Cleveland Browns: 10 biggest ‘what ifs?’ in the NFL Draft since 1999

2. What if the Cleveland Browns drafted Ed Reed in 2002?

In their fourth draft since returning in 1999, the Browns had the 16th overall pick. They selected running back William Green out of Boston College.

Unfortunately for the Browns and 22 other teams, they passed on the lone Hall of Famer of the entire draft class in safety Ed Reed, who we all know went to the rival Ravens.

Just to name a few of his accolades, Reed was a Super Bowl champion, Defensive Player of the Year (2004), and was a five-time First-Team All-Pro.

Reed was a ball hawk and intercepted 64 passes in his career with return yards of 1,590 and seven touchdowns. To put that in perspective for the Browns selection of Green, he rushed for 2,109 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Browns, his only four in the NFL.

Again, hindsight is always 20/20, but this hindsight stings a little bit. For the next decade or so, Cleveland had to watch Reed flourish for a team within the division. Again, the Browns weren’t the only team to pass on him, but what a miss for them and the other teams involved.

A Hall of Fame talent is by no means easy to spot in a kid coming out of college, but maybe the research of Reed wasn’t enough for the Browns.