Top 10 greatest players of all-time in Cleveland Browns history
- Jim Brown is forever
- Leroy Kelly was all about dominance
- Joe Thomas proved o-linemen can achieve greatness
The Cleveland Browns have a rich, lengthy history which includes 18 Hall of Famers. Not many other NFL teams can boast that. In fact, the Browns are in the top 10 of NFL history when it comes to Hall of Famers.
Although the Browns have not had must recent success as a franchise, this is a team with a long, storied history and plenty of players deserving of being considered among the best in franchise history. But who are the 10 best?
Top 10 greatest players in Cleveland Browns franchise history
Honorable mention: Josh Gordon, WR
I want to start this off with just a little bit of controversy. Josh Gordon's NFL career is certainly one the general population will look at as a total disappointment, and that's fair. Gordon missed so much time as an NFL receiver due to suspension, but for a brief period of time there, he was a brilliant flash in the pan. As a matter of fact, I think you could consider what he was able to do back in 2013 one of the more legendary seasons in NFL history.
Gordon caught 87 passes in 14 games that year for 1,646 yards, nine touchdowns, and an average of 18.9 yards per reception. I think Gordon deserves recognition as one of the best players in Browns' history because, well, he is. The sample size is small, but Gordon's 2013 season was legendary. There are only three other players in NFL history to have a season with over 1,600 yards receiving and an average of 18.9 yards per reception or better.
Just one year prior, Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions almost amassed 2,000 yards receiving with an average of 122 yards per game. Gordon averaged 117.6 yards per game in that 2013 season with the Browns, so he wasn't far off the pace.
To me, there's no question that Josh Gordon deserves to be considered among the best players in Browns' history, even as brief as his time in the league was. He was just about the definition of unstoppable in 2013. Believe it or not, Gordon is also the Browns' all-time leading receiver in yards per game (75.8).