10 Superstars the Cleveland Browns could have drafted since 1999

Superstar Players the Cleveland Browns Could Have Drafted in 2012 — Part 1

This is one of those drafts where the Browns had ample opportunities to draft not one, but two superstar players, but instead, went in a completely different direction, which is peak Browns.

In the first round, Cleveland drafted running back Trent Richardson third overall out of Alabama. Six picks later, the Carolina Panthers drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly out of Boston College. Richardson would only last one season with the Browns before being shipped off to Indianapolis not long into the 2013 season.

The Browns were not done in the first round as they drafted quarterback Brandon Weeden at 22…..We will revisit this in a bit.

Back to Kuechly, who went on to have a stellar career before surprisingly retiring after the 2019 season. In his eight professional seasons, Kuechly racked up the accolades, which should be enough to get him to Canton. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, he was a five-time First-Team Al-Pro and two-time Second-Team All-Pro selection, a seven-time Pro Bowler, a two-time tackles leader (2012, 2014), and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.

Now, let’s circle back to the selection of Brandon Weeden at No. 22.

The third quarterback of this draft class was taken at No. 75 and that was Russell Wilson. That’s right, two quarterbacks were taken ahead of Wilson. Weeden was taken at 22 and Brock Osweiler was taken at 57 by the Houston Texans.

Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler. Ugh.

Wilson, who was traded to the Broncos earlier this offseason, has gone on to have a Hall of Fame-caliber career and he’s far from done. He helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory. In his 10 seasons with Seattle, he helped lead them to at least 10 wins eight times. He has had less than 25 touchdowns just two times and had double-digit interceptions four times. He currently has 292 career touchdown passes and just 87 interceptions. That’s, umm, pretty good, eh?

He’s also a threat on his feet as he has rushed for 4,689 yards and 23 touchdowns. He can and has beaten teams with both his arm and his legs. Naturally, he had to be moved to the AFC to add to the bevy of top-tier quarterback talent, giving the Browns yet another superstar quarterback they could potentially have to go through.

Here’s another bonus of this draft; the Browns took offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz with the 37th pick, 10 picks ahead of Bobby Wagner being drafted by the Seahawks. So yes, Seattle boosted up their future with two superstar players that the Browns could have drafted.

Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler. SMH.