The Cleveland Browns have not always been the home to the best pass-catching wide receivers or tight ends in the league but here are 21 we think are swell.
The Cleveland Browns don’t always have the best track record for drafting, cultivating, curating or keeping talent. The skilled possessions for the Browns are a hodge-podge of really really good players, some really beloved grinders and the “Well, you tried” types. So for this rundown, we’re looking at the 21 best wide receivers and tight ends since 1999.
So, a little bit about how we’re doing this ranking. We’re grading out on consistency, post-season accolades, any potential records broken, versatility, and fan appreciation. So it’s possible a more popular wide receiver/returner is ranked higher than a 1,000 receiver. It’s all boiled down to what was their impact on the team. Was it a noticeable one? Were they easily replaced? That’s the type of metric we’re going to grade on.
Firstly, two honorable mentions. Firstly to Darrin Chiaverini. He only caught 555 yards over two seasons, but he was one of the first. It was Chiaverini and Kevin Johnson that first year, playing against fully formed defenses, in an era where the defenses weren’t neutered. Taken in the fifth round he had an admirable rookie year but for whatever reason, Carmen Policy wasn’t high on him and he was out of the league in four years. His son, Curtis, is hoping to get the call in the NFL Draft this year.
The next honorable mention goes to Aaron Shea. He wasn’t much of pass-catcher but he was a great pass protector and was a solid piece for the Browns for six years, blocking and catching for Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, and others. Shea’s a personal favorite of mine, and I even have his autograph somewhere in my office.
With that out of the way, however, let’s dive into the 21 best pass-catchers over the last 21 seasons.
21. Mohamed Massaquoi
Mohamed Massaquoi played all four years in Cleveland and honestly was really bad. Over four seasons, Massaquoi caught 118 passes, for 1,745 yards and a whopping seven total touchdowns. Now normally I wouldn’t be so hard on a Browns player, but he was a second-round pick and selected just ahead of LeSean McCoy.
20. Greg Little
The Cleveland Browns are riddled with second-round wide receivers who didn’t live up to their draft position. Greg Little is just the next in line. Both Massaquoi and Little overlapped one another by two years, so condolences go out to those 2011 and 2012 season quarterbacks for having to throw to these two. Little caught 161 passes, for 1,890 yards and a smashing eight…..just eight…total touchdowns in four years. Brilliant.
19. Andre’ Davis
ANOTHER second-round wide receiver who failed to make an impact. Andre’ Davis was taken in the second round, three rounds ahead of another Cleveland Browns 2002 draftee, Andra Davis. Yup, that happened. Davis with the “e'” had a long NFL career, going eight seasons with the Browns, Patriots, Bills, and Texans. During his time with the Browns, Davis had 94 receptions, for 1,412 yards, and had 13 receiving touchdowns to his name.
18. Travis Benjamin
Hue Jackson and company didn’t like Travis Benjamin enough to retain him, letting him go to the Chargers. While with the Browns, Benjamin showed flashes of being the next great versatility player, having caught 109 receptions for1,683 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns He also had 857 punt return yards, three punt return touchdowns, and 470 kick returns years.
All together Benjamin had 3,105 total yards in his four years with the team. Had he been used more in the Pat Shurmur or Rod Chudzinski era, then maybe his stats would’ve been more impressive.
17. Steve Heiden
Steve Heiden is the first tight end on the list. He came over from the Chargers in 2002 and stayed on the team until 2009. During his time with the Browns, Heiden caught 187 passes, for 1,602 yards, with 12 touchdowns. Heiden was the team’s primary tight end for most of his 8-year career with the Browns, only really splitting time with Kellen Winslow.
16. Quincy Morgan
Fun fact, Quincy Morgan came to my high school to do a “stay in school” speech. Even funnier fact, he’s another got-dang second-round pick! He caught 133 receptions for 2,056 yards and 15 touchdowns. Morgan may best be known for his catch-that-wasn’t-a-catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2002. The refs let the Browns have that one, payback for Bottlegate. Morgan though had a tendency to drop anything that wasn’t his paycheck however, thus holding him back from being something special.
15. Andrew Hawkins
Andrew Hawkins was a beloved wideout for the Browns during his brief three-year career. He had 123 receptions for 1,424 yards and five touchdowns and a huge first season. Hawkins started strong with the Browns, wherein his debut season he put over 800 yards receiving but injuries and misuse due to Hue Jackson coming in caused his tenure to be shortlived. Hawkins is doing alright for himself now, as he’s one-half of the ThomaHawk podcast, hosted by himself and future NFL Hall of Famer and Cleveland Browns great, Joe Thomas.
14. Joe Jurevicius
Joe Jurevicius may not have great memories of his time in Cleveland. Jurevicius suffered from a staph infection after his second year with the team, which resulted in him having to retire from the NFL due to the damage to his knee. He filed a lawsuit against the Browns and the Cleveland Clinic for an undisclosed sum. Even though he had a bad finish to his time in Cleveland, he had a decent two-year stint. Jurevicius was still playing well in his early 30’s, ending up with 90 catches for 1,109 yards with six touchdowns over those two years. His tenure with the Browns may have ended his career, but that hasn’t stopped the Ohio native from being involved with the organization from time to time still.
13. Terrelle Pryor
The former Ohio State University quarterback turned into a wide receiver once he got to the NFL and had his best year in Cleveland. In his 19 games with the Browns, Pryor caught 78 passes for 1,049 yards and four touchdowns. Pryor left for Washington right after, never reduplicating the same success.
12. Ben Watson
Ben Watson won a lot with New England but didn’t find that kind of success when he came into Cleveland in 2010. Despite being in his early 30’s, Watson played really well. He caught 154 passes, for 1,674 yards and eight touchdowns. Watson didn’t win many games with the Browns, but that didn’t detour his desire to play. He stayed on in the league until 2019, retiring at the age of 40.
11. Kellen Winslow Jr.
Kellen Winslow Jr. is a terrible human being. Beyond that, he’s barely above bust-tier as a tight end. A broken leg in his rookie year that caused him to miss 14 games, then a motorcycle crash ended his sophomore year before it even began. That doesn’t even factor in his staph infection he suffered while recovering from his motorcycle-caused ACL tear. For a top-ten NFL draft pick, he had only two good years, despite having loads of talent. Winslow caught 604 receptions, for 2,459 yards, with 11 touchdowns all to his name. What a schmuck.
10. Odell Beckham Jr.
Whether Odell Beckham Jr. is traded or not, he has made his mark on the team. In his lone year with the Browns, he caught 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. There are other players before him that did more of an impact with less, but Beckham is being evaluated on his name brand, not his overall production. Despite the headaches that he causes, he’s had a decent career so far and his fans are pretty loyal.
9. Jordan Cameron
Jordan Cameron was one of the better tight ends the team has had, but concussions and free agency derailed the potential he showed. Despite the issues, Cameron had 130 receptions, for an even 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns. He went to the Pro Bowl in 2013 after an impressive campaign, having to catch passes from Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, and Brandon Weeden all year. Cameron is only 31 as of this writing, but after four concussions in six seasons, he opted to retire after the 2016 season, cutting short a promising career.
8. Gary Barnidge
The Browns picked up Gary Barnidge in 2013 as a backup following his time with Carolina. After Cameron left, Barnidge became the teams starting tight end and in his first year as a starter, went to the Pro Bowl. In totality, he caught 160 passes for 1,938 yards, with 13 touchdowns. Hue Jackson and the management opted to release Barndige after the 2016 season, despite being healthy and a good pass catcher still.
7. Antonio Bryant
In his loan season with the Cleveland Browns, Antonio Bryan tore it up. He was targeted an insane 123 times and had 69 receptions. He broke the 1,000-yard mark, hitting 1,009 yards, alongside having four touchdowns. He left the team in free agency and ended up having issues with substances.
6. Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards was the first Browns wide receiver to go to the Pro Bowl since the team returned. A top-three overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Edwards never reached the heights he was supposed to. He was gone from the team in less than five seasons, but he did manage to catch 238 passes for 3, 697 yards, and 28 touchdowns during his time with the team. Injuries and inconsistent play forced Edwards out of the league just three years after his trade from Cleveland.
5. Josh Gordon
Josh Gordon was not supposed to be here. Not at this spot, and for two drastically different reasons. ANOTHER second-round draft pick, this time out of the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon emerged out of nowhere as a real deep ball threat. In his first two seasons, Gordon a whopping 2,451. A supplemental draft pick isn’t supposed to be that good. Yet, he wasn’t supposed to be here for another drastically different reason. Gordon was supposed to be higher. After his first two years, Gordon ended up being unable to stay clean and the league responded by suspending him indefinitely. After coming back in 2017, the team traded him in 2018 to New England. During his time in Cleveland, Gordon had 179 receptions for 3,106 yards and 15 touchdowns. Had Gordon not been such a disaster with substance abuse, who knows what Gordon could’ve done with the Browns. He’s only 28 as of the posting of this column but he’s once again suspended indefinitely.
4. Dennis Northcutt
Cue the music, ANOTHER SECOND-ROUND PICK! Dennis Northcutt was the Browns’ second pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. He spent seven years with the Browns, where he totaled 5,943 total yards combined (receiving, returning, rushing). He had 15 total touchdowns and became infamous for his stylish punt returns, and was invaluable on the team during their 2001 and 2002 progressions and playoff chases. He had three straight seasons of 600+ yards receiving. He’s no slouch even if his pure receiving numbers don’t impress you.
3. Josh Cribbs
The grand champion in total yards is Josh Cribbs. Not the receiver that others are on this list, but screw it, I’m counting him this high even though most of his work came as a special teams player. He caught balls, he gained yards, who cares if he gained more yards off of the kickoffs?
In total, Cribbs had 14,083 combined yards across receptions, rushing and returns. He also had 20 combined touchdowns and was a three-time Pro Bowler in 2007, 2009 and 2012. Cribbs set all sorts of records and alongside Devin Hester redefined how valuable great returners were to the game.
While Cribbs isn’t seen as an all-time great, he very well should be. As an undrafted quarterback out Kent State, the Browns made sure he stayed in state and became an icon with the Browns. The love affair that the fans have with Cribbs is undeniable. He’s often talked about in rarified air, and most people don’t have a bad word to say about him.
After leaving the Browns, he played two more seasons in the NFL before retiring and opening up a small business in the greater-Cleveland area. He and his wife also now host a show called Cribbs in the CLE on the CBS affiliate WOIO Channel 19.
2. Kevin Johnson
It’s everyone’s favorite game. WHAT ROUND WAS HE DRAFTED?
The first? Sorry, wrong.
The third? Nope, wrong-o.
The twelfth? What, are you even trying?
The second? DING-A-LA-DING! Holy crud, ANOTHER second-round wide receiver! He only played four full seasons in Cleveland, but only dropped below 700 yards receiving once, in 2000. That was the year Spergen Wynn and Doug Pederson took over for an injured Tim Couch, so that’s respectable.
Johnson came in as the 2nd pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 NFL Draft, the first draft of the new organization. During his first three years in Cleveland, Johnson was the only real target, until 2002, when the offense came alive with Couch, Kelly Holcomb, William Green and others stepping up.
During his time in a Browns uniform, Johnson compiled 315 receptions for 3,836 yards, all the while racking up 23 touchdowns. His numbers would’ve been better if Pederson and Wynn didn’t absolutely suck. Butch Davis traded Johnson away to Jacksonville, and Johnson would end up bouncing around to two other teams before leaving the league in 2005.
Johnson was robbed of a Pro Bowl in 2001 when he racked up 84 receptions, 1,097 yards, and nine touchdowns. No justice.
What Johnson was able to do, on bad offenses, with no help on the other side, is nothing short of amazing. He was truly a guy who did it all and did it by himself. He was the Doom Slayer of the Cleveland Browns.
1. Jarvis Landry
Jarvis Landry is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. He’s been to five-straight Pro Bowls, the last two as a member of the Cleveland Browns. After starting his career with the Miami Dolphins he was shipped to Cleveland after the 2017 season. The team only gave up a 4th and 7th to acquire Landry, a rare win for the Browns front office.
Since joining the team, Landry had 164 receptions, 2,150 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He’s been key in the development of young franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the two have meshed extremely well. With additions to the team in the 2020 off-season, Landry should see an even bigger increase in stats as time goes on.
While he’s only been on the team for two years and hasn’t had the same totality in yards and touchdowns accumulated as others, he very easily could surpass everyone on this list in a matter of years, if he can stay healthy, and remains with the team. The Browns have him under contract for three more years, and even when the deal expires, he’ll only be 31. If he can stay healthy throughout that run, maybe he can re-sign to a nice deal and chase down every franchise record.
That is if everything goes well.
Landry’s performances have been stellar, and the city has accepted him with gusto. Now all he needs to do is help Mayfield lead the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and then his place in the team’s lore will be cemented for eternity.