After being drafted in the Fourth Round by the Browns in 1964, Jim Ray Smith played at Defensive End as a rookie.  Smith was not a starter but played well enough for Paul Brown to think his talents would be better served on the Offensive Line.  As was often the case, Brown was right.

Smith gained six starts at Right Guard in 1957 and moved to Left Guard the following year, where he began a five-year streak of Pro Bowls.  Carving holes for his great backfield (mainly Jim Brown), Smith was chosen for three First Team All-Pros and two Second Team All-Pros.  He retired after the 1962 season but was coerced out of it by the Dallas Cowboys, who traded for his rights.

Smith played two more years before he retired for good, and in 2005, the Browns named him to their list of honored Legends.

A 1981 First Round Pick from Southern Mississippi, Hanford Dixon played nine seasons in the National Football League, all with the Cleveland Browns.

Playing at Cornerback, Dixon started 128 of his 131 Games on the right side, and he would come into his own in the last half of the decade.  Dixon went to three consecutive Pro Bowls (1986-88), with the first two achieving First Team All-Pro status.  

Dixon secured 26 Interceptions over his career and is credited with naming the Browns' defense the "Dawg Pound," which took a life of its own.  The Browns named Dixon to the list of Legends in 2003.

Taken in the 4^th Round from North Texas, Ray Renfro was one of the many players that Paul Brown acquired who turned out to be a hidden gem.

Renfro played his entire 12-year career with the Browns, with the middle ten as one of the better Flankers in football.  A three-time Pro Bowl Selection, Renfro led the NFL in Receiving Yards per Game in 1955 and accumulated 5,508 Receiving Yards over his career, an excellent tally for his era.  Renfro proved to be a key part of two NFL Championships (1954 & 1955).

He would later win a Super Bowl as the Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers Coach for Dallas.  The Browns named Renfro to their legends list in 2001.

Mike McCormack played for the New York Yanks as a rookie, but he would leave them to serve his country in the Korean War.  When he returned, the Yanks had folded, and the Baltimore Colts were created to replace them.  McCormack signed with the Colts, but Cleveland Browns Head Coach, Paul Brown, remembered the Lineman and traded for him before he played for the Colts.

McCormack started at Middle Guard and then Right Tackle, helping Cleveland win the NFL Championship in both 1954 and 1955.  The Browns were a very competitive team for McCormack's duration (until 1962), and he was named to five Pro Bowls and three Second Team All-Pros.  Brown had referred to McCormack as the best Lineman that he ever coached, and that is as high praise as you can get.  The Browns agreed and named him to their Ring of Honor in 2010.