The Cleveland Browns are no stranger to making some bad NFL Draft picks, as there exists any number of all-time draft busts who could stand out as the worst this organization has ever spit out.
Some fans may point to quarterback failures like Tim Couch, Johnny Manziel, or Brady Quinn. Others may look at disappointing defensive picks like Justin Gilbert, Mike Junkin, and Courtney Brown. However, there is one pick that not only sunk in Cleveland, but directly set a rival up for success.
The dominant Miami Dolphins teams of the early 1970s would not have existed without a piece of good, old-fashioned Browns incompetence, as they traded away star wide receiver Paul Warfield in his iconic No. 42 jersey for the No. 3 overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, which was used to pick Purdue quarterback Mike Phipps.
Mike Phipps is the worst NFL Draft pick in Cleveland Browns history
Phipps came to the Browns after lighting things up with the Boilermakers, throwing for 23 touchdowns and averaging 250 passing yards per game (in 1960s college football, mind you) during his final season. Phipps, who was second in Heisman voting behind Steve Owens, had the arm, but it was the accuracy that failed him quite often at the NFL level.
Rather than picking future Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount or All-Pro guard Doug Wilkerson, Cleveland chose Phipps as their next franchise quarterback. In keeping with the style at the time, Phipps started just two games in his first two years, throwing two touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Phipps was eventually handed the starting job in 1972, and he performed well. Even though he completed under 50% of his passes, the Browns went 10-3 and lost to the undefeated Dolphins in the first round of the playoffs. After that, Phipps fell off a cliff.
Over the next four seasons, Phipps went 14-20-2 as a starter. His completion percentage? A pitiful 49.4% mark. Phipps didn't even hit 5,000 total passing yards, throwing 25 touchdowns and 56 interceptions for a 49.7 passer rating (an incompletion on every pass is 39.6). His 17-game pace put him on pace for nine touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Phipps found his way to the Chicago Bears as a spot-starter and backup, but he once again had more turnovers than touchdowns. In his career, Phipps threw 55 touchdowns and a whopping 106 interceptions.
The worst part of the Phipps pick was the fact that they traded up to No. 3 by giving Warfield away to the Dolphins. Don Shula's early Dolphins team never had explosive passing games, but he coveted Warfield's speed down the field and penchant for big plays.
Warfield made the Pro Bowl in each of his five seasons in Miami, catching 33 touchdowns and making this team one of the greatest in NFL history. Warfield returned to Cleveland later, but he was way past his prime.
The Browns got a terrible quarterback who helped ruin some promising teams in the 1970s to show for it.