Julio Jones vs. The 5 Players that the Browns Drafted Instead
In 2011, the Atlanta Falcons traded the 27th pick, a second, and a fourth-round pick for the same draft in addition to a first and fourth-rounder the following year to the Cleveland Browns in order to move into the number 6 spot.
Fun Fact: Julio's real name is Quintorris "Julio" Lopez Jones.
With that pick the Falcons selected all-universe wide receiver Julio Jones. So far, all Jones has done in his 72 game NFL career (He missed 11 games in 2013) is catch 454 passes for 7,031 yards and 38 touchdowns.
I want you to take a minute and think about who the Cleveland Browns selected with any of those picks.
Odds are you got two, at the most, maybe one of these names correct. We will look at them in order of when they were picked.
1. Defensive Tackle Phil Taylor, Baylor, 21st overall, 2011:
Taylor was also selected to the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team of 2011.
After a solid rookie season, Taylor's production declined and was on-field success was prohibited by injury. In total, he played 44 games in a Browns uniform and was released on September 1, 2015 and is currently a free agent.
2. Wide Receiver Greg Little, UNC, 59th overall, 2011:
Little also played one year of basketball on North Carolina's Final Four team in 2007-2008.
Little actually had more catches (61) than Jones (54) in their rookie seasons and in 2013 both had 41 catches, but Little played 11 more games. Little never amassed more than his career high 709 yards as a rookie. He was released by the Buffalo Bills in August 2016.
3. Running Back Owen Marecic, Stanford, 124th overall, 2011:
Marecic also finished in 10th place for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, receiving 3 first place votes. He split time at running back and linebacker.
Marecic has 8 more yards rushing in his NFL career than I do and officially retired from professional football after the 2013 season with the 49ers.
4. QB Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State, 22nd overall, 2012:
Weeden was the oldest player ever taken in the first round, at 28 years old
Weeden is easily the most successful of these five players. After a record setting college career, he was gone on to have a below average NFL career and was released by the Browns after two seasons. He is currently a backup for the Houston Texans.
5. RB Trent Richardson, Alabama, 3rd overall, 2012 (Cleveland used the fourth-round pick from Atlanta to move up one spot and select Richardson):
At Alabama, Richardson was recognized as an All-American, and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams.
After being considered the top running back prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft, Richardson was considered by some as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson. He had a good rookie season with 950 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. However, things got much worse as he seemingly forgot how to play football in the coming seasons. Here is Trent Richardson's NFL career summed up in 14 seconds:
In September 2013, the Browns traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round pick in the 2014 draft. With that pick, the Browns selected none other than the most exciting football player ever,...
John P. Football
LOL
Since the trade, the Browns have gone 23-64, including an 0-7 start to the 2016 season and have zero of these players on their roster, with only one even still in the league. The Atlanta Falcons indirectly played a large role in ruining the Cleveland Browns. I think it is safe to say that the Falcons made a great move on this one. As for Cleveland, well at least you have LeBron.
