Going 0-16 and 1-15 in consecutive seasons doesn’t just happen by accident. A lot of hard work screwing up their first-round draft picks in recent years helped make that outcome possible for the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns have a new regime in charge that is working to turn around the franchise. GM John Dorsey continued to make big changes to the club by trading 2016 first-round pick Corey Coleman on Sunday.
Coleman being jettisoned means the Browns barely have anything to show for their first-round picks from 2012-2016. As pointed out by Aditi Kinkhabwala, Cleveland does not have any of their first-round picks from that span on the team anymore, while four are out of the NFL.
2012: Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden (both out of NFL)
2013: Barkevious Mingo (Seahawks)
2014: Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel (both out of NFL)
2015: Danny Shelton (traded to Patriots), Cam Erving (viewed as bust, now with Chiefs)
2016: Corey Coleman (traded to Bills)
That’s a lot of first-round picks to miss on. Guys like Mingo and Shelton aren’t bad players, but that’s far too many busts to have from your top picks, and that’s how you end up being the worst team in the league.
Browns fans are hoping that their drafting since 2017 will produce much better results.
