10 Superstars the Cleveland Browns could have drafted since 1999
The Cleveland Browns have had a chance to draft a plethora of superstar players since returning to the NFL in 1999, yet failed to land any of them.
The Cleveland Browns have had a chance to draft a plethora of superstar players since returning to the NFL in 1999, yet failed to land any of them.
Since football returned to Cleveland, the draft has been somewhat of a Super Bowl for the fans, with the hopes and dreams that the team would finally turn things around. Hindsight is always 20/20, so it’s easy to look back now and think “how could the Browns pass on that player?!”
The Browns have made picks inside the top-10 on 11 different occasions, including 10 in the top-five and four No. 1 overall picks. A majority of those picks could have and in hindsight should have been used on other players, but that was not the case for Cleveland throughout the last 23 years.
This list will go chronologically and kicks off with four straight years that the Browns passed on future Hall of Famers. Cleveland has had holes throughout the roster every year, but in the early goings of the comeback to the league, they had countless. Most of the picks can be justified *at the time* due to filling said holes with players the team thought would help them the most, but looking back on it now — yikes.
Some years will not be covered on this list and it’s not because the Browns didn’t pass on great players, but some years really outshine the others. In 2007, Cleveland drafted left tackle Joe Thomas with the third overall pick and he went on to become a Browns legend and will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he is eligible, which will be 2023.
2021 and 2022 will not be included on this list due to minimal evidence. The 2021 class has played one year in the league while the 2022 class has yet to play an NFL snap. So, without further ado, let’s get into the 10 superstar players that the Browns could have drafted since 1999.
Superstar Player the Cleveland Browns Could Have Drafted in 1999
Georgia. ChampBailey. 7. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Cornerback. 58
The Browns had the first overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by virtue of being an expansion team. With said pick, quarterback Tim Couch was drafted out of Kentucky. Couch wasn’t a bad option as he threw for over 8,200 yards, 73 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions in his final two seasons as a Wildcat.
With that being said, the Browns chose the wrong quarterback – which would turn into a common theme for the franchise moving forward – as Donovan McNabb was drafted second overall by the Eagles.
McNabb went on to have a pretty, pretty, pretty good, 13-year NFL career. He helped lead the Eagles to four consecutive NFC championship games, including a Super Bowl run in 2004 before falling to the Patriots.
For as good as McNabb would have been for this list, Champ Bailey was a far superior choice. Bailey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019 after a tremendous 15-year career. Bailey was a three-time First-Team All-Pro, a four-time Second-Team All-Pro, and a 12-time Pro Bowler. He was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and is also a member of the Broncos Ring of Fame.
In 215 career games, Bailey racked up 52 interceptions, including four returned for touchdowns, 203 passes defended, seven forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and three sacks. He also accumulated 931 tackles, 832 solo, and 42 for a loss.
Oh, what could have been for the Browns reemergence from the (re)start.