The 2013 NFL Draft haunts the league.

[Direckshun]

What a great year to have had the #1 overall.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/inde...3_nfl_dra.html

Lost Boys: How NFL Draft 2013 continues to haunt Cleveland Browns and other franchises
By Tom Reed, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on October 24, 2015 at 7:10 PM, updated October 24, 2015 at 7:19 PM

BEREA, Ohio – Barkevious Mingo made the biggest play of his Browns' career a week ago, intercepting a Peyton Manning pass that had the hang time of a Brandon Weeden backhanded flip.

It's the kind of difference-making moment the club had envisioned when they selected him No. 6 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. On that night two years ago, however, few saw the LSU edge rusher evolving into a role player who spends more time dropping into coverage than terrorizing quarterbacks.

Mingo's transformation epitomizes a draft where little went as expected for the Browns or most other teams. The 2013 class is shaping up as one of the worst in recent memory, particularly for the paucity of impact players in the first round.

The top-2 overall picks, offensive linemen Eric Fisher (Chiefs) and Luke Joeckel (Jaguars), have failed to distinguish themselves. Third pick, edge rusher Dion Jordan (Dolphins), has three career sacks, and is serving a season-long suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

On it goes.

Among the top-25 selections only Lions edge rusher Ziggy Ansah, Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, Niners safety Eric Reid and Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long have played like first rounds.

Arguably, the best player was taken No. 48 overall. Naturally, he's a Steeler, running back LeVeon Bell.

"It's one of the weakest (drafts) we've seen in the last 10 years," CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler said. "It wasn't a good quarterback class, the top-3 (picks) have not lived up to their potential. Ziggy is the only one in the top-10 really playing well. There just hasn't been much to get excited about."

Don't the Browns know it.

Two years later, the club's roster includes just two players they either selected or plucked from a pool of undrafted free agents. It's Mingo and seventh-round defensive lineman Armonty Bryant. That's it. (The Browns grabbed reserve safety Jordan Poyer off waivers midway through the 2013 season.)

Taken without context, it ranks among the worst talent hauls in franchise history, one which echoes with commissioners calling out the names of Mike Junkin, "Touchdown" Tommy Vardell, Gerard Warren and Justin Gilbert.

Even providing context and knowing how the Browns traded down several times to stockpile future picks, it roils with frustration. Suspect judgment, bad luck and squandered assets from the 2013 draft continue to haunt the franchise.

The men leading the rebuilding effort, CEO Joe Banner and general manager Michael Lombardi, lost their jobs after one season.

"The Browns had a nice plan," NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks said. "They traded for futures and got off the Trent Richardson train early. But the people in charge didn't get to execute the plan. Things just didn't work out."

No clear-cut choices

There's no denying Mingo remains a disappointment given his draft status. He's recorded seven sacks in 36 games, appeared overmatched against the run and recently earned just four snaps in a win over the Ravens.

While the Browns list the 6-foot-4 outside linebacker at 240 pounds, he plays much lighter and more like a hybrid safety.

But in defense of Mingo and the men who drafted him, who should the Browns have taken at No. 6 overall? In some years, the answers to such questions are easy:

--- LaDainian Tomlinson instead Warren in 2001.

--- Haloti Ngata instead of Kamerion Wimbley in 2006.

--- Julio Jones instead of Phil Taylor in 2011.

--- Khalil Mack and Derek Carr instead of Gilbert and Johnny Manziel in 2014.

The 2013 draft was a difficult one to handicap for many teams. The Browns wisely didn't bite on the top quarterback prospects, E.J. Manuel and Geno Smith. Richardson enjoyed a respectable rookie season and any running back selected at No. 6 would have been considered a spectacular reach.

The top receiver chosen, Tavon Austin, has developed into a special-teams standout and a jet-sweep weapon on offense. But was he worth the No. 8 overall pick?

"It's a challenge for us to try to get the ball in his hands as it is all good players that are not primary running backs," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said in a conference call this week. "I think we struggled at times over the first couple of years. We're getting him more touches and more opportunities, and that's important to us."

Brugler and Brooks agree the first round of the 2013 draft lacked star power and can't-miss prospects.

"We didn't think it was loaded with NFL talent and it started at the very top," Brugler said. "There was no clear-cut top pick. It wasn't a good year to be picking No. 1 or really in the top-10."

Mingo represented one of many tough projections. He never registered more than 8.5 sacks in his three college seasons. His athleticism was evident, but many had questions about his strength and lean frame.

The Browns added Paul Kruger and Desmond Byrant in free agency a month earlier and wanted another edge rusher to affect opposing quarterbacks in what rapidly was becoming a passing league.

Neither Brooks nor Brugler panned the pick at the time. Brooks, however, noted Mingo's unwillingness to perform the bench press at the NFL combine or pro day raised a red flag.

"He lit up the 'Olympic' portion of the drills," Brooks recalled. "He was athletic and explosive, but I had concerns about his physical stature. He lacked functional strength and you wondered how he would work his way out of jams when (offensive linemen) got into his body.

"He was like a lot of those pass rushers in that draft. He didn't have great college production and he wasn't a dominant pass rusher."

Drafting Mingo so high in 2013 probably impacted the Browns' decision not to take Mack at No. 4 a year later. They dipped back into the pass rusher pool this May, selecting Nate Orchard in the second round.

Mingo has three sacks in his past 29 games and his future with the club appears unclear.

"I was on board with the pick, but he hasn't been used as a pass rusher and he's had injury issues," Brugler said.

Wheeling and dealing

The Browns had forfeited their second-round pick after taking receiver Josh Gordon in the 2012 supplemental draft.

They wanted LSU defensive tackle Benny Logan at No. 67 overall in the third round. Team officials told Logan's agent they intended to select him moments before the Eagles grabbed the lineman, who's developed into a solid starter.

The Browns settled for San Diego State corner Leon McFadden. If McFadden had developed into a dependable starter opposite Joe Haden the Browns never would have taken Gilbert at No. 8 the following year. Instead, the rookie corner faltered and was released the next season.

The team's fortunes grew more star-crossed as the draft unfurled.

The Browns moved two middle-round picks for receiver Davone Bess, whose off-field meltdown didn't allow him to finish the 2013 season. They shrewdly began accumulating middle-round picks for 2014 with a pair of trades before rounding out their selections with injured Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter (sixth round), Bryant (seventh round) and small-school offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey.

"They knew it wasn't a very talented draft and it was a smart strategy to look toward 2014," Brugler said. "Getting a first-rounder later that year for Trent Richardson really set them up for the next draft."

Banner and Lombardi didn't oversee it, however, as they were fired in the chaotic weeks following the 2013 season. Enter first-time general manager Ray Farmer, who used two picks acquired a year earlier to select Manziel at No. 22 overall in 2014.

The quarterback's well-documented struggles on and off the field make for a maddening postscript to the 2013 draft.

While it's no consolation, the Browns were one of many teams with little to show for its scouting efforts. Three seasons is often enough time to assess a class although surging Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert (No. 21 overall) reminds us all players develop at their own pace.

But the 2013 draft appears destined to rank among the worst over the past 25 years, taking its place alongside the 1992, 2002, 2009 and 1999 editions.

"When you are drafting in the top-10, you're hoping for a Pro Bowl player," Brugler said. "Sometimes, the talent isn't always there. Look how fortunate the Colts have been in drafting quarterbacks with Manning and Andrew Luck. They were bad in the right years.

"If the Browns had come back a year earlier (in 1998), they would have had Peyton Manning."

Or, Ryan Leaf.

[Direckshun]

The Chiefs' draft:

1. OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan -- decent LT
3. TE Travis Kelce, Cincinnati -- All Pro caliber TE
3. RB Knile Davis, Arkansas -- bust
4. ILB Nico Johnson, Alabama -- solid rotational LB for the Bengals
5. S Sanders Commings, Georgia -- has yet to be healthy
6. C Eric Kush, Pennsylvania (CA) -- solid backup C, just signed a contract with the Texans
6. FB Braden Wilson, Kansas State -- cut immediately after team traded for Sherman
7. DE Mike Catapano, Princeton -- solid prospect that never broke through in KC, is with the Jets

Not exactly a draft that wins Super Bowls.

[BryanBusby]

Hey welcome back dude

[DaKCMan AP]

Really thought Nico would pan out for us.

[Discuss Thrower]

2013 hollowed the **** out of roster depth. 2014 didn't help much either.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Really thought Nico would pan out for us.

We didn't give him enough time, really.

At least we landed, it seems, on Wilson.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

We didn't give him enough time, really.

At least we landed, it seems, on Wilson.

How much of that is scheme, though?

And in any case, he's depth for the Bengals and only saw lots of playing time last year due to injury. Granted, the Bengals are a VERY deep group of LBs, but it's doubtful he'd really be what we wanted him to be if he were starting at ILB.

[milkman]

I personally detested the selection of Eric Fisher, but when it's all said and done, I think he will have had a good career.

I doubt that he'll ever play to a level that you would hope for with the overall number 1 pick, but there isn't a single player in that draft that would/will play to that level.

Weak draft, but we might end up with two of the best players in that draft.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

The Chiefs' draft:

1. OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan -- decent LT
3. TE Travis Kelce, Cincinnati -- All Pro caliber TE
3. RB Knile Davis, Arkansas -- bust
4. ILB Nico Johnson, Alabama -- solid rotational LB for the Bengals
5. S Sanders Commings, Georgia -- has yet to be healthy
6. C Eric Kush, Pennsylvania (CA) -- solid backup C, just signed a contract with the Texans
6. FB Braden Wilson, Kansas State -- cut immediately after team traded for Sherman
7. DE Mike Catapano, Princeton -- solid prospect that never broke through in KC, is with the Jets

Not exactly a draft that wins Super Bowls.

I wouldn't call Davis a bust. He was a 3rd round pick that is now a RBbc.
Who has lofty expectations for 3rds?