The Browns went into the offseason in dire need of finding a big-time, down-the-field, playmaking wide receiver.

Perhaps they already have him in the person of Josh Gordon, but with the fact he was suspended by the NFL for all of last season and may never play again for the Browns or anyone else, the club would be foolish to count on him.

There is a chance they could select one early in the NFL Draft now that Ray Farmer, who didn’t believe that wideouts are important in today’s game, is no longer the team’s general manager, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

However and wherever they try to get him, the Browns can only hope they end up landing someone just half as good as was Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Dante Lavelli.

Lavelli, who played for the Browns for the first 11 seasons of their existence from 1946-56, would have turned 93 today. Born Feb. 23, 1923 in Hudson, Ohio, located halfway between Cleveland and Akron, he died Jan. 20, 2009, just a month short of his 86th birthday.

Lavelli was a three-sport star at Hudson High School, from which he graduated in 1941. He went on to Ohio State and was a starter at end as a sophomore in 1942 when he was lost for the year with an injury in the third game. The Buckeyes, who were coached by Paul Brown and had as one of their top players middle guard Bill Willis, went on to win the school’s first national championship that season. Lavelli never played another down at Ohio State as he went off to serve in the Army in World War II soon after the season.

Upon returning home after the war, Lavelli rejoined Brown, Willis and a player on Ohio State’s freshman team in 1942, Lou Groza, on the Browns as they began play in the All-America Football Conference in 1946. Over the next 10 seasons in the AAFC and then the NFL, Lavelli became a key player as the Browns played in 10 straight league championship games, winning seven titles.

Lavelli teamed with HOF quarterback Otto Graham and wide receiver Mac Speedie, a Cleveland Browns Legend, to dazzle foes with the most sophisticated passing attack the game had ever seen. It was, in fact, the forerunner of today’s West Coast and spread offenses.

The fact Lavelli played with the Browns just one year after Graham retired following the 1955 season, was no coincidence. The two were joined at the hip, indelibly linked.

Lavelli had 244 receptions in seven NFL seasons, for a total of 3,908 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Browns’ official career statistics include only those seasons played in the NFL, but if his overall numbers were recognized, then Lavelli would be second on the club in receptions (386), receiving yards (6,488) and TD catches (62).

And he did all that – in the NFL at least – in 12-game seasons.

They didn’t give Lavelli the nickname of “Gluefingers” for nothing. He caught everything in sight and made it look easy.

Plus, like all good players, he was at his best on the biggest stages. He caught the winning TD pass from Graham to win the AAFC title in 1946, had two TD receptions in the 1950 NFL Championship Game victory and grabbed a scoring pass as the Browns captured the NFL crown in 1955.