It's not exactly a secret that the Cleveland Browns have not drafted well since their return in 1999.
But sometimes when it's staring you in the face it can be eye-opening.
In last week's look at the Browns and their draft history by position, it became painfully evident just how badly the Browns have fared since 1999 -- especially in the first round.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert pointed out that the Browns' roster has only 16 players drafted by the team on it -- second fewest in the league. The other three teams in the AFC North rank in the top 10 for having their draftees on the roster, with the Bengals first, the Ravens sixth and the Steelers 10th.
In the past three years, the Browns have had five first-round selections. One of those picks starts (Barkevious Mingo), two are huge question marks (Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert) and two are not with the team (Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden). Batting .200 on first-round picks is brutal, especially when three were in the top eight in the draft.
These failures represent a pattern since 1999. The Browns have had 18 first-round picks since then. Ten of the 18 were in the top eight, eight were in the top six and six were in the top three. Two were first overall.
A grand total of five of those 18 first-round choices went to the Pro Bowl -- Joe Haden, Joe Thomas, Kellen Winslow, Alex Mack and Braylon Edwards.
Of the six selected in the top three, two were Pro Bowlers (Thomas and Edwards). Neither of the first overall picks (Tim Couch and Courtney Brown) went to a Pro Bowl -- though Couch is the best quarterback the team has drafted since 1999. The Browns have drafted three quarterbacks from the 22nd spot -- Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel -- and gotten nothing in terms of the Pro Bowl from them.
The list could go on and on.
The Browns have drafted 29 defensive backs since 1999; Haden is the only Pro Bowler (not counting alternates). Of the drafted players, no linebackers, defensive linemen, running backs or quarterbacks made Pro Bowls.
There are as many reasons for these shortcomings as there have been Browns leaders, which is one large contributing factor for the failure. Change leads to impatience, which leads to reaching, which leads to forcing picks, which leads to failure, which leads to change -- and the cycle is repeated over and over.
Compound that with the reality that few GMs and coaches give the benefit of the doubt to non-Pro Bowlers drafted by former GMs. Thus, when a new GM comes in, the old GM's picks are thrown by the wayside -- which means guys like Jeff Faine and Kamerion Wimbley and Jabaal Sheard are allowed to depart for no clear reason.
Since 1999 the Browns have had 18 first-round draft picks. Running the drafts for those picks were Dwight Clark, Butch Davis/Pete Garcia, Phil Savage, Eric Mangini/George Kokinis, Tom Heckert/Mike Holmgren, Mike Lombardi/Joe Banner and Ray Farmer, who gets his second chance with two first-round picks in this year's draft.
Each GM had his ideas and wants. None was given the time he needed to establish a track record that would lead to a long-term build and long-term success.
The first round should provide the foundation for success. It's where teams build their core, their future. And it's especially important when the team has high first-round picks. There are many NFL GMs who believe a team simply cannot miss on a top-10 pick. Doing so sets a team back -- which the Browns show.
It's a trend that sums up the Browns' futility since 1999, and a trend that has to change if the Browns hope to end the futility on the field, where they have produced two winning seasons and one playoff game since 1999.
