Countdown to 2020: Best Cleveland Brown player to wear No. 83

The Cleveland Browns have a rich and illustrious history. With only 83 days until the Browns season opener, we look at the best Browns player to ever wear number 83.

The countdown to the 2020 NFL season is upon us. With 83 days remaining until the Browns season opener, we continue the countdown by celebrating the best Cleveland Browns player to ever wear number 83 — Johnny Brewer.

Johnny Brewer was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 1960 NFL draft out of the University of Mississippi. Brewer was a key contributor to the Rebels winning their first two National Championships in 1959 and 1960. He was originally a wide receiver for Ole Miss and then transitioned to playing tight end as a senior. All five of Brewer’s collegiate touchdowns came after he was converted to a tight end.

Head coach Paul Brown drafted Brewer to possibly fill the role of the tight end, a position that had only recently been integrated into its modern form in the NFL. In effect, Brewer is the first true ‘tight end’ in Browns’ history. Brewer’s college teammate Bob Crespino was taken later in the same draft for the same exact reason.

Although Brewer wasn’t able to contribute in 1961, he was able to fulfill the role of the tight end as Brown had envisioned in his second season. In 1962 Brewer caught 22 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. As run-heavy has the Browns were in 1962, those were decent numbers for the burgeoning position.

Brewer remained the Browns starting tight end for the next three seasons, including the 1964 championship season where the tight end caught 25 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

However, it was in Brewer’s sixth season that his story took a dramatic turn. The Browns drafted what would in effect be Brewer’s replacement in tight end Milt Morin that season and the organization also had some holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball due to the retirement of Galen Fiss. They called upon Brewer to transition to the other side of the ball.

Brewer made the conversion to linebacker after having already played five seasons as a tight end in the NFL. He did not merely just fill a hole in this position swap…he thrived. Brewer was able to convert to linebacker and play at an elite level earning a Pro Bowl nomination in his first year playing the position.

Brewer played linebacker for the Browns for two years before deciding to hang up his cleats and start an insurance business. Before the next season started, Brewer told the Browns that he had an interest in continuing his football career but only if he could play closer to his home down south. The Browns agreed to trade Brewer to the New Orleans Saints for a future second-round pick. That pick ended up being used to select Joe ‘Turkey’ Jones, a move that Terry Bradshaw most likely regrets to this day.

Brewer had quite a remarkable career in Cleveland. From being the team’s first true tight end to winning an NFL Championship, and then converting to a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker…Johnny Brewer is the best player to ever wear number 83 for the Cleveland Browns.