10 Reasons to Cry

Well, it’s that time of year again. The annual NFL Draft will be upon us soon, and fans like us waste no time speculating who the first overall pick will be, who the Browns will select, and what the team’s biggest needs are. These debates have been going on since the inception of the draft in 1936, and this year is no exception. Many teams have been credited with possessing the savvy and eye for talent that makes them perennial winners. The Dallas Cowboys managed winning records every year from 1961 to 1988, even though their draft position was historically low. Mike Shannahan’s annual sixth round running back seems to find his way into the Pro Bowl every year.

Deservedly or not, the Cleveland Browns seem to own a reputation for making draft blunders over the years. These disastrous picks overshadow gems such as Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar, Brian Sipe, Ozzie Newsome, Clay Matthews, and Leroy Kelly. The following is a list of ten that epitomizes this.

10. “Touchdown” Tommy Vardell, Round 1, 1992 – This big load was supposed to make everyone forget about Kevin Mack. Tommy had a nose for the end zone, and was a powerful runner in college, but was not strong enough to fend off NFL tacklers. Tommy played a couple of insignificant seasons for the Browns, scoring just two touchdowns in 3 years.

9. Lawyer Tillman, Round 2, 1989 – Tillman was a tall, rangy WR that seemed to have all of the skills necessary to become a great receiver in the league, but injuries hampered his entire career. When he did get on the field, he showed flashes of greatness, but nothing consistent. Tillman’s repeated broken legs cut his career short. What makes Tillman such a boneheaded pick is what we gave up for him. We traded away our numbers 3 and 5 picks in ’89, plus a first rounder in ’90 AND third down back Herman Fontenot for Tillman and a 1989 5th round choice.

8. Courtney Brown, Round 1, 2000 – Nicknamed “The Quiet Storm”, the number one overall pick was barely a scattered shower for the Browns. Injuries slowed him considerably; Brown missed 33 games in his 5 seasons with the club, and only played a full slate in his rookie year. His 17 sacks and 1 TD were not what Chris Palmer and Carmen Policy, and Butch Davis had in mind as they paid him well over $20 million in his five seasons with the club.

7. Craig Powell, Round 1, 1995 – This pick was never supposed to be. The Browns originally possessed the 17th pick, and were set to take TE Kyle Brady from Penn State, but the New York Jets shocked the world by plucking Brady at number 16. In a moment of panic, Cleveland traded their pick to Carmen Policy of the 49ers for later picks plus a 1996 first round pick, and wound up stuck with Powell. Something did end up coming out of this, though not for Cleveland. The Baltimore Ravens used the 1996 first round selection to draft Ray Lewis.

6. Willis Adams, Round 1, 1979 – Cleveland moved down in the draft in a trade with San Diego and picked up this speedy WR from the U. of Houston. Adams, though, never proved his worth. He stayed behind average receivers such as Reggie Rucker and Dave Logan in the depth chart for years, and never realized his potential.

5. Ernie Davis, Round 1, 1962 – This turned out to be a horrible pick (and trade), even though through no fault of the Browns. Paul Brown envisioned Davis as a Jim Brown type player, and pulled the trigger on the trade without Art Modell’s consent. Just a few days later, doctors diagnosed Davis with Leukemia, and the superstar back never played pro football. Davis died later that year, and the team retired his number 45.

4. Clifford Charlton, Round 1, 1988 – The Browns, on top of their game, just finished their second-consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance. The linebacking corps seemingly was set, with the likes of Mike and Eddie Johnson plus Clay Matthews. Marty Schottenheimer, though, selected Charlton instead of getting help for an aging offensive line in the form of Jumbo Elliot. Two years later, Charlton had become an average special teams’ player, while the team placed Kosar on IR with a broken ankle. Bernie was never the same.

3. Mike Phipps, Round 1, 1970 – Many consider this QB to be the worst selection in the history of the Browns, not only because of Phipps’ performance, but because of what the team gave up as well (Hall of Fame WR Paul Warfield). Phipps had nothing but dismal seasons for the Browns, finishing with the lowest career QB rating of any Cleveland starter, and one of the lowest for any starting QB in the modern era. The Browns saved face on Phipps by trading him to the Chicago Bears for a draft pick that yielded TE Ozzie Newsome.

2. Charles White, Round 1, 1980 – A massive, 4-team trade netted the Browns the pick used to acquire this Heisman Trophy RB from USC. White, however, never lived up to expectations in a Browns uniform, as the only news he ever made was for doing drugs. The team spent many hours and dollars developing the “Inner Circle,” a group that helped drug abusers. White went on to have a 1,000-yard season with the L.A. Rams. Ironically, the Rams were one of the teams in the 4-team deal, and their pick produced White.

1. Mike Junkin, Round 1, 1987 – Cleveland moved up 19 draft positions in the first two rounds by swapping picks with the Chargers, who coveted LB Chip Banks. Banks, in a bitter contract dispute with Cleveland, departed the team and left a gaping hole in a once great LB corps. Marty Schottenheimer shocked the world by drafting Junkin fifth overall. This was easily the worst trade/pick in Browns history. Not only was Junkin an unknown from Duke, he was injury prone. To make matters worse, “Mad Dog,” as he was called in college, projected to be a fifth or sixth round selection, so even IF Marty saw something in the kid, he could have waited at least two or three rounds to acquire him. Junkin did make one sensational play for the Browns, albeit in pre-season, when he intercepted a pass in the flat and returned it for a touchdown. Later, Schottenheimer admitted that Mad Dog was out of position on the play, and the interception was a fluke.

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Many Browns fans and analysts have Tim Couch on lists such as this, but don’t believe it. Couch threw 64 TD’s in 62 games, had a 75.1 quarterback rating (as opposed to Phipps’ 51.0), and led the team to a 7-2 record in their only playoff season.

Overall, many teams have selections that they would like to have back, but in Cleveland’s case, these selections seem to have a devastating effect on the future of the club. The Ernie Davis blunder in the `60’s robbed the team of Hall of Fame RB Bobby Mitchell. The Phipps acquisition ensured many losing seasons in the `70’s, even though Cleveland bailed itself out by trading him for (what was eventually) Ozzie Newsome. Picks such as Van Waiters, Charlton, and Junkin not only robbed an aging linebacking unit of a much-needed talent infusion, but also probably contributed to the early end to Bernie Kosar’s career. Quality OL instead of mediocre LB’s may have been able to provide protection to the team’s immobile gem.