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Cleveland Browns draft: The 2017 picks we wish would have worked out better

By Randy Gurzi

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 15: Howard Wilson #6 of the Houston Cougars intercepts a pass against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the first half on October 15, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 15: Howard Wilson #6 of the Houston Cougars intercepts a pass against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the first half on October 15, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 16: Zane Gonzalez #2 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after missing a field goal during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Browns have been much better in the draft as of late, but here are three picks from 2017 we wished would have worked out

This season, the Cleveland Browns added several talented players in the 2021 NFL Draft, which we hope will all work out.

Unfortunately, not every pick they have made in their history has done so. Especially before the team turned the corner in 2020, there were far too many misses.

Here, we take a trip down memory lane and select three draft picks from the 2017 NFL Draft that we hoped would have worked out for the Browns.

3. Zane Gonzalez, Kicker

At pick No. 224 in the seventh-round, Cleveland took a flier on kicker Zane Gonzalez out of ASU. While no one ever likes to see a draft pick used on a kicker, the Browns thought that Gonzalez could solidify the spot  especially after knocking in 23-of-25 kicks in his senior season.

As a rookie, Gonzalez made 15-of-20 kicks which was just 75 percent. Then in year two, things went really bad for him as he as 2-of-5 in the first two games of the season — missing kicks that could have helped them start out 2-0.

Gonzalez was released following the second game and later it was revealed that he was hurt and the coaching staff didn’t do much to acknowledge that. Gonzalez the joined the Arizona Cardinals and was 31-of-35 on kicks in 2019 before going 16-of-22 last season.

As of now, he’s a free agent but the Browns surely would have preferred for their selection to work out so we could be talking about him entering his fifth season as the answer at placekicker.

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