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.

Bill Willis played for Paul Brown at Ohio State, where he was a part of the 1942 National Championship Team.  Willis graduated in 1945 and wanted to play pro football, but as a black man with the knowledge that the NFL had an unspoken rule about African-Americans, there was nowhere for him to go.  

Enter the All-American Football Conference.

In 1946, his former Head Coach, Brown, was the Head Coach of the new team that bore his name, and Willis received an opportunity to try out for the Cleveland Browns.  Willis made the team, and along with Marion Motley, were among the first two black players in pro football.

Playing at Guard, he was a part of the Browns dominance of the short-lived league, winning all four Championships.  Willis proved to be one of the top Guards in the AAFC, especially on the defensive side of the ball.  When the AAFC migrated with the NFL, Willis was recognized as a three-time Pro Bowl and three-time First Team All-Pro.  The Browns won the 1950 NFL Championship, and Willis was a colossal component of Cleveland's success in their early existence.

Willis retired in 1953, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame called his name for induction in 1977.  The Browns also chose Willis for their Ring of Honor in 2010 as part of the first group.

Paul Warfield was a National Champion at Ohio State in 1961, an All-American in 1963, and would stay in the state as a professional football player when the Cleveland Browns used the 11^th Overall Pick to select the End.

Warfield joined an already potent Cleveland offense, led by Jim Brown.  He was immediately plugged into the scheme, accumulating 920 Yards as a rookie and helping Cleveland win the NFL Championship.  The Browns returned to the Title Game in 1965, though he missed nearly the entire season due to a broken collarbone.  

He returned healthy in 1966 and was back to his old self, earning Pro Bowls in 1968 and 1969.  He would lead the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns in 1968 (12) and had ten the year after.  Warfield was an upper-tier Receiver, but the Browns inexplicably thought he was nearing the end, and they dealt him to Miami for only a Third Round pick in return.  Warfield got even better and would win two Super Bowls with the Dolphins.  After one year with the Miami Southmen of the World Football League, he returned to the Browns in 1976, playing two more years before retiring.

Warfield caught 271 passes for 5,210 Yards and 52 Touchdowns with Cleveland and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.  He would later receive another prestigious accolade when he was named to the NFL 100^thAnniversary Team.  Warfield was also inducted to the Browns Ring of Honor as part of the first group in 2010.