2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period 2019-23

A three-time Pro Bowl Selection, Denzel Ward has sneakily been one of the most efficient Cornerbacks in the NFL.  Still in his prime, Ward has time to make a Hall of Fame case.

The Cleveland Browns have a storied history, with some of the most iconic quarterbacks ever to grace the NFL. These players didn’t just make a mark—they became legends. Below, we rank the top five quarterbacks who have defined the franchise.

Otto Graham: The Epitome of Greatness

Otto Graham's name is synonymous with excellence. Playing from 1946 to 1955, Graham led the Browns to an astonishing ten consecutive championship games, winning seven of them. His unique combination of a powerful arm and an unparalleled football IQ made him a nightmare for defenses.

Graham wasn't just playing football; he was redefining it. With three NFL championships and five All-Pro selections, his legacy remains unmatched. He set the standard for what it means to be a Cleveland Browns quarterback, and his influence still resonates in the franchise's DNA.

Bernie Kosar: The Heart of the Browns

In the mid-1980s, Bernie Kosar breathed new life into the Cleveland Browns. Drafted in a rare supplemental draft, Kosar quickly became the face of the franchise. His calm demeanor, coupled with his strategic brilliance, helped the Browns reach three AFC Championship games, the closest the team has ever been to making a Super Bowl. Known for his quick reads and mastery of the no-huddle offense, Kosar was a quarterback who could handle immense pressure.

During his tenure, the Cleveland Browns odds of making deep playoff runs were often favorable, thanks to his consistent performances. His records still stand as a testament to his skill, and his connection with the city of Cleveland remains deep, symbolizing the grit and determination that define the region.

Brian Sipe: The Kardiac Kid

Brian Sipe’s tenure with the Browns from 1974 to 1983 is often remembered for the heart-stopping moments he orchestrated on the field. Sipe wasn’t just any quarterback—he was the leader of the "Kardiac Kids," a team famous for its last-minute victories. His 1980 MVP season remains a highlight in Browns’ history, showcasing his ability to perform under pressure. Sipe’s risk-taking and never-say-die attitude endeared him to fans, and his legacy as one of the franchise’s most resilient leaders is secure.

Frank Ryan: The Championship Quarterback

Frank Ryan brought a championship to Cleveland, a feat that cemented his place among the Browns' greats. Playing from 1962 to 1968, Ryan’s leadership and precise deep passing were instrumental in the Browns’ 1964 NFL Championship victory. His ability to execute under pressure and his intelligent play-calling made him a fan favorite. Ryan’s career might have been shorter than others on this list, but his impact was profound, leaving an indelible mark on the franchise.

Baker Mayfield: The Modern Hope

Baker Mayfield, the Browns' first overall pick in 2018, arrived with a swagger and confidence that the franchise desperately needed. In his rookie year, Mayfield set the NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie, and in 2020, he led the Browns to their first playoff win in over 25 years. His gunslinger mentality and ability to extend plays have made him a beloved figure among fans. Even though his tenure with the Browns was short, his ability to revitalize a franchise that had been struggling for so long and lacking consistent quarterback play was critical in getting the momentum moving in the right direction. Mayfield has since found success with Tampa Bay, who recently signed the quarterback to a long-term deal.

Conclusion

The Cleveland Browns have been home to some of the most remarkable quarterbacks in NFL history. From Otto Graham’s dominance to Baker Mayfield’s modern heroics, each of these players has left an indelible legacy. As the franchise continues to evolve, these quarterbacks will forever be remembered as the pillars of Cleveland Browns history.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Browns.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Browns returned to the playoffs but could not get past their first game.  There were no new entries and two elevations in our Top 50.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Jim Brown
2. Otto Graham
3. Joe Thomas
4. Lou Groza
5. Ozzie Newsome

You can find the entire list here.

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett rocketed to #12 from #32.

Left Tackle Joel Bitonio, on a six-year Pro Bowl streak, climbed to #18 from #24. 

Notably, Running Back Nick Chubb remains at #44.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #147. Peak Period: 2018-20/2022-23

The first season in Cleveland was decent for Smith, but it did net him a Pro Bowl.  Smith is north of 30, and the Browns are his fourth team.  Despite being a three-time Pro Bowl Selection, Smith does not give off a star quality. 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Browns.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Browns were a trendy pick to make it to the Super Bowl, but not only did that not happen, they failed to make the playoffs. This did not impact a new entrant occurring as well as two significant elevations from occurring.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes.

1. Jim Brown

2. Otto Graham

3. Joe Thomas

4. Lou Groza

5. Ozzie Newsomb

You can find the entire list here.

Joel Bitonio, who has starred on the Browns O-Line for the past half-decade, rocketed to #24 from #38.

Defensive End, Myles Garrett advances to #32 from 44.

Running Back, Nick Chubb, makes his first appearance at #44.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The Cleveland Browns have always loved their Running Backs, and if you are going to find a good one; a great place to look is an SEC power.

Chubb starred at the University of Georgia, and went early in the Second Round of the 2018 Draft to Cleveland. After a decent rookie year where he had 996 Rushing Yards, Chubb entered 2019 as the undisputed lead back. In his first four years, Chubb rushed for over 1,000 Yards, and had a career-high of 1,525 in 2022

Chubb's four-year streak of elite-level rushing came to an end in 2023 when he suffered a knee injury in week 2, and he was out for the rest of the season with a damaged ACL.  He enters 2024 looking to rebound.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post-2021 revision of our top 50 Cleveland Browns.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Cleveland reached the playoff for the first time in years, and even with their long and convoluted history, we saw changes in our top 50 with one new entrant and one elevation.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes:

1. Jim Brown

2. Otto Graham

3. Joe Thomas

4. Lou Groza

5. Ozzie Newsome

You can find the entire list here.

Offensive Lineman, Joel Bitonio, moved up ten spots to #38.  He is on a four-year run of Pro Bowl Selections and All-Pros, with 2021 being his best year to date.

Defensive End, Myles Garrett, makes his debut at #44.  Garrett is a former number one overall pick, who is a two-time First Team Al-Pro.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The Cleveland Browns have been on a roller coaster ride, since Myles Garrett arrived, and on occasion, it was Garrett who was running the controls.

Garrett was a consensus All-American at Texas A&M, and the Browns made him the number one pick in 2017.  The Defensive End did not have a great rookie year, but showed what he was capable of as a sophomore, earning Pro Bowl accolades in 2018, which he followed up with a second and third in 2020 and 2021, with those last two years seeing First Team All-Pro honors.  Garrett is currently on a four-year streak of 10-Plus Sacks.

Many casual fans might remember Garrett best for a 2019 altercation with Pittsburgh Quarterback, Mason Rudolph, which led to his season-remaining suspension, but we view him as the lead pass-rusher for the Browns over the last seven years, and the man who led the Browns defence to their best run in their second coming.  Last season, Garrett won the Defensive Player of the Year and led the NFL in Approximate Value (20).

He enters 2024 on a four-year Pro Bowl Streak, with 88.5 Sacks and 172 Quarterback Hits.  

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Cleveland Browns. 

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.

Our Top 50 lists in football look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2020 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always, we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Jim Brown

2. Otto Graham

3. Joe Thomas

4. Lou Groza

5. Ozzie Newsome

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for our more material coming soon!

As always, we thank you for your support.

From the University of Nevada, Joel Bitonio made an impression as a Lobo, securing a Second Round Selection from Cleveland in the 2014 Draft.

Bitonio won the starting job at Left Guard, earning an All-Rookie Selection, but a litany of injuries held him to 15 Games in 2015 and 2016.  Healthier in 2017, Bitonio established himself as a Lineman on the rise, and he elevated his game the following year, and is on a six-year streak of Pro Bowls, of which saw the Linemen earn fove All-Pro Selections, including two First Team All-Pros.

Going into 2024, the Browns are an enigma, but Bitonio is a welcoming stability of greatness on a confusing team.

Out of East Carolina, Earnest Byner made the Cleveland Browns as a Tenth Round Pick, showing dual skills as a rusher and receiver throughout his career.  

Byner cracked 1,000 Rushing Yards as s sophomore (1,005), and though that was his best rushing year, he was still productive, not just statistically but also as a blocker.  Byner helped Cleveland reach the AFC Championship Game in 1987, but it would be a tragic event for him.

Byner will, however, remain synonymous with that the game, as he was stripped of the ball at the Denver 8-yard line with a minute left to go and the Browns down by seven.  "The Fumble" haunts Browns fans to this day.  

Byner played another season for Cleveland before he was traded to Washington, but he did come back in 1994.  He played four more seasons, the first two with the Browns and the next two in Baltimore when the franchise relocated.

As a Brown, Byner had 5,994 Yards From Scrimmage with 37 Touchdowns.  He was also welcomed back in 2006 as one of their Legends.

Undrafted from Clemson, Kevin Mack began his pro football career with Los Angeles of the USFL before joining the Cleveland Browns, who took him in the Supplemental Draft.

Mack had a great NFL rookie season, rushing for 1,104 Yards and catching 29 passes for another 297 Yards.  Mack went to the Pro Bowl that year, and arguably, it was his best NFL campaign.  He would have three more 700-Yard Rushing seasons and played his entire career with the Browns, retiring after an injury-plagued 1993 season.  

Mack accumulated 6,725 Yards From Scrimmage and punched the ball through the end zone 54 times.  In 2007, the Browns selected Mack as one of their Legends.

Drafted 13^th Overall from the University of Texas in 1989, Eric Metcalf would become one of the most versatile offensive weapons in Browns' history.

Listed as a Running Back, rushed for only 2,229 Yards in is six years in Cleveland, but he was also a threat in the air, catching 297 passes for 2,732 Yards over the same timeframe.  Metcalf truly shined in the return game, and he would lead the NFL in Kick Return Yards in 1990 and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1993 and 1994.  A First Team All-Pro in 1993, Metcalf led the league in All-Purpose Yards (1,932).  He left Cleveland for Atlanta after the 1994 Season.

As a Brown, Metcalf had 31 Touchdowns with 9,108 All-Purpose Yards.  Cleveland would also induct Metcalf as a Legend in 2008.

Bobby Mitchell was one of the many finds that Paul Brown found in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft, in his case, the Seventh in 1958. 

Mitchell was used as an everything weapon for the Browns, rushing, receiving, and returning.  In the four seasons he competed for Cleveland, Mitchell accumulated 5,916 All-Purpose Yards, and was in the top six in all of those seasons.  With Jim Brown, Mitchell was expendable, and he was traded to Washington for the college star Ernie Davis, who unbeknownst to all parties, had leukemia and never played in the NFL.

Mitchell, who was also traded in part to force Washington to integrate, was a huge part of Washington’s offense.  He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and was chosen for the first class of the Browns Ring of Honor in 2010.

After his college career ended, Warren Lahr signed with the Cleveland Browns as a backup Quarterback in 1948.  Injuries kept him from playing, but he was ready to suit up in 1949, where he would become a Safety and help the Browns win the last AAFC Title of the league's existence.

Lahr, who was almost cut at one point, would become a top defender for Paul Brown's squad, and he became a certifiable ball hawk who nabbed 44 Interceptions over his 11-year career, all with Cleveland.  He was an essential part of the Browns NFL Championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955, and went to the Pro Bowl in 1953.  Cleveland named Lahr as an honored Legend in 2008.

From small Adams State, Don Cockroft played all thirteen of his seasons (1968-80) with the Cleveland Browns.

Cockroft was Cleveland's Place Kicker and Punter for his first nine seasons and was just a Kicker in his last four.  Cockroft never went to the Pro Bowl, but three times he led the NFL in Field Goal Percentage and once led the league in Punting Yards.  With 1,080 Points, Cockroft is third all-time in franchise history, and was rewarded by the Browns as one of their Legends in 2007.

After three years in the NFL, Don Colo found a steady home in Cleveland, where he was a silent but lethal contributor to Paul Brown and his defensive corps.

Colo was instrumental in Cleveland's 1954 and 1955 NFL Championships, with the Defensive Tackle using his size and speed to collect three Pro Bowls and three Second Team All-Pros.  Colo might be forgotten by some, but not by us, and not by the Browns, who announced him as one of their Legends in 2015.

Gary Collins was one of the first major offensive stars at Maryland, where he set numerous receiving records and was eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in his 1961 All-American season.  The Browns landed Collins with the Fourth Overall Pick for the 1962 Draft, and he joined an already potent squad.

Collins was eased into the receiving part of the game, only catching 11 passes as a rookie, but he was immediately the team's starting Punter, a role in which he led the NFL in Yards per Punt in 1965.  A member of the 1964 NFL Championship Team, Collins led the NFL in Receiving Touchdowns (13) in 1963 and had 70 in total in a career spent entirely with the Browns.

Collins was also a two-time Pro Bowl Selection and recorded 5,299 Yards from the air.  The Browns would honor Collins as one of his Legends in 2004.

After being drafted in the Fourth Round by the Browns in 1964, Jim Ray Smith played at Defensive End as a rookie.  Smith was not a starter but played well enough for Paul Brown to think his talents would be better served on the Offensive Line.  As was often the case, Brown was right.

Smith gained six starts at Right Guard in 1957 and moved to Left Guard the following year, where he began a five-year streak of Pro Bowls.  Carving holes for his great backfield (mainly Jim Brown), Smith was chosen for three First Team All-Pros and two Second Team All-Pros.  He retired after the 1962 season but was coerced out of it by the Dallas Cowboys, who traded for his rights.

Smith played two more years before he retired for good, and in 2005, the Browns named him to their list of honored Legends.

A 1981 First Round Pick from Southern Mississippi, Hanford Dixon played nine seasons in the National Football League, all with the Cleveland Browns.

Playing at Cornerback, Dixon started 128 of his 131 Games on the right side, and he would come into his own in the last half of the decade.  Dixon went to three consecutive Pro Bowls (1986-88), with the first two achieving First Team All-Pro status.  

Dixon secured 26 Interceptions over his career and is credited with naming the Browns' defense the "Dawg Pound," which took a life of its own.  The Browns named Dixon to the list of Legends in 2003.