Looking back at the 2001Browns draft

`

The third of my complete, pick-by-pick breakdown of each of the Browns NFL Draft classes since 1999:

So, it's 2001 and change is the name of the game. Miami Hurricanes coach Butch Davis was hired as the team's coach, replacing Chris Palmer, who was fired after two terrible seasons that saw the Browns finish 2-14 and 3-13. Davis, a former Cowboys assistant during the Troy Aikman-Emmitt Smith-Michael Irvin Super Bowl years, had significant success at Miami and was known as a top-notch recruiter. The rosters that Davis accumulated at Miami were incredible from a talent standpoint. Some of the names he recruited at The U: Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow II, Frank Gore, Antrell Rolle and on and on and on.
As far as the Browns front office, Dwight Clark was still the GM at this point and Carmen Policy continued as the team president. Davis brought in Pete Garcia to help run the team's personnel department.
So, could it get any worse for the Browns than it was in 1999 and 2000? Would the drafts actually become anything more than a punch line? Fans would soon find out.

Here's a look at each of the eight players the Browns picked in the 2001 NFL Draft:

Principles who were choosing these players: Butch Davis (head coach), Dwight Clark (general manager), Carmen Policy (team president), Pete Garcia (personnel official)

Round 1 (3rd overall): Gerrard Warren | Defensive tackle | Florida

Background: At 6-foot-4 and 330 lbs, Gerard Warren was one of the top run-stuffing interior defensive lineman in the NCAA while at Florida. An all-SEC pick in 2000, Warren was a lock to be a top-10 pick in the draft. As I said, he was a run-stuffer with explosive potential, and this Browns front office must have had dreams at night of a defensive line with Warren on the inside and Courtney Brown on the outside. If you've ever read the book False Start by Terry Pluto, you know how this went down. If not, here's a quick summary: the previous regime (Chris Palmer) was in love in TCU running back LaDanian Tomlinson and had their sights on choosing him. Well, when Butch Davis took over, apparently he had three players on his board: Michigan WR David Terrell, Georgia DE Richard Seymour and Warren. Apparently, Davis didn't think much of Tomlinson. According to Pluto, in the days leading up to the draft, Davis, Clark and Garcia decided that if Seymour was on the board at No. 3, the Browns would take him. But at the last minute, on draft day, Davis had a change of heart and went with Warren. Pluto hypothesizes that Davis lost out on Warren at Miami and didn't want to lose him again. Warren, who nicknamed himself "Big Money" at Florida, had questions surrounding him about his work ethic, but the talent was there and that's what sold the Browns (specifically Davis).

They could have had...: Where to begin? How about the obvious two: Tomlinson and Seymour. The Chargers took Tomlinson at No. 5 overall and Seymour went to New England at No. 6. Both were perennial Pro Bowlers and Tomlinson will be a Hall of Famer. If the Browns wanted an interior defensive lineman, Casey Hampton out of Texas went to the Steelers at No. 19 overall. The fact that the Browns were so bare at running back and passed on Tomlinson was a huge, massive mistake. How about offensive guard Steve Hutchinson, who went at No. 17 to the Seahawks? This was a loaded draft.

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: The afore-mentioned David Terrell, receiver out of Michigan. The Browns had holes everywhere, needed playmakers and taking Terrell would not have been out of the question at all. He was a phenom at Michigan but he had character issues and though he was blazingly fast, his hands weren't the best. The Bears took Terrell at No. 8 overall and he went on to be a massive bust. Plus, as we saw with Braylon Edwards, many Cleveland fans refuse to accept a Michigan player, no matter how talented. 

End result: With Warren and Courtney Brown, the Browns found themselves with the most expensive unspectacular defensive line in the NFL for years. As for Warren, he played four seasons in Cleveland, playing in 60 games (59 starts). He totaled 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. Just to compare, in Richard Seymour's first four years in New England, he totaled 21.5 sacks, 118 tackles, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Pretty similar. Seymour got more sacks, partly because he was an edge rusher and Warren was an interior lineman. But, Seymour maintained success for another four years while Warren's career went down the tube after his first four. Warren was traded to the Broncos for a fourth-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Stats-wise, Warren's four years in Cleveland weren't terrible. His best year was his third, 2003, when he recorded 5.5 sacks and recovered two fumbles ... a weak "career" year. Oh yea, he did have one gun arrest after a win in Baltimore in 2001. He was a physical freak and at times during games, he would completely dominate the opposing offensive line. But he also would disappear for chunks of time during games more often than not, which is why the Browns gave up on him after four years. Also a bad locker room guy, which didn't help his cause. Warren played two nondescript seasons in Denver and has spent the last three seasons in Oakland. I am surprised he is still in the league. He does have 32 career sacks.

Grading the pick: D. At the time, these were the starting running backs in the AFC Central (yes, it was the Central back then): Corey Dillon (Bengals), Jerome Bettis (Steelers), Terry Allen (Ravens), Eddie George (Titans), Stacey Mack (Jaguars). Dillon, Bettis and George were All-Pro running backs and Davis and the Browns wanted to draft a beast of a run-stopper to deal with these guys. That is a solid strategy in football and I don't blame the Browns for wanting to work with this strategy. Problem is, the Browns took the wrong guy. Davis, Clark and Garcia should have stuck with their original plan and taken Seymour, who had zero character issues and was just as explosive as Warren. Obviously passing Tomlinson was a blunder. It's easy to make excuses for Tim Couch (no weapons or protection) and Courtney Brown (injures). But it's almost impossible to make excuses for Warren. Simply put, he was a disappointment and a sign of things to come for the Butch Davis regime.

Round 2 (33rd overall): Quincy Morgan | Receiver | Kansas State

Background: Quincy Morgan played two seasons at Kansas State after beginning his career at a JUCO. His senior season at KSU, he caught 64 balls for 1,166 yards (18 yards per catch) and 14 TDs. He finished with over 2,000 receiving yards. At 6-foot-1, he had decent size and he was reasonably fast. The Browns' leading receiver in 2000 was Kevin Johnson, who had 57 catches for 669 yards and zero touchdowns. Tim Couch needed more weapons and Morgan fit that bill. 

They could have had...: If Davis wanted a receiver, he could have had Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) out of Oregon State, who was picked by the Bengals three picks later at No. 36 overall. Later in the second round, Cleveland native Chris Chambers (Wisconsin) was picked 52 overall by Miami. In the third round, Steve Smith (Utah) went No. 74 overall to Carolina. If the Browns wanted to go offensive line here, tackle Matt Light went to the Patriots at No. 48 overall, fifteen picks after Morgan. Also, interestingly enough, the Lions selected DT Shaun Rogers at No. 61 overall, the second to last pick in the second round.

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: Running back Anthony Thomas out of Michigan, who was selected by Chicago at No. 38 overall. "A-Train" was a complete bust with the Bears and would have been an even bigger bust with the Browns, considering their porous offensive line.

End result: Morgan played three full seasons and Cleveland and was traded mid-season in 2004 to the Cowboys for WR Antonio Bryant. Head case receiver for head case receiver, I guess. In 54 games (45 starts) with the Browns, Morgan totaled 133 catches for 2,056 yards (15.5 ypc) and 15 TDs. His best season was 2002 without question, when he finished with 56 catches for 964 yards and 7 TDs. His 17.2 ypc led the NFL. Pretty good. He played the second half of the 2004 season in Dallas, did nothing, spent the next season in Pittsburgh and the following in Denver. He had two total TDs in his final two and a half years and was out of football after the 2006 season. 

Grading the pick: C-. As I said, the Browns needed weapons for Couch, so taking a receiver with big-play potential was the correct move (if ignoring the offensive line is OK, which it's not). As was the case with the Warren pick, the Browns had the right idea but picked the wrong player. This pick also shows that Butch Davis had no clue how to judge NFL talent, and the picks would only get worse. He valued team speed over everything else, because that worked at Miami. Morgan did have that one pretty good season in 2002, but good NFL organizations get more out of their second-round draft picks than one good season. That is a fact.

Round 3 (65th overall): James Jackson | Running back | Miami

Background: Butch takes his first Miami player!! But it's not Portis, Gore or McGahee. Nope. Cleveland gets ... James Jackson. If you are scratching your head now, imagine what people were doing in 2001. Jackson took over the starting RB job at Miami after Edgerrin James went pro in 2000. In that 2000 season, Jackson had 201 carries for 1,006 yards and 11 TDs with two receiving TDs. Not terrible stats on a good Miami team. Portis got 50 carries that season and he took over the Miami RB job in 2001. Some trivia for you there. Anyway, Davis knew Jackson better than anyone else, having recruiting and coached him. The Browns did need a running back, as Eric Rhett and Travis Prentice weren't going to cut it. 

They could have had...: Aside from Tomlinson and Deuce McAllister, both taken in the first round, this was a weak draft for running backs overall. Travis Henry (No. 58 overall) and Rudi Johnson (No. 100 overall) were the only running backs taken after Jackson that ended up being good NFL players. So this wasn't a horrible RB pick. As far as other positions of needs they passed, if they wanted to go offensive line, the Browns could have had offensive tackle Mike Gandy out of Notre Dame, who went to the Bears at No. 68 overall in that third round. WR Steve Smith was still on the board at this point as well.

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: Snoop Minnis, WR out of Florida State, who was picked by the Chiefs 12 picks after the Browns selected Jackson. The Browns already took a receiver in Quincy Morgan, and seriously, a player named Snoop was never going to amount to much. Let's be honest here. 

End result: Jackson played four and a half seasons in Cleveland, playing in 43 games (16 starts). He totaled 1,071 rushing yards on 321 carries (3.3 ypc) for five TDs and had 30 receptions for 201 yards. He started 10 games as a rookie in 2001 (Jamel White was also getting carries that season) and 554 yards on 195 carries for a 2.8 yards per carry average. He also scored two TDs. Those are poor numbers, but part of that is the fault of the terrible offensive line. Jackson was backup in 2002 and 2003 and four games into the 2004 season, was traded to the Packers. He played with Arizona in 2005 and was out of football following that season. A short, unproductive career for a third-round pick out of one of the best college programs in the nation. 

Grading the pick: C-. I don't have a problem with selecting a running back here. Yes, the Browns passed on LaDanian Tomlinson in the first round. But with that being said, Jackson was basically the best option left in the third round. Any RB the Browns were going to take at this point was going to have a hard time running behind this OL. Don't forget that. That begs the argument that an offensive lineman should have been the pick in this round. Talk about sounding like a broken record. Also, this began the puzzling pattern of Davis selecting Miami players, as often he passed on the top guys (see Clinton Portis in the 2002 draft) when it seemed like an obvious choice to draft one. 

Round 4 (97th overall): Anthony Henry | Cornerback | South Florida

Background: Henry was a three-year starter at South Florida and led the team in INTS in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. At 6-1/205, he had good size for a cornerback. Going into the season, Corey Fuller and Daylon McCutcheon were the Browns starters at cornerback, and not much talent was behind them on the depth chart. Secondary was a position of need this is another instance of Davis drafting a guy he recruited, but Henry chose to attend South Florida over Miami, most likely because he knew he'd get playing time. 

They could have had...: Henry was the second selection of the fourth round. Offensive guard Roberto Garza was taken two picks later by the Falcons, and ended up being a solid NFL pro. Another guard who turned out to be a good NFL player, Ben Hamilton, was taken later in the round by the Broncos. Defensively, linebacker Monty Beisel was selected 107th overall by Kansas City (although LB wasn't that big of a position of need for the Browns). 

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: QB Chris Weinke out of Florida State. The 28-year-old was the Heisman Trophy winner that season but turned out to be a bust in the NFL. Imagine that, a Heisman winner being a bust. The Browns had Couch, so it's not like Weinke was on their board. But, this is the Browns we are talking about and you never know. Just be glad Carolina bit on Weinke. Also, luckily the Browns made Henry the first DB chosen in the fourth round. The next DB selected was Jamie Henderson out of Georgia, selected by the Jets four picks after Henry. Henderson turned out to be less than half the player Henry did.

End result: Henry played four seasons in Cleveland, appearing in 61 games (39 starts). He totaled 17 INTs (one returned for a TD), three forced fumbles and 203 tackles. As a rookie in 2001, he was the team's nickel back (third CB) and actually led the NFL in INTs with 10, which was remarkable (though he didn't win Defensive Rookie of the Year; LB Kendrell Bell of the Steelers did). Henry started 10, 13 and 14 games respectively the next three seasons in Cleveland but never duplicated the success of that rookie season. He did have four INTs in 2004. At times, he struggled in man-to-man coverage and was most effective as that nickel back where he could avoid matching up with the opposition's No. 1 or No. 2 receiver. After that 2004 season, Henry left the Browns as a free agent and signed a pretty big contract with Dallas, where he played from 2005 to 2008, most of that time as a starter. He was traded to the Lions before the 2009 season for backup QB Jon Kitna. Henry has 31 career INTs in 129 games. Not too shabby.

Grading the pick: A-. Aside from selecting Kevin Johnson in the second round in 1999, this was the Browns' best draft pick since returning to the NFL, up to this point. Henry was a legit steal in the fourth round. The Browns getting a "steal" in the draft has been a rare occurrence in the last 10 years. Davis knew Henry's talent and the fact that he led the NFL in INTs as a rookie nickel back is proof of that talent. As I said, Henry never duplicated that success again, but he is still in the league. Not many, if any at all, of the Browns' draft picks from 1999 through 2002 are still playing. So that speaks for itself.  

Round 5 (134th overall): Jeremiah Pharms | Linebacker | Washington

Background: The Browns went from making their best draft pick since returning in 1999 (Anthony Henry), to this. You want background on Pharms? Here's his football info: A three-year starter at linebacker for Washington, he put up good tackling stats and had good measurables. OK, now that that's out of the way, here's the rest: In 1999, Pharms was arrested for beating his wife after an argument over a girlfriend he had. In 2000, Pharms was involved in a shooting of a Seattle drug dealer, and his bloody fingerprint and DNA were found at the scene of the murder. Also, the getaway car belonged to one of Pharms' girlfriends. At the time of the NFL Draft, the investigation was still ongoing, hence why a talent like Pharms was available in the fifth round. Also in 2000, Pharms, apparently the inspiration for Michael Vick eight years later, was found keeping abused pitbulls in his home. Another red flag. With all of this lingering, the Browns drafted Pharms, and right after the draft in May, Pharms was formally charged with the shooting of that drug dealer. Needless to say, he was cut before ever stepping on the field, and Butch Davis was quoted as saying he was "shocked' with the developments regarding Pharms going away for murder. Apparently, Butch didn't realize that if someone's bloody fingerprint and DNA are found at the murder scene, that pretty much means you were guilty. Maybe Butch doesn't know what fingerprints and DNA are?

They could have had...: Anyone who didn't commit a murder prior to the NFL Draft. 

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: Not applicable here. This was the worst pick possible. 

End result: As I said, Pharms was cut when he was formally charged with the crime. He went to prison, got out, played in the Arena League and in 2008 went back to prison because of gun possession charges. Talk about a bad apple. 

Grading the pick: F-. You can argue this was the worst pick, ever, in the NFL Draft. Why? This guy was drafted with a murder rap hanging over his head. Let that sink in for a minute. Even if he was found innocent, do you want a guy with a checkered past like that anywhere near your team? Apparently, Butch Davis didn't mind. This is a huge, glaring example of why Butch Davis fell flat on his face in the NFL. For picks like this. The whole Browns' front office is to blame. Seriously, how does your owner (Al Lerner), president (Carmen Policy) and GM (Dwight Clark) sign off on a stupid move like this? How were they planning on selling this to the fans? Clueless, clueless, clueless. Reason No. 676 why this group of men was not capable of running an NFL team. For the record, let's call this officially the worst pick the Browns have made in the NFL Draft since 1999. No doubt, without question, 100 percent. 

Round 6 (165th overall): Michael Jameson | Defensive back | Texas AM

Background: Played safety at Texas AM but was projected to a cornerback in the NFL due to his size (5-11/190s). Led the Aggies in INTs in 1999 and 2000. 

They could have had...: The sixth round of this draft was weak. Nobody notable here.

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: Another nightmare like Jeremiah Phamrs. 

End result: Jameson played three seasons with the Browns, appearing in 42 games (one start), mostly on special teams. He was never active for a game in the 2001 season. For his career, he totaled one INT and 17 tackles in four seasons. Jameson was cut after the 2004 season and was out of the NFL for good.

Grading the pick: D. The Browns got a decent special teams player for three seasons in the sixth round. That's not horrible (remember, we are talking about the Browns here). Could have been better. Could have been worse (see Jeremiah Pharms).

Round 7 (203rd overall): Paul Zukauskas | Offensive guard | Boston College

Background: Finally!!! An offensive lineman. Too bad it's the seventh round, the third year in a row that the Browns basically ignored the OL, one of the many reasons for their lack of success since 1999. With that being said, this was the Browns second-best pick in this draft, behind Anthony Henry. Zukauskas was listed at 6-5/320, a good size for a guard. At Boston College, he was a three-year starter and an All-Big East player. Good college credentials. 

They could have had...: I liked this pick and find no fault in it. But for conversation's sake, the next pick in the seventh round (No. 204 overall) was a receiver out of Oregon State by the name of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was selected by the Bengals. Now that's good talent evaluation, folks. 

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: Every other player in the round. Seriously this was the best pick the Browns could have made at this point.

End result: Zoukaskas played for the Browns for four seasons and appeared in 43 games (18 starts). He was released after the 2004 season and never played again in the league. Zoukaskas was player that provided offensive line depth and did a good job of doing that.

Grading the pick: B+. If you are going to take a roster-filler in the seventh round, might as well take an offensive lineman. Good drafting here by the Browns, even though they only four seasons out of Zoukaskas.

Round 7 (245th overall): Andre King | Receiver | Miami

Background: With the second-to-last overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, Butch David turns to someone he knows: another Hurricane in Andre King. A 5-11/195 speed guy, King caught just 11 balls for 151 yards and TD his senior year at Miami in 2000. He was also a kick returner, a role he would keep with the Browns. 

They could have had...: 

Antonio Pierce, who played middle linebacker for the Giants for the last five years (he was cut Thursday), went undrafted. So, technically the Browns passed on him. So did 30 other teams.

Thankfully they passed on this guy in that round: 

The only pick that came after King in this draft was TE Tevita Ofahengaue out of BYU. I guess King was the better pick?

End result: King played four seasons with the Browns, totaling 30 catches for 327 yards and zero TDs. He returned 36 career kicks with a 19-yard average. He was cut after the 2004 season and never played again (the theme of this Browns' draft class, it seems).

Grading the pick: C. King was a good athlete (played minor league baseball) and stuck around for four years, serving as a No. 4-5 wideout and kick returner. Not bad for the second-to-last pick in this draft. 

Final analysis

Best pick: Anthony Henry. No contest.

Worst pick: Jeremiah Pharms. No contest. 

Biggest blunder: Even considering drafting a player who was in the middle of a murder investigation. That's a blunder. Actually drafting that player, in the FIFTH round no less, qualifies as a catastrophe.
* These are the players selected in this draft who were from the 2000 Miami Hurricanes roster, the last Miami team Butch Davis coached before he came to the Browns. Keep in mind, Butch recruited all of these guys and knew them better than anyone in the NFL: Dan Morgan, Damione Lewis, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, James Jackson, Leonard Myers and Andre King. Some pretty good players there, right? Well, the Browns end up with the worst of the bunch: Jackson and Davis. As I mentioned before, this is a trend that would continue in Davis' subsequent drafts, most notably in 2002 when he passed over Miami RB Clinton Portis in favor of Boston College RB William Green. I am not sure if this qualifies as a "blunder". Maybe it's more of an interesting footnote. 

Final grade: D+. Butch Davis tried to build the Browns around team speed and to do this, tried to select the best athletes he could (see Quincy Morgan, Andre King). It worked in college, but speed is not the magic potion for success in the NFL and it didn't work, and after three years of Butch Davis the Browns underwent another massive rebuilding.
* This draft netted one playmaker, Anthony Henry, and that was basically just one season (2001). Gerard Warren was a disappointment, and the Browns really dropped the ball with that pick, considering who they could have had. Quincy Morgan was a waste of a second-round pick and James Jackson was never a starting-caliber RB in the NFL. The rest of this draft class were all wastes, aside from one decent pick (Zoukasaks). The whole Jeremiah Pharms debacle is a major black eye on this Browns front office. A major one. Somehow, Davis took this 2001 Browns team to a 7-9 record. Just think how much better that 7-9 could have been had he actually had a good draft.

In case you want more info, here's the link to the Pro Football Reference.com page on the 2001 Browns draft class.