20. DE Courtney Brown, 2000 – 1st Overall
Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington were studs coming out of Penn State. Injuries stymied his career and he was never the sack-getter so many thought he would be. He had 30 sacks while at Penn State, a record as of 2018, and is considered by many as the school’s best defensive end.
In Cleveland, he never lived up to those lofty standards but I’d contend that he was a good player for three years. He wasn’t the pressure machine many expected, but I’d equate his talents to that of Jadeveon Clowney. He was a great run stopper and really did contain the edge pretty well for a larger player. His rookie year saw him post 16 tackles for a loss, that’s impressive for anyone. Let alone a rookie.
Expectations were different back then. The raw stat was all that mattered and not the context of the play. Who cares if you didn’t do anything else all game long, if you got your sack you were considered great.
Unfortunately when guys like Brian Urlacher and Shaun Alexander go in the same draft as you, just being good in a vacuum isn’t good enough. I do believe Brown was a solid, maybe even a good player but he was the first overall pick. You gotta be better than good at that point.