Cleveland Browns: All-time Mount Rushmore
By Randy Gurzi
If the Cleveland Browns were to build their own Mount Rushmore, which four players would be carved on the side? Narrowing it down is harder than it seems.
The Cleveland Browns have been around for a very long time and despite their recent struggles, they’ve had some great success in their history. The Browns first started playing pro football back in 1946 with the All-America Football Conference, where they played until 1949.
Cleveland was incredibly successful during those four seasons, winning the title every year until the league folded.
From there, they joined the NFL in 1950 and their winning continued. Cleveland won four more NFL titles including their first season in the league. They won their last in 1964 and in the Super Bowl era they remain on the outside looking in.
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Still, there were plenty of players who proved their worth and that makes picking four to go on a fictional Browns Mount Rushmore no easy task.
We still try and undertake that role as we name the players who would end up etched in the side of a mountain for this storied franchise.
Clay Matthews, Jr. — Linebacker (1978-1993)
Linebacker Clay Matthews, Jr. is the Browns all-time leader in tackles. During his time in Cleveland he had 1,430 tackles, nearly 500 more than the next place player according to Pro Football Reference.
A four-time Pro Bowl player, Matthews may be one of the least recognized members of his family. His brother Bruce Matthews is a Hall of Fame offensive tackle and his son, Clay Matthews, III is a star linebacker for the Green Bay Packers.
He still deserves plenty of credit as he was more than just a guy that recorded a lot of tackles. He was a complete player that registered 62 sacks (recorded anyway as it wasn’t an official stat to start his career) and 14 interceptions in his 16 seasons in Cleveland.