The Best Player in each Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Class since 1999
By Chad Porto
2016 – LB Joe Schobert (Round 4: Pick 1, 99th overall)
Oh Jacksonville, you got a true gem. Imagine if the Browns had a clue? 2016 was so bad. Another NFL Draft, another case where all of the players taken are gone from the team. The saddest part, only wide receiver Jordan Payton, cornerback Trey Caldwell, and linebacker Scooby Wright are out of the NFL. Caldwell and Wright, however, are not out of pro football, as both are with the XFL. Caldwell plays for the Vipers, while Wright plays for the Defenders.
Every other player is still in the NFL. Joe Schobert is also the only player the Browns took in 2016 who was a Pro Bowl-caliber player. This class saw 14 picks taken. For you math majors at home, that ‘s 26 players in two years who were tossed aside by the Browns. Classic. Wide receiver Corey Colemen was taken first, followed by defensive end’s Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib. Shon Coleman, an offensive tackle, was next, with wideout Ricardo Louis following. Safety Derrick Kindred, tight end Seth DeValve, offensive tackle Spencer Drango, and currently unsigned talent in wide receiver Rashard Higgins and quarterback Cod Kessler round out the draft. If Higgins comes back to the Browns, at least that means it’s not 26 players tossed aside, just 25.
Schobert was a great player for the Browns and earned every dollar with the Jaguars. Replacing him will be a tall order to accomplish, and it seems unlikely they’ll be able to do it in this draft or with the younger players on the roster. Hopefully one of them can step up, but no one has shown to have the versatility to do so yet, and the Browns draft strategy seems to be all sorts of mind-boggling if rumors are to be believed.