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3 Browns One-Hit Wonders We Wish Hadn't Disappeared

By Max Bevington

The Cleveland Browns have a reputation as a laughing stock NFL team, and have had many one-hit wonder players, such as Peyton Hillis.
The Cleveland Browns have a reputation as a laughing stock NFL team, and have had many one-hit wonder players, such as Peyton Hillis. / Larry French/Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns have long had a reputation as the laughing stock of the NFL with winless seasons, lots of draft busts, and many bad luck moments on the field. On top of that, in typical Browns fashion, the squad has also had a lot of players who put together one glorious season and then fizzled out, right after getting Cleveland fans' hopes up.

3. Derek Anderson

Quarterback Derek Anderson looked like the future of the Browns at the quarterback position in the 2007 season, but failed to impress afterwards.
Quarterback Derek Anderson looked like the future of the Browns at the quarterback position in the 2007 season, but failed to impress afterwards. / Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Entering the 2007 NFL regular season, many of the Cleveland faithful were hoping that Brady Quinn, who had just been drafted with the Browns' first-round selection in the most recent NFL Draft, would immediately step in as the quarterback of the future. Things did not go as planned, with quarterback Derek Anderson coming in as the starter in the second game of the season. In the 15 games Anderson started, he threw for an impressive 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns. Anderson looked like he already was the talented quarterback that many thought Quinn would eventually become. Anderson's glory that he gained in 2007 was short-lived, however, and he left Cleveland two seasons later.

2. William Green

Running back William Green flashed great potential in his rookie season, but off the field troubles hindered the remainder of his career.
Running back William Green flashed great potential in his rookie season, but off the field troubles hindered the remainder of his career. / Mark Konezny/Getty Images

Running back William Green was taken as the Browns' first-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Green appeared in all 16 regular season games as a rookie and put up some very impressive numbers. In the 2002 regular season, Green rushed for 887 yards, six touchdowns, and averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Fans in Cleveland thought they had just secured their running back of the future, but personal troubles bogged down Green for the rest of his career. Before the 2003 regular season, Green was arrested on charges of drunk driving and marijuana possession. He only played three more seasons with the Browns before calling it a career.

1. Peyton Hillis

Former running back Peyton Hillis is arguably the most notable of all the Browns' one-hit wonders.
Former running back Peyton Hillis is arguably the most notable of all the Browns' one-hit wonders. / Larry French/Getty Images

Former Browns running back Peyton Hillis is perhaps the most famous of the modern team's one-hit wonders. After two unremarkable seasons with the Denver Broncos, Hillis wound up in Cleveland at the start of the 2010 regular season. In this season, Hillis put up career numbers with 1,177 rushing yards, an average of 4.4 yards per carry, and 11 rushing touchdowns. Most notably, for his performance in the 2010 season, Hillis was placed on the cover of the Madden NFL 12 video game. Of course, the burly 'back fell victim to the Madden curse, and only played one more season with the Browns.