Cleveland Browns: Top 20 All-Time first-round draft picks

Cleveland Browns top first-round draft picks All-Time No. 12: Joe Haden, CB, Florida

Not too long ago (pre Andrew Berry and John Dorsey if we are being honest), the NFL Draft wasn’t too kind to the Browns. Players like Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel, Justin Gilbert, and Barkevious Mingo were all been major flops. Those moves set the team back quite a bit and have a lot to do with why there were constantly new decision-makers in the front office.

That doesn’t mean they never hit on first-round picks during that time frame because they hit an absolute home run in 2010 when they selected Florida cornerback Joe Haden.

The 5-foot-11 Haden was a fast and instinctive corner who quickly made his mark on the team. He recorded six picks and 18 pass deflections as a rookie and made them realize soon that he should not only be starting but didn’t need to return kickoffs because he was too important to the defense.

Haden continued to be a menace to opposing quarterbacks as he spent seven seasons with the Browns and had 20 interceptions with a remarkable 107 pass defenses.

Sadly, the two-time Pro Bowl corner was cut before the 2017 season as the Browns were trying to save money. Haden didn’t want to take a pay cut and, in the end, he wound up with the hated Steelers. In this piece, we try not to hold that against him.