Countdown to 2020: Best Cleveland Browns player to wear No. 88
The Cleveland Browns have a rich and illustrious history. With only 88 days until the Browns season opener, we look at the best Browns player to ever wear number 88.
The countdown to the 2020 NFL season is upon us. With 88 days remaining until the Browns season opener, we continue the countdown by celebrating the best Cleveland Browns player to ever wear number 88 — Reggie Langhorne.
Reggie Langhorne was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 1985 NFL draft out of Elizabeth City State University. Langhorne was only the third player from Elizabeth City State University, a Division II school, to be drafted in the NFL. However, it was the second time the Browns had taken a player from that school having drafted Jim Greer from ECSU in the 23rd round in 1955.
Langhorne was a big-bodied wide receiver, listed at 6-foot-2 and 200lbs, and size was something that the Browns needed on their roster and in their wide receiver room at the time. The Browns two leading wide receivers in 1985 were Brian Brennan and Clarence Weathers. Both were listed at 5-foot-9.
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Langhorne was not able to make much of an impact as a rookie. Coming from a small Division II school he needed time to acclimate to the NFL game. In his second year, he was able to make the leap from a receiver learning the ropes and taking up a roster spot, to a bonafide NFL starting-caliber wide receiver.
He was able to gain chemistry quickly with fellow second-year quarterback Bernie Kosar. Alongside rookie wide receiver Webster Slaughter, the Browns found themselves with two legitimate young weapons on the outside. In Langhorne’s second year he recorded 39 receptions and finished second on the team in receiving yards with 678.
His third year was his most unproductive year for the Browns, due in large part to the strike that took place earlier in the season. However, Langhorne was able to score a big 39-yard touchdown in the divisional round playoff win against the Indianapolis Colts. He was also able to score another touchdown the following week in the AFC Championship game, but we won’t talk about that outcome.
It was in his fourth season where he really began to hit his stride as an NFL wide receiver. Langhorne finished first on the team in both receiving yards with 780 and touchdowns with seven. His stats were especially impressive considering the quarterback carousel the Browns endured for the entirety of the 1988 season.
1989 saw much of the same for Langhorne as he finished second on the team with 60 receptions and 749 receiving yards. His numbers declined slightly each of his final two years in Cleveland, and Langhorne left the Browns after the 1991 season to play for the Colts.
His career in Cleveland saw Langhorne finish 16th in receptions (261), 13th in receiving yards (3,597), and 10th in yards per reception (13.8) on the Browns all-time leaders list.
Next. Countdown to 2020 — Best Browns player to wear No. 89. dark
Reggie Langhorne will be remembered for the many times he came up big with contested catches in pivotal moments as a member of the Cleveland Browns, his iconic leaping high five touchdown celebrations with Slaughter, and he is the best Browns player to ever wear number 88.