Both Bernie Kosar and Otto Graham. Both quarterbacks are regarded as the greatest of all time by the Cleveland Browns.
In addition to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965, Graham won seven pro football championships, was a three-time NFL Champion, participated in five Pro Bowls, was selected for the NFL 75th Anniversary Team, had his number 14 retired by the team, and is included in the Browns Legends Program. In addition, a statue of Graham can be found outside the Browns stadium.
Kosar is a Super Bowl Champion (Dallas Cowboys) and earned himself a Pro Bowl. He actually chose the Browns as the team he wanted to play for instead of the other way around due to circumstances with the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft. He is listed in the Browns Legends Program.
Both of these men provided the Browns with one crucial component: dependability at the QB position.
There have been other good Cleveland quarterbacks who glimpsed a speck of greatness for a while such as Brian Sipe, Derek Anderson, Frank Ryan, Mike Phipps, Milt Plum, and hopefully Deshaun Watson can be added to this list.
Phipps was traded from the Miami Dolphins for future Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield. Plum played five years and was a Pro Bowler twice during that span. Anderson had that sensational season in 2007 where he appeared on his way to becoming one of the best-ever and was rewarded with a Pro Bowl nod. Sipe played 11 seasons with the Browns and was named NFL MVP in 1980 after being taken in the 13th round. Ryan came to Cleveland from the Los Angeles Rams and provided leadership as the Browns captured the 1964 NFL title. He was also named to three consecutive Pro Bowls.
There have been other Browns’ quarterbacks that have sparked a glimpse of wonderment, but those moments were fleeting and these men eventually found gainful employment elsewhere. Mostly, this long list of QBs drafted is pretty dreadful.
But what if we could rewind each draft and select someone different other than the QB of the Future who eventually became the Bust of the Future? What would those awful Browns teams look like after that? Let’s take a gander in no particular order.
