5 Former Cleveland Browns who would thrive on 2021 roster

3. Paul Warfield, Wide Receiver

When former general manager John Dorsey traded for Odell Beckham, Jr. it led to excitement among the fan base. OBJ is an elite talent who is especially dangerous when he goes deep. And Baker Mayfield is a fantastic deep-ball quarterback.

So far, the two have not really taken off together. It’s hard to hold 2019 against them since Freddie Kitchens serving as the head coach led to a lot of problems. As for 2020, they were learning a new system and then Beckham went down with a torn ACL.

The staff in Cleveland is hopeful he can return to full strength but we all need to see it happen before we can truly start to believe again. But what if we could bring back someone such as Paul Warfield in his prime? Then there would be a player that could really take the top off a defense who we wouldn’t be concerned too much about their durability.

Warfield was the 11th overall pick in the 1964 NFL Draft and played for eight seasons in Cleveland — which were two different stints. He was traded to Miami in 1970 and was a part of the undefeated Dolphins team of 1972 and returned for two years in his mid-30s with the Browns.

His best season as a pro was in 1968 with Cleveland when he had 50 receptions for 1,067 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s an average of 21.3 yards per catch. For his career as a Brown, he averaged 19.2 yards per reception and had 21.5 per catch for his five seasons in Miami.

Imagine a guy who could take the top off a defense the way he can pulling the safeties back to help the already dangerous running game. This offense could be unstoppable.