Hall of Famer Jim Brown was the Browns' first-round draft pick in 1957

The Cleveland Browns joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1950 with the Baltimore Colts and San Francisco 49ers after having spent four seasons with the All-America Football Conference. The Browns' first selection as an NFL team was Ken Carpenter, a wide receiver from Oregon State. The team's most recent first round selection was Greg Newsome II, a cornerback from Northwestern.

Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with teams missing the playoffs picking first, and then playoff teams in the inverse order of elimination. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.

The Browns did not have any draft choices from 1996 to 1998, because then-owner Art Modell took all the team's players to Baltimore, Maryland, effectively stopping the franchise. However, the NFL mandated that the Browns' name, colors, and franchise history remain in Cleveland and that the team would reactivate by 1999. In 1999, the Browns selected number one overall, drafting University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch.

The Browns have selected number one overall five times: Bobby Garrett (1954), Tim Couch (1999), Courtney Brown (2000), Myles Garrett (2017) and Baker Mayfield (2018). The team has also selected number two overall only once and number three overall six times. The Browns have selected players from the University of Michigan five times, Ohio State University and the University of Southern California four times, and the University of Florida three times. Five eventual Hall of Famers were selected by the Browns: Doug Atkins, Jim Brown, Paul Warfield, Ozzie Newsome and Joe Thomas.

Player selections

Selected number one overall * Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame †
National Football League, Early Era (1950–1969)
Year Pick Player name Position College Notes
1950 13 Ken Carpenter RB Oregon State
1951 14 Kenny Konz DB LSU
1952 10 Bert Rechichar DB/K Tennessee [1]
12 Harry Agganis QB Boston [2]
1953 11 Doug Atkins † DE Tennessee
1954 1 Bobby Garrett * QB Stanford [3]
12 John Bauer OG/OT Illinois
1955 13 Kurt Burris C Oklahoma
1956 13 Preston Carpenter E/RB/TE Arkansas
1957 6 Jim Brown † FB Syracuse
1958 13 Jim Shofner DB TCU
1959 11 Rich Kreitling WR Illinois
1960 8 Jim Houston DE/LB Ohio State
1961 10 Bobby Crespino TE Mississippi [4]
1962 4 Gary Collins WR/P Maryland [5]
11 Leroy Jackson RB Western Illinois [6]
1963 9 Tom Hutchinson WR Kentucky
1964 11 Paul Warfield † WR Ohio State
1965 13th pick traded to San Francisco, used to select George Donnelly [7]
1966 14 Milt Morin TE Massachusetts
1967 18 Bob Matheson LB Duke
1968 21 Marv Upshaw DL Trinity
1969 20 Ron Johnson RB Michigan
National Football League, Modern Era (1970–present)
Year Pick Player name Position College Notes
1970 3 Mike Phipps QB Purdue [8]
21 Bob McKay OT Texas
1971 14 Clarence Scott DB Kansas
1972 18 Thom Darden DB Michigan
1973 16 Steve Holden WR Arizona State [9]
22 Pete Adams OG USC
1974 15th pick traded to San Diego, used to select Don Goode [10]
1975 5 Mack Mitchell DL Houston
1976 7 Mike Pruitt FB Purdue
1977 17 Robert Jackson LB Texas A&M
1978 12 Clay Matthews LB USC
23 Ozzie Newsome † TE Alabama [11]
1979 20 Willis Adams WR Houston [12]
1980 27 Charles White RB USC [13]
1981 22 Hanford Dixon CB Southern Miss
1982 3 Chip Banks LB USC
1983 14th pick traded to Buffalo, used to select Jim Kelly [14]
1984 18 Don Rogers S UCLA
1985 7th pick traded to Green Bay via Buffalo, used to select Ken Ruettgers [15]
1986 20th pick traded to Buffalo, used to select Will Wolford [16]
1987 5 Mike Junkin LB Duke [17]
1988 21 Clifford Charlton LB Florida
1989 13 Eric Metcalf RB/WR Texas [18]
1990 18th pick traded to Green Bay, used to select Tony Bennett [19]
1991 2 Eric Turner DB UCLA
1992 9 Tommy Vardell FB Stanford
1993 14 Steve Everitt C Michigan [20]
1994 9 Antonio Langham CB Alabama
29 Derrick Alexander WR Michigan [21]
1995 30 Craig Powell LB Ohio State [22]
1996 Franchise suspended, no team in Cleveland from 1996–1998
1997
1998
1999 1 Tim Couch * QB Kentucky
2000 1 Courtney Brown * DE Penn State
2001 3 Gerard Warren DT Florida
2002 16 William Green RB Boston College [23]
2003 21 Jeff Faine C Notre Dame
2004 6 Kellen Winslow II TE Miami [24]
2005 3 Braylon Edwards WR Michigan
2006 13 Kamerion Wimbley LB Florida State [25]
2007 3 Joe Thomas † OT Wisconsin [26]
22 Brady Quinn QB Notre Dame [27]
2008 22nd pick traded to Dallas, used to select Felix Jones [27]
2009 21 — Alex Mack C California [28]
2010 7 — Joe Haden CB Florida
2011 21 — Phil Taylor DT Baylor
2012 3 — Trent Richardson RB Alabama
22 — Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State
2013 6 — Barkevious Mingo OLB LSU
2014 8 — Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State
22 — Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
2015 12 — Danny Shelton DT Washington
19 — Cameron Erving C Florida State
2016 15 — Corey Coleman WR Baylor
2017 1 Myles Garrett * DE Texas A&M
25 Jabrill Peppers S Michigan
29 David Njoku TE Miami
2018 1 Baker Mayfield * QB Oklahoma
4 Denzel Ward CB Ohio State
2019 17th pick traded to NY Giants, used to select Dexter Lawrence [29]
2020 10 — Jedrick Wills OT Alabama
2021 26 Greg Newsome II CB Northwestern
2022 13th pick traded to Philadelphia via Houston, used to select Jordan Davis [30]
2023 12th pick traded to Detroit via Houston and Arizona, used to select Jahmyr Gibbs

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Browns acquired their first pick in 1952 from Detroit for E/T Jim Martin.
  2. ^ Harry Agganis did not take a snap for the Browns in the NFL, opting instead to play professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox as the team's starting first baseman.
  3. ^ The Browns' first pick in 1954 was a bonus lottery choice.
  4. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1961 to Dallas for T Paul Dickson and the Cowboys' first pick in 1962. The Browns acquired another pick from Detroit along with LB Robert Long for QB Jim Ninowski.
  5. ^ The Browns acquired their first pick in 1962 from Dallas along with T Paul Dickson for the Browns' first pick in 1961.
  6. ^ The Browns traded the rights to Jackson to Washington for the Redskins' rights to Ernie Davis. Davis was later diagnosed with leukemia and died before playing a game with the Browns.
  7. ^ The Browns' first pick in 1965 was traded to San Francisco for G Ted Connolly.
  8. ^ The Browns acquired their first pick in 1970 from Miami for WR Paul Warfield.
  9. ^ The Browns acquired their first pick in 1973 from New York along with the Giants' second choice (acquired from New England) for DE Jack Gregory and CB Freddie Summers.
  10. ^ The Browns' first pick in 1974 was traded to San Diego along with the Browns' second pick in 1975 for LB Bob Babich and the Chargers' fourth pick in 1975.
  11. ^ The Browns' acquired their second pick in 1978 from Los Angeles along with Washington's fourth pick (acquired from Washington through Chicago for the Bears' first pick) for QB Mike Phipps.
  12. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1979 to San Diego for the Chargers' first and second picks.
  13. ^ The Browns traded their first and New England's sixth pick (acquired from New England) to Los Angeles for the Rams' first and fourth picks plus San Diego's second and Green Bay's fifth (acquired from San Diego and Green Bay respectively) picks.
  14. ^ The Browns' first pick in 1983 was traded to Buffalo along with the Browns' third pick in 1984 and fifth pick in 1985 for LB Tom Cousineau.
  15. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1985 to Buffalo along with the Browns' third pick and the Browns' first and sixth picks in 1986 for Buffalo's first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
  16. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1986 to Buffalo along with the Browns' sixth pick and the Browns first and third picks from 1985 for Buffalo's first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
  17. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1987 to San Diego along with Browns' second pick and LB Chip Banks for San Diego's first and second picks.
  18. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1988 to Denver along with the Browns' second, fifth and ninth picks for the Broncos' first pick.
  19. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1990 to Green Bay along with the Browns' third and fifth picks in 1989 and RB Herman Fontenot for the Packers' second pick and fifth pick in 1989.
  20. ^ The Browns acquired their first pick in 1993 from Denver along with the Broncos' third pick for the Browns' first pick.
  21. ^ The Browns acquired their second pick in 1994 from Philadelphia for the Browns' third pick and the Browns' second pick in the 1995 draft.
  22. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 1995 to San Francisco for the 49ers' first and fourth picks and the 49ers' first pick in the 1996 draft.
  23. ^ The Browns won this pick via a coin flip against Atlanta.
  24. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 2004 to Detroit along with the Browns' second pick for the Lions' first pick.
  25. ^ The Browns traded their first pick in 2006 to Baltimore for the Ravens' first pick.
  26. ^ The Browns won this pick via a coin toss against Tampa Bay.
  27. ^ a b The Browns traded their second-round pick in 2007 and first-round pick in 2008 to Dallas for their first-round pick in 2007.
  28. ^ Cleveland traded down three times in the first round, sending the fifth overall pick to the Jets (who used it to select Mark Sanchez), and then traded down two more times (with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia) before selecting Alex Mack with the 21st overall pick.
    Grossi, Tony (2009-04-25). "Cleveland Browns get more picks (and more Jets) on a busy opening day in NFL draft". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  29. ^ The Browns traded this pick, their third round pick (95th overall) and SS Jabrill Peppers to the Giants in exchange for WR Odell Beckham Jr.
  30. ^ The Browns traded these picks, their 2022 fourth round pick (107th overall), their 2023 third round pick (73rd overall), and their 2024 first and fourth round picks to the Texans in exchange for QB Deshaun Watson and their 2024 sixth round pick.

References

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