success in the following seasons.
17) RB Peyton Hillis
Rushing: 1,746 yards
Receiving: 610 yards
Total TDs: 16
Madden 2011 Cover Athlete
– While Hillis will go hand-in-hand with the term “quitter”, his single season was a thing of beauty. Hillis perfected the ‘leap over a tackler’ move that we see so often today and was league’s most exciting player in 2010, riding that excitement to the cover of Madden. The 7th-round draft pick behind former Arkansas teammates Darren McFadden and Felix Jones had arguably the best single season of either of them (both teammates were drafted in the first round). Despite his stunning performance behind a mediocre line and no real help offensively, he tanked his career by holding out for money, allegedly faking injuries, and quitting in games. That left fans thinking about what could have been.
16) WR Kevin Johnson
Receiving: 3,455 yards
Punting: 245 yards
Total TDs: 24 (one passing)
– Kevin Johnson was the 2nd pick in the Browns’ new history, following Couch. He was the first in a run-on 2nd round receiver that management would draft through 2003 (Johnson, Northcutt, Quincy Morgan, and Andra Davis). He was the most reliable pass-catcher for the team and was the first player to top 1,000 yards in a single season since the franchise returned. While he did the best he could, he couldn’t impress former coach Butch Davis when he was shockingly cut mid-season in 2003. He still had something left, as he was claimed by 16 teams before Jacksonville claimed him. Unfortunately, injuries caught up to him and he was out of the NFL two years later.
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.
10) LG Eric Steinbach
Started 62 games at left guard
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2007
– Eric Steinbach was part of that magical 2007 season but he was arguably a much better player than his teammates who also went to the pro bowl that season (save for Joe Thomas). He was taken by the Bengals with the first pick in the 2nd round of the 2003 Draft and became the Browns’ biggest free-agent signing at the time. He stabilized the left side of the line for nearly four years before being released after the 2011 season.
9) CB Daylon McCutcheon
Started 96 of 103 games played.
Forced Fumbles – 8
Interceptions – 12
Pass Deflections – 63
Career Tackles – 424
Defensive TDs – 2
– It might be hard to understand why Daylon McCutcheon is this high to the unaware. McCutcheon was one of four really useful players drafted in 1999, with Couch, Johnson and former linebacker Wali Rainer. McCutcheon outlasted all of them and was the longest-tenured player until Phil Dawson and Joe Thomas unseated him. McCutcheon was a starter from the jump basically and was part of the Browns’ best seasons, save for the 2007 season. He was a blue-collar worker, who was never known for his athleticism, just his grit, and grind. The most Browns player of his era.
8) LS Ryan Pontbriand
5th Round Pick (probably the highest ever for a long snapper)
Played eight seasons
Played in 134 of 144 possible games.
Pro Bowler (2x) – 2007 and 2008
– Yes, a Long Snapper made it into the top ten. I’m not sure if he’s the highest-drafted ever, because I’m sure a regular lineman was taken in the first round who also long snapped, yet I can’t think of one person who was drafted solely to be a long snapper. According to his wiki page, Pontbriand in college was only the team’s long snapper and didn’t play an every-down position, which was apparently good enough to get him drafted in the fifth round. Pontbriand lived up to Butch Davis’s expectations as he earned two Pro Bowl appearances for special teams. He was efficient, even if he only played a special team position.
7) OLB Jamir Miller
Tackles – 300
Sacks – 22.5
Interceptions – 2
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2001
All-Pro (1x) -2001 (*First for the franchise since its returned)
– Jamir Miller will go down as a sad song for the Browns. A top-ten pick for the Arizona Cardinals in 1994, Miller joined the Browns in 1999 through free agency and became an instant star for the organization. While not a bust, he was a bit of a disappointment for the Cardinals organization, only amounting to 13.5 sacks through five years. He would become an All-Pro in 2001, finally achieving his potential. He started the 2002 pre-season however, by tearing his Achilles tendon. This injury caused him to never play again, and he ultimately retired in early 2003 after being waived by the team.
6) SS T.J. Ward
Tackles – 325
Sacks – 3.5
Forced Fumbles – 10
Fumble Recoveries – 4
Interceptions – 5
Pass Deflections – 22
Defensive Touchdown – 1
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2013
– TJ Ward and D’Qwell Jackson were set to be cornerstones of the team for years until Ray Farmer let them leave in free agency and replaced them with less talented, older, and more expensive players in Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby. While Jackson would earn a pro bowl birth with Indianapolis, Ward earned one of his two with The Browns and was even named a second-team All-Pro in 2013. Ward would go on to win a Super Bowl with Denver.
5) C Alex Mack
Started 101 games out of 112
Pro Bowler (3x) – 2010, 2013 and 2015
Second-Team All-Pro (1x ) – 2013
– Before Mack went off to play for the Atlanta Falcons, he was a staple of the offensive line. He and Joe Thomas anchored some bad teams, no doubt, but they were arguably the two best parts of the team no matter what other turmoil was going on. Mack’s a future Hall of Famer, with six Pro Bowls in his career (three in Cleveland). Leaving was the right move for him, as he’s gone to the SuperBowl since leaving and The Browns remain The Browns
4) KR/PR Joshua Cribbs
Punt Returns: 2,154 yards
Kick Returns: 10,015 yards
Receiving: 1,161 yards
Rushing: 753 yards
Total Yards: 14,083
Total TD’s: 20
Pro Bowler (3x) – 2007, 2009, and 2012
First-Team All-Pro (2x) – 2007, 2009
– If the NFL cared more about special team’s contributions, Cribbs would be a Hall of Famer. A better all-around player than Devin Hester, Cribbs did everything for the Browns. As a former Quarterback from Kent State, Cribbs came into the league unsure of what his future would be and ended up making his career one the fans will never forget. An icon in Cleveland, Cribbs proved you didn’t need to be a high draft pick to make an impact, just have the guts to do anything it takes to make it, and by god he did.
3) K Phil Dawson
305 of 363 field goals made (84% accuracy)
1,271 points
Pro Bowler (1x) – 2012
Second-Team All-Pro (2x) – 2007 and 2012
– Like Cribbs as well, Phil Dawson would be a future Hall of Famer if the NFL cared about special teams. Dawson was the most efficient kicker for the Browns since their return to the NFL. He’s maybe one of, if not the best, ever to dawn the orange and brown as a kicker. Dawson not only put up amazing numbers, but he also did it in terrible weather. It’s hard enough to get into the NFL as a kicker, but to last twenty years? That’s beyond impressive. He’ll always be one of the most beloved players in Browns’ history.
2) CB Joe Haden
Interceptions – 19
Defensive TD – 1
Tackles – 370
Pro Bowler (2x) – 2013, and 2014
Second-Team All-Pro (1x) – 2013
– Joe Haden is the most disappointing addition to this list because there’s no good reason why he shouldn’t still be on the team. At only 30 years old, the former two-time Pro Bowler now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers where he’s started every game of his tenure. Haden was well on his way to being a legend in Cleveland before Sashi Brown made the stupid decision to cut him. Thanks for nothing.
1) LT Joe Thomas
Started 167 straight games
Played in 10,363 consecutive snaps on offense, most all time
since the stat was recorded in 1999
Pro Bowler (10x) – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016
– What needs to be said about the best tackle in the history of the National Football League? Thomas never missed a game until his injury in 2017. He could have kept playing, but Thomas opted to retire. He’s talked about how his health isn’t great anymore, and football probably has a lot to do with it. Since retirement, he continues to be a big Browns supporter and even hosts a podcast talking about the Browns and other things with former teammate Andrew Hawkins, called the ThomaHawk Show
Thomas’ iconic legacy in Cleveland will be well remembered, and never forgotten. As fans, we hoped he’d get to the playoffs just once, but we’re just thankful he stuck around with us. Loyalty like his is hard to come by these days.