NFL Draft: 30 worst first-round picks of the 21st century
By Randy Gurzi
There have been some serious misses in the NFL Draft throughout the years. We look at the 30 biggest first-round whiffs since the year 2000.
We all know teams build the best rosters through the NFL Draft. Yes, free agency can be a great tool, but oftentimes those players are overpriced and the good teams really only use that option as a way to plug some holes.
For the franchises that stay competitive, the way to go is to hit some home runs in the draft. While the best depth comes from selecting solid players in later rounds, the most impactful moves happen in the opening round.
This is where not only the best talent can be found, but also where the largest whiffs can happen.
And missing on a first-round pick can have a devastating impact on teams. That’s exactly what we look at here as we pick apart the worst selections in Round 1 since the year 2000.
Cleveland Browns, Pick No. 1, 2000. Courtney Brown. 30. player. 53. . DE
After returning to the NFL in 1999, the Cleveland Browns have been a regular fixture the early portions of the NFL Draft. That’s not exactly a good thing since it means they aren’t getting the best possible players.
If they were landing talent, they would surely start winning more and that would take them away from the top-5 picks. Instead, they keep picking right away and guys like Courtney Brown have made their way to the Factory of Sadness.
Brown was the No. 1 overall player taken in the 2000 NFL Draft, as Cleveland was hoping for a force on the edges with the Penn State defensive end. Brown was decent as a rookie with 69 tackles and 4.5 sacks, but from then on things went downhill.
He struggled with his health and never again played a full season for the Browns. By his fourth year with the team, he was starting to improve and had a career-high six sacks. However, he went back to being sidelined extensively the following season, as he made just two appearances in 2004.
Brown spent one more season with the Denver Broncos in 2005 before his career was over. He never came close to the expectations Cleveland had for him when they made him the No. 1 overall selection that year.