Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Cleveland Browns top-10 all-time pass catchers

By John Suchan

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 28: Tight End Ozzie Newsome #82 of the Cleveland Browns dives to make a catch against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game October 28, 1990 at Candlestick park in San Francisco, California. Newsome played for the Browns from 1978-90. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 28: Tight End Ozzie Newsome #82 of the Cleveland Browns dives to make a catch against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game October 28, 1990 at Candlestick park in San Francisco, California. Newsome played for the Browns from 1978-90. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions Hall of Fame safety Jack Christiansen intercepts Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham’s pass to Hall of Fame wide receiver Dante Lavelli in a 56-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in a League Championship game on December 26, 1954 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Tim Culek/Getty Images) /

Best Cleveland Browns pass-catcher No. 2: Dante Lavelli

Another Hall of Famer, Dante Lavelli spent all 11 seasons of his career with the Browns. He helped get the franchise off and running when the great coach and owner of the team Paul Brown began the franchise.

It was also nice to have the Browns legendary quarterback Otto Graham throwing him passes during his tenure in Cleveland. He was a hometown kid, growing up in Hudson, Ohio, and having played at Ohio State.

For his professional career, he finished with 386 receptions for 6,488 yards and 62 touchdowns. In his first season which was in 1946, Lavelli had 40 catches for 843 yards and an impressive 21.1 yards per reception average. The following season he caught 49 passes for 799 yards and nine touchdowns in only 13 games played.

He was also a very reliable player when the playoffs came around. He had an overall 9-3 record in the playoffs. In his first-ever playoff game in 1946 he caught six passes for 87 yards and one touchdown in the Browns winning their first AAFC Championship.

In the team’s first appearance in the NFL Championship Game in 1950, Lavelli was unstoppable going for 128 yards receiving on 11 catches that included two touchdowns and helping the Browns upset the Los Angeles Rams 30-28.

He capped off a great career by having another stellar performance in the 1955 NFL Championship Game against the Rams where the Browns thumped them 38-10. Lavelli had three catches and a touchdown in that game.

Home/Browns News