Under most circumstances, a player’s importance to a franchise is not an objective matter. However, it can be argued that some players definitely had more of an impact than others. These are the most important Browns players since 1999.
The Cleveland Browns, in the words of our own Mitch Zoloty, “might be the weirdest [franchise] in the NFL.” Mired in abysmal football for nearly two decades, the Browns have become something of a guinea pig of the league on a few fronts.
First off, the Browns seem to be a test subject for what happens when you drive a sports fanbase insane. Browns fans, although their team has been in the mediocre to historically bad range for 20 years, keep coming back.
Secondly, the Browns are an exercise on the importance of players on an irrelevant team. For as much noise as they’ve been making lately, the Browns have been largely a footnote of the NFL for years now.
As one of the league’s classic franchises, many remember the Browns because, well, they’ve just been there for so long. Outside of the four years during which Cleveland did not have a football team, the name “Browns” has been a part of the sport’s history since the 1940s.
Outside of that, though, the Browns are remembered in one of two ways. Either people forget about them until they are mentioned, or they are simply remembered for consistently being one of the league’s worst teams, while other basement-dwellers always get better.
But, for as seemingly unimportant as the Browns are, their players tell a much different story. For better or worse, many of those on the “New Browns” have etched their name in NFL history. This list is for them. These are the most important players in Browns franchise history (since 1999).
In this list, we’ll be looking for three criteria. One, did the player himself have a lasting impact on the franchise? Two, did his play have a lasting impact on the franchise? And three, how much would the course of Browns and NFL history change if not for this player? Let’s begin.
10. Jamie Meder
Boy, oh, boy was 2016 an odd year for the Cleveland Browns. In addition to stripping the roster down to essentially nothingness, the Browns were fully analytical under the new management of Hue Jackson and Sashi Brown.
It may be hard to remember back this far, but people were ecstatic about the signing of Hue Jackson at the start of 2016. They understood it might be a bad first season under his coaching staff, but no one was expecting what came next.
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As we all know, the Browns started the year 0-14, not to mention going 0-4 in the preseason. It looked as though the impossible might happen, and that the Browns would go 0-16, but Parma’s own Jamie Meder would have none of that.
Christmas came early for the Pierogi Prince of Parma, and for Browns fans as a whole, on December 24, 2016. In the fourth quarter of a game against the San Diego Chargers, Meder hopped up to block a crucial field goal which would have tied the game at 20-20.
Meder’s qualifications for this list live and die by the third criterion. Meder can barely answer to the first qualification. Although this play may define his career, Meder is almost certainly “on the bubble” of the Browns roster heading into 2018.
The second qualification is a bit more legit, as Meder did have a huge impact on the franchise in the moment. But, considering the Browns did go 0-16 just one year later, Meder is not helped by outside factors when facing the second of our criteria.
The third criteria, though, could be huge. If Jamie Meder does not block Josh Lambo’s kick, perhaps the entire course of NFL history changes. Maybe Sashi Brown is fired just after 2016, instead of waiting another (almost) entire year. Maybe Jimmy Haslam fires Hue Jackson, and the Browns go coach-hunting once again.
Most frightening of all, perhaps the Browns now sit at 0-32 for the past two years. Maybe John Dorsey is walking into a team that hasn’t won a football game since 2015. Heck, maybe Dorsey doesn’t come to Cleveland at all.
There are so many different outcomes from a butterfly effect of just this one play. It is entirely possible that Jamie Meder saved Hue Jackson’s job, and for that, he deserves a spot on this list.
9. Dennis Northcutt
Dennis Northcutt has faded a bit from Browns infamy, but his memory still remains in the hearts of some fans. If we go way, way back to 2003, Northcutt’s fingerprints can be found on one of the most heartbreaking Cleveland Browns losses of all time.
Remember January 5th, 2003? The plucky underdog Browns were heading into Heinz Field for a playoff matchup against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Head coach Butch Davis was looking more and more like “the guy,” and it seemed as though the Browns were on the right track.
The Browns had gone from 5-27 under Chris Palmer, to now an even 16-16 under Butch Davis. Everything was heading their way, they were going to the playoffs in only their fourth year back in the league! They even had a ten-point going into the fourth quarter of their playoff game.
Then, disaster struck. More specifically, a human disaster in the form of Dennis Northcutt struck. With one dropped pass, Northcutt changed the course of Browns history, and maybe even NFL history.
The Browns were driving down the field to seal the game away. Kelly Holcomb throws a relatively accurate pass to Northcutt, in the endzone, for the (most likely) game-winning touchdown. And, with the world of the Dawg Pound on his shoulders, on the biggest stage of his career, Dennis Northcutt…blew it.
Let’s look at the criteria. Did the player himself have a lasting impact on the franchise? No, not really. Northcutt would leave Cleveland relatively quietly by 2006, and he would be out of the league by 2009.
Did the play have a lasting impact on the franchise? Yes, in a sense. Who knows where the Browns would have gone if they had taken down the Steelers in the playoffs? Finally, did the course of the league and the franchise change due to this player?
Well…not really. Outside of this play, Northcutt had a relatively “meh” career. But, this play defined Northcutt, and would come to damn the Browns in the years since. After all, they still haven’t made the playoffs since this game.
8. Kelly Holcomb
Moving on from Northcutt, let’s take a look at the man who threw him that pass: Kelly Holcomb. Holcomb, for a little bit there, looked like the man who would become the Browns’ franchise quarterback. Of course, we know this to be false now, but he looked promising in the early 2000s.
Before Holcomb truly began to bounce around the league, he had a promising tenure with the Browns. Holcomb was able to serve as a backup to a young Peyton Manning for three years, and then packed up for Cleveland in 2001.
It seems that Holcomb served the prime of his career in Cleveland, and he was enough to keep the Browns in constant contention throughout 2001 and 2002. In fact, he led Cleveland to the playoffs in 2002, as mentioned before.
Holcomb would only remain with the Browns until 2004, when he was overtaken by Jeff Garcia and Luke McCown. However, the fact remains: Kelly Holcomb is the only modern Browns quarterback to lead his team to the playoffs.
So, let’s run on through the criteria for the list. Did the player have a lasting impact on the Browns? Well, in some ways, I suppose. Again, no other Browns signal-caller has taken them to playoffs since Holcomb. So, he does have a lasting impact on the franchise, at least until another playoff quarterback comes along.
Did his play have a lasting impact on the franchise? Not exactly; Holcomb is really just one of the 28 different starting quarterbacks for Cleveland since 1999. Finally, did the course of team or league history change due to this player? Once again, not really. It’s not his fault Dennis Northcutt got butterfingers.
7. Derek Anderson
By all normal measures, Derek Anderson is the single-best Browns quarterback since their return in 1999. Not only did he have an exceptional year in 2007, but he nearly took the team to the playoffs that season with a record of 10-6.
Anderson was a one-hit wonder in a sense. Following his breakout 2007 season, he left Cleveland in 2009, only to find a home on the bench in Carolina by 2011. Ever since then, he’s been sitting behind Cam Newton, not doing much of anything.
Oh, but those autumn days of 2007 were magical, weren’t they, Browns fans? A total surprise team in the AFC, the Browns offense blew away the expectations of fans and analysts alike.
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Anderson was the one leading the way for the Browns, with his band of merry men such as Kellen Winslow Jr., Jamal Lewis, and a rookie Joe Thomas. The Browns just narrowly missed the playoffs in an absolutely stacked AFC, which included the 16-0 New England Patriots and a 13-3 Baltimore Ravens team.
The rival Steelers had a tie-breaker over the Browns, essentially nullifying all of Anderson’s efforts that year. Nevertheless, his 2007 campaign will go down as one of the most important, as he gave the Browns their best win-loss record since their return in 1999.
Anderson wholly fulfills the first criterion of our list, as his efforts in 2007 still have impact on the Browns to this day. At the time of writing, the Browns still have not been able to best the team’s record that year of 10-6.
As for the second qualification, his play was, looking back on it, just normal quarterback play. The Browns offense did surprise, but Anderson’s incapability to build off his 2007 year makes his play’s impact on the franchise a moot point.
Third, Anderson’s play has directly affected Browns and NFL history, in two separate ways. Perhaps the Browns build off their 2007 season if Anderson is able to get them to the playoffs with just one more win.
In that case, maybe Romeo Crennel never gets fired from his head coaching position. Maybe the Browns become a perennial playoff contender going into the 2010s. If Anderson takes the 2007 Browns to playoffs, who knows where they go after that?
Maybe we wouldn’t be talking about the Browns as a laughing stock right now, if Anderson’s team goes to the playoffs. Maybe they’re just “okay,” or maybe they’re one of the league’s premier franchises, all built on the morale of a surprise playoff appearance. Who knows?
6. Corey Coleman
Corey Coleman simply had to make this list. While it is hard to put the entire onus on him, it’s also entirely possible that Coleman is the reason that the 2017 Browns went 0-16, which then caused the retirement of Joe Thomas, along with so many other things.
Allow me to explain. In the closing minutes of a game on December 31, 2017, Browns wide receiver Corey Coleman dropped a pass that would have certainly allowed the Browns to score and very likely win the game.
In a sense, the word “dropped” is being used very lightly here. Have you ever watched a football bounce off of concrete? It was more like that, than a drop. Corey Coleman “concrete hands”-ed that pass from DeShone Kizer.
While not in a playoff game, this infamous Browns drop was just as important to the franchise, and the direction it took immediately afterwards. If you go back and watch the tape, Coleman knows, immediately, what he has just caused. Let’s review.
Sitting down, hands on the temples, the whole deal. That is serious “you messed up” body language. Corey Coleman has just sealed his team’s fate for the 2017 season, and he knows it. Let’s take a look at the list qualifications.
Did the player have a lasting impact on the franchise? No, not entirely. Outside of “that guy who dropped the pass,” Corey Coleman isn’t really a very famous or infamous Browns player. Did his paly have a lasting impact, though? Absolutely, yes. Corey Coleman is, at least mostly, the reason that the Browns went 0-16.
Did this change the course of Browns and NFL history? Well, considering that no regular season Browns games have been played since that point yet, only time can tell. But maybe the Detroit Lions still stand alone as the only 0-16 team if Coleman catches that pass. It’s impossible to tell.
5. Brian Hoyer
Brian Hoyer may be one of the most important Browns players of all time, simply because of the chain reaction he helped to set in motion. As a quarterback, he was “fine.” But as a catalyst of franchisal instability, he was frankly incredible.
Going into 2014, people actually had expectations for what the Cleveland Browns might be. They were coming off a lost season in 2013, where they had lost a promising quarterback prospect in one Brian Hoyer.
A journeyman quarterback from Lakewood, Ohio, Hoyer had struggled to find a place in the league since going undrafted in 2009. But, it looked like he had finally found his home before going down with an injury in 2013.
Hoyer’s 2014 season just took place at the wrong time. You see, fans were clamoring for rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel to take Hoyer’s place from the start of the season. It was only a matter of time until cracks started to show in Hoyer’s armor.
The Browns started 7-4, though, and actually sat atop the division at the end of week ten. Then, it all came crashing down. With the cries for Manziel getting too loud to ignore, and Hoyer’s play steadily decreasing due to that and other factors, Cleveland began to slide.
They lost their last five games in succession, behind both Hoyer and Manziel. But, had Brian Hoyer kept his play up, he may have saved the Browns from themselves, and kept the ill-fated Manziel off of the football field.
So, did Hoyer have a lasting impact on the franchise? Meh, not particularly. It was cool to see the Browns go 7-9, but he ended up as just another brick in the quarterback wall and was gone by 2015. But, what about his play?
Hoyer’s play near the end of 2014 single-handedly brought about perhaps the worst all-time era of Browns football. With Johnny Manziel ready to take the reigns, Hoyer could not deal with the pressure, and little did he know what a disaster “Johnny Football” would be.
Did he change the course of history? Not really, considering the Browns still finished last in the division, which is really the status quo when you think about it. But, he was still the catalyst for the dark ages of the Dawg Pound.
4. Johnny Manziel
Oh boy, this one. If Brian Hoyer was the one to open the Pandora’s Box of bad Browns football, Johnny Manziel was what came out of that box. Maybe the worst part about all of this, though, is that Manziel may have had the talent to succeed. He just wasn’t there mentally.
As the story goes, both head coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer wanted nothing to do with Manziel. For them, it was either Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, or Fresno State’s Derek Carr. But, owner Jimmy Haslam would have none of that.
Haslam, above everything, wanted the marketable, exciting superstar, who the fans could get behind as “their guy.” As the story goes, Haslam actually listened to a homeless man on the streets of Cleveland, who foretold that they should draft Manziel in April 2014.
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So, naturally, Haslam went with financial gain and the homeless man over what would come to be considered common sense. Going against the coach and general manager’s wishes, Haslam slammed his fists on the table for Manziel on draft night.
The rest, they say, is history. Although he showed flashes of quarterback talent in 2014 and 2015, Manziel was a mess above the shoulders. A slew of drinking problems and a domestic violence case later, and Manziel would be out of the league by the end of 2015.
Currently, the one they called “Johnny Football” plays for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Whether or not his comeback story takes him back to the NFL is irrelevant. What matters is that Manziel nearly single-handedly plunged Cleveland into their worst era of gridiron ineptitude.
As the first qualification states, Manziel has had a pretty large impact on the franchise. Without his antics, who knows if he could have developed into Cleveland’s franchise player? As for his play, he showed flashes at times but was mostly mediocre during his short playing time.
Did Manziel change the course of league history? No, but maybe he could have. And really, that’s the saddest part of all of this. Johnny Manziel really could have been something, if he could get out of his own way.
3. Josh Cribbs
Josh Cribbs, in his prime and while healthy, was electric for the Cleveland Browns. A running back from Northern Ohio’s own Kent State University, Cribbs would become a reliable punt returner forn the Browns throughout his career.
A college quarterback, Cribbs made the transition to running back and punt returner for the NFL. There, he found a knack for making men miss with his speed and elusiveness. Cribbs signed as an undrafted free agent for the Browns in 2005, which would begin a mostly beautiful eight-year marriage with the Dawg Pound.
Throughout his time in Cleveland, Cribbs had more than a few incredible punt returns. Off the field, he would become a great ambassador for the franchise, and he remains one to this day. Although he left in 2012, Cribbs retired in 2017, as a Cleveland Brown.
During the 2000s, Cribbs was easily one of the best players on the team, and one of their most marketable stars. Before the advent of Joe Thomas, Cribbs was something of a face of the Browns.
In addition to making the NFL’s all-decade team in 2010, Cribbs was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Dawg Pound. His career renaissance in Cleveland in 2012 was a great moment for both Cribbs himself and the fans that he would leave behind just a few months later.
Cribbs played his last professional game in 2014, and is remembered by most as a Cleveland Brown. He currently holds the NFL record for most kickoff return touchdowns at eight, although he is tied with Leon Washington.
Overall, Cribbs is a class act that Browns fans will not soon forget. He meets all three criteria, as he is still present at some Browns franchise events and he was one of their most exciting players throughout the 2000s. Additionally, he still holds a place in league history due to his tied records. On and off the field, Josh Cribbs is one of the best Browns presences since 1999.
2. Phil Dawson
Maybe the second-best New Browns player ever, Phil Dawson was a franchise cornerstone in Cleveland for nearly fifteen years. As a kicker, he was one of the most-bought sports jerseys in Cleveland during his tenure in orange and brown.
When the Browns came back in 1999, Dawson became one of their foundational pieces. After all, what is a football team if they can’t kick off, or make field goals? And Dawson had those two abilities in spades.
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Perhaps one of the best place-kickers of all time, Dawson’s leg strength is rivaled by only a few in NFL history. During his athletic prime, Dawson was maybe the league’s best kickers, and had the ability to hit field goals, quite consistently, from even 55 yards out.
During the whole of his time in Cleveland, Dawson was one of the best players on the team each and every year. He made field goal situations fun, and he was a crowd favorite over his 14 years with the Dawg Pound.
The most impressive part of Dawson’s career is that he’s actually still playing. Currently with the Arizona Cardinals, the 43-year-old still has one of the most accurate legs in football. Behind Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, he is the second-older player in the league at time of writing.
While Dawson does not have the playoff resume of an all-time great player, his sheer production makes him a definite candidate for the Hall of Fame. If and when he ever retires, Dawson could become the third pure placekicker to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He fills all three criteria in spades. Not only did he and his play have a lasting impact on the Browns franchise’s early years, but Dawson actually has a rule named after him.
The “Phil Dawson Rule” states that if the ball bounces off the goal post’s crossbar during a field goal attempt, that field goal is ruled good. Due to this rule, the Browns were able to win a 2007 game against the Baltimore Ravens in overtime, after Baltimore had already won, 30-27.
1. Joe Thomas
Come on now, who else could it have been? Joe Thomas is, bar none, the best player in New Browns franchise history. He is one of, if not the best left tackle of all time, and he is a player that the Browns can be truly proud of.
Thomas came into the league in September 2007, and he would not leave the field for the Browns offense until October 22, 2017. That is an NFL record of 10,363 straight snaps without ever leaving the field.
A true class act in every sense of the word, Thomas was always a breath of fresh air for a franchise that desperately needed someone to truly cheer for. Through all the bad, lost seasons, and all the heartbreaking defeats, Thomas was always there, ready for the next week’s challenges.
The Browns may never be the same without Thomas’s now-hallowed No. 73 on the field. Thomas was a physical force on the field, and continues to be a force for good off of it.
No matter what challenges different games would bring, Thomas always made sure he was ready. Now that he has gone into retirement, the left tackle position remains something of a mystery for 2018. Really, I think that speaks to Thomas’s level of greatness.
Thomas gets a perfect ten in all three criteria for our list. His working man leadership and consistently amazing play at the left tackle position has left a hole in the Browns organization that may never again be filled with an all-time great player.
Joe Thomas is a shoe-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. First ballot, possibly a unanimous decision, Thomas will be remembered as one of the best Cleveland Browns ever, both on and off the field.
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Number 73, you will be greatly missed as a member of the Cleveland Browns. We here at Dawg Pound Daily wish you a great retirement, and the best of luck in your broadcast media endeavors.