The Cleveland Browns Have The Most Appropriate Draft Slot

It’s somehow fitting that one of the most unfulfilled, unlucky seasons in Cleveland Browns history should be followed by an NFL draft in which the Browns’ first-round pick would be the unluckiest number of them all – 13.

You can’t make this stuff up.

“With the 13^th pick in the first round of the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select. . . ”

Well, there’s the start of a sentence that for sheer symbolism, irony, and dread, pretty much encapsulates the last 57 years of a franchise that, if it didn’t have bad luck wouldn’t have any luck at all.

So, pardon their 13.

It wasn’t always like this for the Browns. But only Cleveland natives currently on, or approaching, social security witnessed the last time the Browns celebrated and embraced 13.

In 1964, the last time the Browns were champions of the NFL, they shutout Johnny Unitas and the mighty Baltimore Colts 27-0 in a stadium, Cleveland Stadium, that no longer exists.

The two heroes for the Browns that day were flanker Gary Collins, who caught three touchdown passes, and the quarterback who threw them.

That quarterback was Frank Ryan – number 13.

This year will be the seventh time in their history that the Browns have had the 13^th pick in the NFL Draft. From 1950-58 the Browns had the 13^th pick four times in nine years. Three of those picks, halfback Ken Carpenter (1950), receiver Preston Carpenter (1956), and defensive back Jim Shofner (1958) were starters on some of those powerhouse 1950s Browns teams who, from 1950-58, played in seven of nine NFL championship games, including six in a row.

The Browns then went almost 50 years without having the 13^th pick in the draft. The next time they did, in 2006, they used it on defensive end Kamerion Wimbley. With the 13^th pick in 1989 the Browns selected running back Eric Metcalf, a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Browns.

So in this year’s draft, the Browns, barring a trade, will be picking 13^th in the draft for the seventh time in their history and the first time 16 years.

In the last 40 NFL drafts, going back to 1981, the No. 13 pick in the draft has yielded plenty of quality players, but only one Hall of Famer: tight end Tony Gonzalez, who in his 17-year career split between Kansas City and Atlanta, appeared in 14 Pro Bowls, and was a six-time All-Pro selection.

Another former 13^th pick in the first round in the last 40 drafts is a lock for the Hall of Fame: Aaron Donald. Since the Rams called his name at 13 in the 2014 draft, Donald has been selected to the Pro Bowl a staggering eight times, and is a seven-time All-Pro selection.

There are four Hall of Famers selected with the 13^th pick in pre-1981 drafts: Kellen Winslow, by the Chargers in 1979, Franco Harris, by the Steelers in 1972, Bob Lilly, by the Cowboys in 1961, and the exquisitely-named Ace Parker, a running back with the 1937 Brooklyn Dodgers.

With the 13^th pick in this year’s draft, the Browns, it says here, should use it on a receiver. However, that, history tells us, could be problematic. Over the last 40 years seven receivers have been selected with the 13^th pick in the draft. Those seven receivers combined for a total of one Pro Bowl selection. That was Eddie Brown, who the Bengals drafted at 13 in 1985.

The other receivers selected with the 13^th pick: Michael Floyd, Lee Evans, Donte Stallworth, Troy Edwards, Mike Pritchard, and Lindsay Scott.

History further tells us that the 13^th pick in the draft is where teams go to find linemen. In the last 40 years, over half the players drafted with the 13^th pick were offensive linemen or defensive linemen: seven defensive tackles, seven offensive tackles, one guard, and six defensive ends.

Last year, the 13^th player selected overall was Northwestern offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, who in his rookie season was selected for the Pro Bowl. In 2020, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs, another offensive tackle, was selected by Tampa Bay at 13. Wirfs, a Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection this season, was drafted by the Bucs three picks after the Browns took tackle Jedrick Wills.

The Browns may or may not need a quarterback this year. If they decide to draft one, taking a quarterback at 13 is very rare. Over the last 40 years, only one quarterback was drafted with the 13^th pick. In 1987 Atlanta used that pick to take Oregon quarterback Chris Miller, who in a nine-year career had one Pro Bowl selection.

If the Browns draft a quarterback at 13 this year, they should double down and give him number 13.

Hey, it worked for Frank Ryan.