Great Moments in Cleveland Browns Draft Day History -"Black Saturday"


One Cleveland Browns fan’s mental preparation for the team's next huge embarrassing draft day failure



This is the big kahuna folks, "Black Saturday" as we call it around here, the infamous draft day disaster that the Cleveland Browns franchise is still recovering from today. Probably the best and deepest draft in the last 25 years. The 1999 NFL Draft.



April 24, 1999. As you could probably imagine, this was one of the most anticipated draft days in Cleveland Browns history. The team was returning to the NFL after the franchise was moved to Baltimore in 1995. Everyone knows that the Browns had the #1 overall pick, but people often forget that they also had the first pick in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

We were wide-eyed college students hundreds of miles away from the fair city of Cleveland where we grew up, but even in our dorm rooms, the electricity was palpable. We didn't sleep very much the night before, and as we stumbled out of bed, the day had a "Christmas morning" sort of feel to it.



If you are any sort of football fan, you probably know who the Browns took with that first overall pick

But the bigger story is who they passed up.

Now, in the interest of space, we will only mention the players that they passed on that actually went to the pro bowl. Because if we start mentioning impact guys who haven't been to the pro bowl like Dre Bly, Kevin Faulk, and Brandon Stokley, then we'll be here all day.

1st Round
#1 Browns - QB Tim Couch (0 pro bowls)
#2 Eagles - QB Donovan McNabb (5 pro bowls)
#4 Colts - RB Edgerrin James (4 pro bowls)
#5 Saints - RB Ricky Williams (1 pro bowl, but we can't blame the Browns for passing on him)
#6 Rams - WR Torry Holt (5 pro bowls)
#7 Redskins - CB Champ Bailey (7 pro bowls)
#10 Ravens - CB Chris McAlister (3 pro bowls)
#11 Vikings - QB Daunte Culppeper (3 pro bowls)
#16 Titans - DE Jevon Kearse (3 pro bowls)
#31 Broncos - LB Al Wilson (5 pro bowls)

If you are keeping track, that is 9 future pro bowlers (36 pro bowls total) drafted in the 1st round and the Browns passed on all of them. Lets take a look at the later rounds shall we?


#32 Browns - WR Kevin Johnson (0 pro bowls)

(quick aside - this is twice as frustrating for Cleveland fans because the name "Kevin Johnson" reminds us of the basketball player by the same name that the Cavs drafted in 1987 and then traded. He went on to become a star in Phoenix.)

#62 Browns - CB Daylon McCutcheon (0 pro bowls)
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#73 Steelers - LB Joey Porter (3 pro bowls)



So there you have it. Black Saturday. One of the best drafts in recent memory, and the Browns do not have a single player from this draft on their roster today.

And because this is also the T&A post, we would like to introduce you to native Ohioan, former Playboy Playmate of the year, and former "Price is Right" Barker's Beauty Heather Kozar.

Or as she is known today, Mrs. Tim Couch. She is clearly not attracted to him for his fame or his football talent.

(Obviously there are also plenty of NSFW pictures of Heather...if you're into that sort of thing)