From USC, Clay Matthews Jr. was the son of a four-year NFL vet, Clay Matthews Sr., and the brother of Bruce Matthews, who would enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Clay Jr. did not make it to Canton, but many in Cleveland feel that he should have.

Matthews Jr. was taken in the First Round in 1978, and in his sophomore year, he was a starter at Outside Linebacker.  Leading the NFL in Tackles four times, the former Trojan was also a four-time Pro Bowler and had eight seasons where he cracked the 100-Tackle mark.  An expert run-stuffer, Matthews Jr. was a durable figure who played for Cleveland from 1978 to 1993, playing in 232 Games.  

He left Cleveland for Atlanta, where he played three more seasons before retiring at age 40.  As a Brown, Matthews Jr. would have 62.0 Sacks and 1,420 Tackles, and in 2019, he was inducted into the Browns' Ring of Honor.

Mac Speedie played collegiately at Utah and was a late-round pick (15^th) in the NFL Draft.  He did not enter the NFL, opting instead to go to the military to serve the United States in World War II, and when he returned, he tried out and made the Cleveland Browns of the upstart All-American Football Conference.

Browns' Head Coach, Paul Brown, used Speedie in his offense at End, where he would become one of the top receivers in the AAFC.  Speedie and the Browns won all four titles in the AAFC’s existence, and Speedie was the league leader in Receiving Yards twice.  

The Browns migrated to the NFL in 1950, and he was named to the Pro Bowl twice, though he was unable to reach the four-digit mark in Receiving Yards as he did in the AAFC.  He did, however, help Cleveland win the NFL Championship in 1950, which was his fifth in a row.

His run in the NFL could have been longer, but a dispute with Brown resulted in Speedie taking his talents to Canada, where he played three years before retiring.  Speedie had 5,602 Yards with 33 Touchdowns with Cleveland.

Speedie was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Centennial Class.  That year, Speedie entered the Browns' Ring of Honor.

Dante Lavelli played for Paul Brown at Ohio State, where the duo won the National Championship in 1942.  Lavelli entered the U.S. Military in World War II, and when the conflict ended, he rejoined Brown, who built the Cleveland Browns of the new All-American Football Conference.

Along with Mac Speedie, Lavelli was a star at End who led the AAFC in Receptions (40) and Receiving Yards (843 in the league's first year.  Lavelli was a consistent producer and excellent blocker, and he was a large part of why Cleveland won all four AAFC Titles.  Cleveland was one of the teams that joined the NFL when the AAFC merged with the senior league, and they continued to dominate, winning the NFL Championship in 1950, 1954, and 1955.  In the NFL era, Lavelli was a three-time Pro Bowler and was an instrumental cog in Paul Brown's machine.

Lavelli was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975 and was named to the first group of former players to the Browns Ring of Honor in 2010.

We can't even imagine what it must have been like for Leroy Kelly to follow in the footsteps of Jim Brown.  

Realistically, who could?  

Despite this, Kelly, who was taken in the NFL Draft in 1964, was initially Brown's understudy and assumed the starting role when Brown shockingly retired.  Kelly thrived, going to six straight Pro Bowls (1966-71) and winning the Rushing Title twice (1967 & 1968).  Kelly also led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns in three consecutive seasons (1966-68), and while his production was not equal to Brown, whose was?

Kelly rushed for 7,274 Yards and 74 Touchdowns on the ground, which for his era, was very impressive.

He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994, and in 2010, Kelly was part of the first group of Browns to be named to the Ring of Honor.