Cleveland Browns: 20 best draft day steals of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
Cleveland Browns best NFL Draft steals of all time: 14. Mitchell Schwartz
There were some good picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, as well as some really bad ones. The Browns were part of each side of that equation with their first two picks as they whiffed in the first round, but did a great job in the second.
Following rumors of Mike Holmgren trying to trade all his picks to get Andrew Luck, the Browns ended up trading with the Minnesota Vikings, as they moved from No. 4 to No. 3 where they picked Trent Richardson. They did end up flipping him for another first-round pick later, which saves that selection from being torn to shreds.
The Browns also had a second pick in the first round, which was the No. 22 selection, and ended up being Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden. The former baseball player was 28 years old as a rookie and didn’t last long with the team.
They did much better with the No. 37 pick, as they landed offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz there. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Schwartz immediately found his role on the team, as he was the starting right tackle from the moment he arrived. He went on to start all 16 games that season, as well as the next three years he was with Cleveland.
Schwartz proved to be a better selection than many of the failed picks — which included wideout A.J. Jenkins, who went 30th to the San Francisco 49ers, Brian Quick who was taken 33rd by the then-St. Louis Rams, and, of course, the two day-one picks the Browns made.
There could also be an argument made that Schwartz was better than the two tackles taken ahead of him in Matt Kalil, who went No. 4 to the Vikings, and Riley Reiff, who went No. 23 to the Detroit Lions.
Oddly enough, none of those players are still with their team. Even Schwartz left Cleveland. The former front office has been criticized for letting him leave, as he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs — who were run by John Dorsey at the time — for $33 million over five seasons. Schwartz has continued to play every game for Kansas City and has yet to miss a start. The pick was great, but letting him leave was not.”