The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here and every single team has the opportunity to draft players that they feel are the best fit for their franchise. However, sometimes draft selections just don’t work out the way planned and the players get labeled as draft busts. When looking at the Cleveland Browns history, there are plenty of examples of draft busts that have been made throughout their history. Looking at their draft history there are 5 that stand out from the rest.
Who thought it was a good idea to draft a 29-year-old prospect in Round 1 of an NFL Draft? It was such a bizarre pick for the Browns to make and even as a 12-year-old, it made zero sense. Then again, this is the same team that brought Hue Jackson back to coach after a 0-16 season in 2017. Weeden was horrible through his time in Cleveland and threw more interceptions than touchdowns with the team. His tenure went so well that he wanted out with the organization in year two. He requested to be traded from the team, but the Browns didn’t get any offers and chose to straight up release him. Ever since he left Cleveland he became a journeyman backup QB for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans.
was released after year 2.
When many think of a former first-round bust selection made by the Browns, Barkevious Mingo’s name often gets forgotten. Yes, he showed flashes in his rookie season getting 5 sacks and 42 tackles, which pretty much was the peak of Mingo’s career. He was originally expected to be a piece to the Browns’ linebacker core next to D’Quell Jackson. However, he just got worse for the team and never developed into a down player. While he was a solid depth piece, it was solid when he left Cleveland.
Mingo turned into a Journeyman player. In fact, he played with 6 teams in 6 years at one point in his career. Unfortionetly, his career ended after Mingo was arrested for indecent contact with a minor. While the case was eventually dismissed, he never got another chance after that incident occurred.
With how bad the Browns wee in their first season back in the NFL, pretty much any position was a need for the team. The Browns needed pass-rushing help badly so they chose to use a 1st overall pick to select Courtney Brown from Penn State. He could have been a great player for the squad, but injuries took their toll on him. His knees were in rough shape and as a first-overall pick, he was a disappointment. In a draft where Brian Urlacher, Lavar Arrington, and Tom Brady were in, the Browns missed out.
This was the silliest draft choice the Cleveland Browns ever made because it was obvious Johnny Manziel was going to be a disastrous NFL player on day one. The dude was an absolute trainwreck and should have never been drafted in the first round. Yes, he had a tremendous career at Texas A&M, but the signs of bust were obvious. During his private workouts during the lead-up to the draft, Manziel and his receivers got so drunk that the receivers missed the workouts and he had to throw to his lawyer and agent. He was even caught drunk in a charity golf tournament in Texas.
Yet the Browns decided to take him in round 1 and it was a disaster. Manziel was horrible on the field and the dude had more arrests than touchdowns thrown. Manziel’s work ethic wasn’t great and he admitted he watched no film throughout his NFL career. In the two seasons he played he threw for 1,675 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions all in 8 games he started. The browns had enough of his antics and parted ways with the guy. He would bounce on other leagues including the AAF’s Memphis Express, CFL’s Montreal Alouettes & Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Fan Control Football League, and The Spring League. 2014 was a bad draft for the Browns, and the craziest part is Manziel wasn’t the worst pick in this draft for them.
Johnny Football wasn’t the worst pick in the 2014 NFL Draft for the Browns, that honor goes to cornerback Justin Gilbert. That’s saying something knowing how much of a trainwreck Manziel is, that Gilbert was worse. He was expected to be the next shutdown cornerback and would be a great pairing with Joe Haden. Unfortunately, the only thing Gilbert shut down was reputation on and off the field.
On the field he was so bad he played a majority of his snaps on special teams and off the field it was a mess. Especially with his poor work ethic and missing multiple meetings due to being a heavy sleeper. Along with the road rage car accident and the many suspensions due to violating the NFL Drug Policy, it wasn’t a great look. He was traded to the Steelers for a 6th round pick but was mainly on special teams. Along with a year-long suspension, that all but ended his NFL career.
As for Gilbert today he is still currently playing football in the National Arena League (NAL) with the Sioux City Bandits. If Cleveland were to redo this pick, Aaron Donald would have been taken here.
The Cleveland Browns returned to the league and held the first overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. As an expansion team, it was obvious they were going to take a quarterback in that draft. With that pick the organization selected Tim Couch as their next pick. It did not work out well and almost everything went wrong for Couch.
It didn’t help that Couch was put in a bad situation. He had no offensive line, lackluster weapons on offense, and the entire roster was horrendous. All those hits led to the injuries in his 2000 season and he never was the same. Along with his turnover issues and with his growing shoulder problems the Browns just parted ways. He tried coming back to the NFL trying out for multiple teams and did sign new deals with the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster.
The worst part with Couch is, that the next pick was Donovan McNabb and later in that round Dante Culpepper was taken. Those two were much better QBs than Couch. That’s not even getting into Edgerrin James, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, and Chris McAlister being taken a few picks later.
So those are the Top 5 biggest draft busts in Cleveland Browns history. Do you agree? Who did I leave out? What are your thoughts on the 5 busts listed above? Let me know in the comment section and give me the article a like as well. Don’t forget to check out other NFL content on Stadium Rant as well.
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