10 biggest first round mistakes the Cleveland Browns have made since ’99
By Chad Porto
3. LB Barkevious Mingo (2013 NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 6)
This was just a bad draft, especially at the top of it. Barkevious Mingo had no real hype around him, had no real pomp around him and never lived up to his lofty expectations. At the sixth-overall pick, Mingo should’ve been a Pro Bowler. While yes, Mingo is still playing, he’s no longer playing in Cleveland nor is he a starter.
He couldn’t get off the bench as a rookie but did put up five sacks. He started more often in his sophomore season, but didn’t perform much better in his overall play and had far fewer sacks, resulting in him getting benched once again.
After his release, he’d bounce around from New England to Indianapolis, to Seattle, to Houston and now to Chicago; where he currently is signed. All the while failing to make enough of an impact to start but still finding a way to make it to the next team regardless.
Mingo will never live up to his draft status no matter what happens the rest of his career and while DeAndre Hopkins, Zachary Ertz, and LeVeon Bell were in this draft, they weren’t seen as high first-round picks. So it’s impossible to say the Browns “missed out” on them. This was just a lackluster class overall, filled with mostly one-and-done type of Pro Bowlers and a few really good offensive linemen.
Hopefully, Mingo can keep playing and finds success with Chicago, as most Browns fans have forgotten about him already. Like Brady Quinn before him, Mingo is most well known for not being very well known.