Top 50 Cleveland Browns
The ranking of the Cleveland Browns is one of the more complicated ones in our big four Professional sports teams, as this is the only one that relocated and was given back to the city in question.
Formed in 1946 by Paul Brown, the Browns were an inaugural team in the All-American Football Conference. Cleveland was an undisputed power in the new football league, winning the four Championships in the league’s existence. The AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, and to the shock of the stalwarts, Cleveland won the 1950 NFL Championship.
The Browns remained a power for years, winning the NFL Championship in 1954 and 1955, and they would draft Jim Brown, whose rushing skills transformed the game. They would win it all again in 1964. The Browns haven’t been to a title game since.
In 1995, Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, but a deal was struck with the city of Cleveland, keeping the intellectual property of the Browns with the city. The Browns were back in 1999 but have not made a deep playoff run in this incarnation.
This list is up to the end of the 2024 season.
Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
From North Texas State, Ray Renfro was drafted in the fourth round (48th overall) of the 1952 NFL Draft and emerged as one of Paul Brown's classic small-school discoveries. Armed with track-star sprinter speed and fluid open-field acceleration, Renfro stepped onto the field as a dual-threat weapon before evolving into one of the most explosive deep-ball flankers of the 1950s.…
With the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, the Browns selected Hanford Dixon out of Southern Mississippi who was heralded as a fierce, physical cornerback with exceptional closing speed. Over nine seasons in the orange and brown, Dixon locked down the right side of the secondary, starting 128 of his 131 regular-season games and…
Drafted in the sixth round (64th overall) of the 1954 NFL Draft out of Baylor, Jim Ray Smith arrived in Cleveland as an accomplished collegiate tackle who began his professional career along the defensive line. Smith served in a rotational role at defensive end as a rookie, but head coach Paul Brown quickly realized his rare athletic gifts were suited…
Fresh off an All-American run at Maryland, Gary Collins landed in Cleveland with high expectations when the team picked him fourth overall in 1962. His rookie season didn't feature a massive passing workload—he managed only 11 catches—because special teams needed him first. Collins immediately stepped in as the starting punter, establishing a dual role that peaked in 1965 when he…
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Taking a non-traditional route to the NFL, Kentucky standout and Outland Trophy winner Bob Gain was selected fifth overall in 1951 by Green Bay, but chose to spend his first pro season north of the border with the Ottawa Rough Riders. By 1952, the Cleveland Browns secured his NFL rights, bringing the Akron native back to his home state. Gain…
Few players captured the hearts of Cleveland fans in the late 1980s quite like Michael Dean Perry. Drafted out of Clemson in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft, the younger brother of William "The Refrigerator" Perry quickly established a colossal identity all his own along the Browns' defensive front. His popularity exploded so fast that local McDonald's franchises…
Acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in 1962, Frank Ryan came to Cleveland with a reputation as a brainy, talented backup waiting for an opportunity. Over four seasons in L.A., Ryan had flashed potential, but the Rams' decision to draft Roman Gabriel made him expendable. Cleveland traded for him, initially envisioning him as depth behind starter Jim Ninowski. An injury…
Drafted out of tiny Washington & Lee in the seventh round of the 1951 NFL Draft, Walt Michaels took a roundabout path to becoming a Cleveland icon. Before he ever played a down in the regular season, the Browns traded him to Green Bay. Michaels logged a solid rookie year with the Packers, but Paul Brown quickly realized he had…
Frank Minnifield, initially overlooked by NFL teams from Louisville, took an unconventional path to professional football. He began in the USFL with the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers, demonstrating early on that his 5-foot-9 stature did not hinder his ability to excel in pass defense. During contract disputes, Minnifield filed and won a lawsuit against the USFL, which nullified his…
After building a Hall-of-Fame resume in the 1970s as a core member of Buffalo's famous "Electric Company" offensive line, Joe DeLamielleure headed west to Cleveland before the 1980 season in a high-profile trade. The veteran guard made an immediate, history-making impact in his new uniform. In his first year with the Browns, DeLamielleure anchored the interior pass protection for Brian…
Selected in the 13th round of the 1972 NFL Draft out of San Diego State, Brian Sipe faced a long, unheralded path to NFL stardom. He spent his first two years tucked away on Cleveland's taxi squad before earning a spot on the active roster, serving strictly as a backup for two more seasons while making just seven sporadic starts.…
Selected in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL Draft out of Illinois, Bobby Mitchell became another iconic discovery by head coach Paul Brown. Boasting electric 9.5-second 100-yard-dash speed, Mitchell immediately stepped into the Cleveland backfield alongside Jim Brown, creating one of the most explosive, dynamic rushing duos in football history. Cleveland utilized Mitchell as a versatile and multifaceted player.…
His arrival in 1985 wasn't just a football transaction; it was a cultural event in Northeast Ohio. By bypassing the traditional NFL draft to force his way home to Cleveland, the local kid from Boardman High School instantly became a symbol of hometown pride. Kosar’s mastery of the pre-snap line-of-scrimmage check—dubbed "Bernie-ball"—gave the Browns a cerebral edge that compensated for…
Taken in the second round of the 1970 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State, Jerry Sherk stepped into Cleveland's defense as an immediate factor along the interior. While the 1970s lacked the championship hardware of previous decades for the Browns, Sherk served as the primary anchor for the franchise's defensive front throughout the entire era. He won the starting right…
Selecting Chip Banks with the third overall pick in the 1982 draft paid immediate dividends for a Cleveland defense looking for a game-changer at linebacker. The USC product stepped onto the professional stage unfazed by the transition and put together a dominant inaugural campaign. Banks captured the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award while earning his first Pro…
Carrying a frame listed at just 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds, Greg Pruitt shattered the misconception that a tailback needed heavy mass to survive the pro game. Fresh off an All-American career at Oklahoma—where he finished as a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist—the Browns spent a second-round pick on him in 1973. Rather than force-feeding him carries right away,…
Drafted fourth overall in 2018 out of Ohio State, Denzel Ward didn't have to travel far to start his professional career. The consensus All-American cornerback immediately took over as Cleveland's primary shutdown option on the boundary, establishing a tight, aggressive press-man coverage style that earned him a Pro Bowl selection and an All-Rookie team nod during his maiden NFL campaign.…
Selected out of Illinois in the sixth round of the 1971 draft, Doug Dieken didn't generate headline noise, but he went on to deliver one of the single best return-on-investment picks in Cleveland football history. Originally a converted tight end, he broke into the lineup at left tackle during his rookie year, starting five games. By 1972, he took total…
Selecting Clarence Scott with the 14th overall pick in 1971 paid off immediately for a Cleveland defense looking for a blue-chip cornerstone. The consensus All-American out of Kansas State stepped straight onto the field as a rookie starter at cornerback, launching what would become a 13-year career spent entirely in orange and brown. Scott relied on smooth hips, sharp instincts,…
