The Cleveland Browns have performed so poorly in the NFL Draft, that it’s time to rank the worst-of-the worst as the franchise continues to flounder.
Compiling the Cleveland Browns worst NFL Drafts since 1999 seems easy. The Browns have been so lousy for so long that “talent” has been a rumor around Berea since Cleveland’s re-birth as a franchise.
That said, the problem in deciding which drafts were the worse is because the Browns were SO lousy for SO long.
But with everyone pretty much shut in due to the COVID-19 pandemic, someone had to rank the worse drafts since 1999, and gosh darn it, it was me.
Working on the project ran me through a gauntlet of emotions. I recalled old names and remembered how hopeful I was that “This was the year the Browns would finally turn the page,” but those memories eventually led me down a highway of sadness.
No team’s draft record is perfect, but for the Browns to be so unsuccessful picking players goes against the law of averages. Somewhere, the Brownie Elf has Jakob Bernoulli, the founder of said law of averages,” in a headlock, providing him with an ongoing, 20-year-old noogie.
So, take this trip down memory lane with me, if you dare, Browns town. I promise you, you won’t feel good when it’s over.
If you do make it to the end of the right, let me know how you would rank the worst drafts since 1999. Is there one not listed? We’d love to hear your reasoning. Good luck!
1. 2014
The Browns found a cornerstone left guard in the 2014 draft in the form of Joel Bitonio, but it doesn’t change the fact that this was one of the worst drafts in the franchise’s history.
Armed with two first-round picks, general manager Ray Farmer was on a quest to finally alter the fortunes of the franchise.
Everyone knew the Browns needed a quarterback and everyone speculated as to whether or not the the team would make Johnny Manziel its first pick.
The team had the fourth pick, but then traded down to nine to add Buffalo’s 2015 first rounder. Not done with dealing, Ray Farmer traded back up one spot and did the prudent thing: Rather than reach on Manziel, the novice general manager took Oklahoma State corner Justin Gilbert, instead of the bigger named Heisman winner.
Unfortunately, later reporting indicated the Browns basically did no homework on Gilbert, and didn’t even bring him into Berea for an interview.
Gilbert’s not only one of the Browns’ biggest draft busts of all time, but he may very well be a top-10 all-time NFL bust.
Manziel found his way to Cleveland, as the 22nd pick. I was there for Manziel’s first start, a horrific showing at home against the Bengals. He may be the worst pro football player I’ve ever seen in person.
Besides Bitonio, the Browns also added Christian Kirksey in the third round, who was a good player when healthy. He was haunted by injuries in his final two seasons and left via free agency after the 2019 campaign.
2. 2016
It was the first analytics draft, and its’ a good reason why Browns’ fans hate analytics.
Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta was bringing the moneyball approach to the NFL, and that meant trying to accelerate the rebuilding process by basically yielding two drafts out of one. The more players picked, the more likely it was that someone would stand out.
So Cleveland went on to take 14 players in the 2016 draft, and only one became a significant contributor (Joe Schobert). You could make the case for Rashard Higgins, as well, but of his four seasons in Cleveland, only one (2018) was one to write home about.
As for the first-round pick, it’s a name you wish you could forget: Corey Coleman. Coleman could’ve been just another first-round pick who didn’t work out. Browns’ history is full of them. But how the Browns got to Coleman is what makes this one of the worst drafts of all time.
Armed with the No. 2 pick and in need of a quarterback, the Browns traded down to No. 8, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to select Carson Wentz. The North Dakota State product still has his detractors, largely because of injuries. That said, he’s got 97 touchdowns passes against 35 interceptions in his four-year career. He’s 32-24 and a starter and although he didn’t play in the Super Bowl for the Eagles, he’s a big reason they got there.
OK, so the Browns traded down to eight. Take the best player available right? The team had been stripped down to its nuts and bolts. Talent was needed! Nope, the Browns punted, trading down to 15, allowing Tennessee to pick Jack Conklin with the eighth overall pick. The Browns tapped Shon Coleman as their tackle of the future in the third round. It didn’t work out.
Conklin turned out to be a good one. The Browns certainly think so, evidenced by the $42 million contract they just gave the right tackle.
The Browns finally took Coleman, who’s SPARQ scores were said to be through the roof. He totaled just 56 catches and 718 yards before the Browns, in another regime change (John Dorsey) cut bait, trading him to the Buffalo Bills for a seventh-round selection.
The other names from that draft: Emmanuel Ogbah, Cody Kessler, Carl Nassib, Seth DeValve, Spencer Drango, Ricardo Louis, Jordan Payton.
3. 2000
If you blow the first overall pick, you’re on your way to building an all-time bad draft, and that was the case with the Browns in 2000.
They took Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown with the first pick, but Brown never lived up to where he was taken. Brown checked all the boxes and was supposed to be a can’t miss prospect. He set Penn State records with tackles for a loss (70) and sacks (33).
It was injuries that did Brown in, but his failure to play like a No. 1 pick should was as big a misstep the Browns could take at the time. Remember, this was their second draft since being re-born a season earlier, and the roster severely lacked talent. For the team to swing and miss on Brown, well, it unquestionably played a part in the Browns losing in the early part of the decade.
Cleveland found two productive players later in the draft, drafting Dennis Northcutt in the second round and tight end Aaron Shea in the fourth.
Northcutt had a solid career, but it was lost on me that he was the 32nd overall pick.
As for the rest of the draft…Cleveland burned a third-round pick on a running back out Miami University (Travis Prentice). Receiver JaJuan Dawson was also taken in that round.
Fast forward to the sixth-round, and you get one of the most notorious picks in Browns’ history. Despite taking a franchise quarterback a season earlier in Tim Couch, the front office decided to add to the QB room by taking Spergon Wynn, a passer who didn’t even complete complete 50 percent of this throws at South West Texas State.
Everybody passed on Tom Brady, but knowing the Browns were in the market for a quarterback, and the brain trust chose Wynn over the future G.O.A.T., well, it tells you everything you need to know about the expansion era Browns.
4. 2004
Then head coach Butch Davis had special affinity for players from the University of Miami, and this flaw proved to be fatal, as the Browns’ greatest enemy of the expansion era was borne out of this draft.
Kellen Winslow Jr. was an exceptional college player and a sign of what was to come for the future of the tight end position. He was athletic, could catch and promised to be a match-up nightmare for defenses.
That said, this selection is the kind of thing that keeps analytics guru Paul DePodesta up at night. Not only did the Browns use the sixth overall pick to select a tight end, but they traded up a spot to get him!
All the while, the Pittsburgh Steelers were waiting patiently at No. 11 to select Ben Roethlisberger, a player whom haunts the Browns, and will probably continue to do so until he finally retires.
Apparently, Davis thought everything was just fine with the QB room in Berea with Jeff Garcia tapped to lead the way. The former Hurricanes coach did make a play for a quarterback–in the fourth round–selecting Luke McCown.
Winslow’s career immediately started on a downward trend. He broke his leg on a kickoff return against the Cowboys early in the season. Why was he in? It’s still a head scratcher. Winslow then was involved in a motorcycle accident, causing him to miss the entire 2005 season.
Like Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards, Winslow had a Hayley’s Comet season in 2007, catching 82 passes for 1,1106 yards. Two years later, he was playing in Tampa.
Sean Jones was the other notable player in that draft and was probably the most consistent talent cultivated from that crop, as he picked off 14 passes between 2006-2008. He never saw a second contract with Cleveland and bolted for Philadelphia.
5. 2001
In 2001, armed with the third pick in the draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Florida defensive tackle Gerard Warren, aka “Big Money”. Unfortunately, Warren didn’t live up to his draft stock, or his nickname while wearing a Cleveland uniform.
Keep in mind, the Browns invested heavily in luring Butch Davis away from “The U.” However, in selecting Warren, the Browns also missed out on the arguably the best skill-position player of the era in LaDanian Tomlinson. The guy was fantasy platinum.
Chris Palmer’s staff reportedly really loved LT, and the Texas Christian product would’ve been the pick had Palmer not been removed.
The offensive player Davis favored was receiver David Terrell, who ended up with the Bears. On defense, it came down to Richard Seymour and Warren.
Warren totaled 16.5 sacks for the Browns and 27 tackles for a loss in his four-year Browns career. Seymour was a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro stalwart on three Super Bowl winning Patriots teams in the early 2000s.
We know how Davis’ first draft turned out, and of course, we know how the rest of his Browns’ career faired.
Davis got his receiver, Quincy Morgan in the second round, as that pick also went bust. In the third round, Davis picked someone familiar with him in Miami’s James Jackson. Jackson would be a serviceable back-up running back.
The best pick of the draft came in the fourth round, when Cleveland selected Anthony Henry. The corner intercepted 10 passes in his rookie campaign. He only totaled seven in years two through seven, though, and he didn’t get a second contract.
Dallas paid handsomely for Henry, who retired after the 2009 season with 31 career picks. To this day, he’s probably the most accomplished corner the Browns have picked, although Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams are hoping to change history.