The 10 biggest what-ifs in Cleveland Browns history
8. What if the Browns could re-do the 2000 NFL Draft?
Again, the Cleveland Browns might re-do a lot of NFL Draft classes if they could. Maybe one of the most notable examples of needing a do-over is their historically bad 2000 NFL Draft class. This was the second class after the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 and this was obviously a young team that really needed to hit in the NFL Draft to be competitive.
It's especially bitter considering this NFL Draft class came the same year the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl. It was not a good time in Cleveland Browns' history. The Browns were coming off of a 2-14 season in 1999 and they had the 31st-ranked offense in the league. Tim Couch was still in his formative years at the time and the Browns desperately needed to support their young quarterback.
They selected defensive end Courtney Brown out of Penn State 1st overall in that draft class, a decision that would obviously end up haunting the franchise for years to come. It wasn't that the Browns shouldn't have taken a defensive end, but when you are building a roster, you've got to do everything in your power to support a young quarterback. The Washington Redskins (at the time) selected LaVar Arrington (LB) and Chris Samuels (OT) with the next two selections, and it's hard to say -- in hindsight -- that Chris Samuels wouldn't have been a better pick for the Browns.
He made six Pro Bowls with Washington and is in their Ring of Fame.
If you look back at the 2000 NFL Draft, it's almost impossible that the Browns had as many unlucky misses as they actually had. They had the most picks in this draft -- 13 in total -- and 14 future Pro Bowl players were selected in the first round of that draft. The Browns even used a 6th-round pick on the quarterback position. If you used a 6th-round pick on a QB in the 2000 NFL Draft, you had a 1/5 chance of it being Tom Brady and a 2/5 chance of it being a Pro Bowl player.
The Browns selected Spergon Wynn just 16 picks before the Patriots drafted Tom Brady. An even harder pill to swallow: Wynn was the last QB selected before Brady.