Cleveland Browns: 20 best draft day steals of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
BobbyMitchell. 7. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. RB. Illinois, 1958. 807
Cleveland Browns best NFL Draft steals of all time: 7. Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Mitchell proved to be quite the athlete during his collegiate days. Not only was he a great football player, but he also was offered a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals to play in major league baseball.
He elected to stick with football and was a versatile weapon in the NFL who lined up at both halfback and wide receiver during his 11-year career. A seventh-round selection in 1958 out of Illinois, Mitchell spent four seasons with the Cleveland Browns where he lined up as a halfback.
He played alongside Jim Brown and had 2,297 yards rushing in four years with 16 touchdowns as well as 1,462 yards and 16 more touchdowns on 128 receptions. Following his time in Cleveland, Mitchell moved on to play for Washington, where he was moved to wide receiver.
In that role, he really took off. In his first two seasons with Washington, he was electric. In 1962, he had 72 receptions for 1,384 yards and 11 touchdowns followed up by a 1963 campaign that saw him catch 69 passes for 1,436 yards and seven scores.
As a member of Washington, Mitchell had 393 receptions for 6,492 yards and 49 touchdowns as a wideout. While he had his best seasons with a different club, Mitchell was still a steal for the Browns. Of course, if he played all 11 seasons in Cleveland, he would probably be much higher on this list.