Quarterback Bernie Kosar?
Oh, yes!! He was the GOAT in this regard.
Fullback Kevin Mack?
Certainly! Nev Chandler called him “The Mack Truck,” and he was, for when he ran into Greg Lloyd, he knocked the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker out cold.
Linebacker Mike Johnson?
Yup! A tackling machine.
Returner/wide receiver Gerald “Ice Cube” McNeil?
Of course! At just 125 pounds, he was, pound for pound, the greatest player in Browns history.
These are the members of the Mount Rushmore of Browns players selected in the NFL Supplenental Draft, the method by which it appears quarterback Btendan Sorsby will try to make it into the league.
But there’s another player worthy — in fact, very, very worthy — of mention when it comes to Browns picks in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
It’s Josh Gordon, a Baylor product who was selected in the second round in 2012.
The Browns have had a number of great wide receivers through the years, including three who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Dante Lavelli, the favorite target of Otto Graham, Mac Speedie, who had better stats than Lavelli for the seven years they played together, and Paul Warfield, as smooth, graceful and reliable as any pass-catcher in NFL history, and another who should also be enshrined in Canton in Gary Collins, the hero of in 1964 NFL Championship Game shutout of the Baltimore Colts after catching three touchdown passes from the other hero, quarterback Frank Ryan.
But if Gordon could have stayed away from the drug problems that shortened and completely ruined his career, reducing it to practically nothing in relative terms, then it is my opinion — there is no question in my mind, really — that he would have broken every Browns receiving record and would also be in the HOF.
He was a Superman of sorts, being, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, bigger, stronger and faster than anyone who was converinh him, and also any receiver in Browns history. And he had great hands — I can’t remember him dropping a pass —
and deceptively good moves for a big man, adding run-after-catch to his lengthy repertoire of assets.
In 2012, his first season with the Browns, he caught 50 passes , good for 805 yards, a 16.1 yards-per-catch average and five touchdowns, the last three numbers all team highs, including a 71-yarder for a score, the longest reception by a Brown all year.
It offered hope for a team and an offense that desperately needed it. But no one — absolutely no one, not even the most ardent of Browns fans in their wildest of dreams — could envision what Gordon would do in 2013.
Despite playing in only 14 of the 16 games, and despite the fact he had the likes of Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer throwing to him, he had the greatest season ever for a Browns receiver — and it wasn’t even close. He topped the club with 87 receptions for a league-leading 1,646 yards (18.9) and a club-best nine scores, one on
a 95-yarder. His yards were 729 better than the next-highest total on the Browns. He had 261 yards receiving against the Jacksonville Jaguars and 14 catches for 237 yards against Pittsburgh. The Steelers had no idea how to cover him.
Buy like a shooting star, as quickly as Gordon first appeared, he disappeared over the horizon just as quickly. As it turned out, the only thing that could stop him was his addiction to drugs. He stayed with the Browns through 2017 — officially, anyway — but he didn’t play much more, let alone have anything close to the season he had in 2013
It was a disappointing, heartbreaking situation for everybody involved — a “what if?” of tremendous proportions.
Steve King
