10 biggest first round mistakes the Cleveland Browns have made since ’99
By Chad Porto
8. Corey Coleman (2016 NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 16)
At only 25, Corey Coleman has already been on four teams. Coleman was the player the Browns took in the 2016 draft class after the team traded down from number two overall to number 16. Sure, the Eagles got Carson Wentz, but the Browns were never high on him. Considering how easy it was for the Eagles to replace him during their SuperBowl win, maybe Wentz isn’t the end-all-be-all of quarterbacks. That doesn’t explain the team passing up on Joey Bosa, however.
That’s Coleman’s legacy, being the guy the team traded down to acquire instead of drafting a potential future Hall of Famer at a position of need. Imagine Bosa and Myles Garrett? Holy crap, that duo would’ve been wrecking the league with near 20-sack seasons apiece.
Coleman was a big issue on HBO’s Hard Knocks, and it was there the world first saw that Coleman wanted to be traded. So the Browns gave in and moved the upset wide receiver to Buffalo for a seventh-round pick. Yikes. The Buffalo Bills thought they got a steal but found out they had actually gotten robbed, cutting Coleman only a month later.
Coleman would then bounce around to New England before ending up in New York with the Giants where he is currently signed. Injuries, however, have ensured he hasn’t played in nearly two years.
Coleman’s legacy is in the air, still. He’s only 25 but coming off of an ACL tear, and already on his fourth team, this stop with the Giants is his last chance to prove to the world that he can play football on this level. If he fails in New York, it’s impossible to imagine him playing elsewhere. Who else would take him at this point?