The Best 7th-Round Draft Pick in Cleveland Browns History

The Cleveland Browns have made some notable blunders in the first round of several NFL Drafts over the years. With 20/20 hindsight, some of those players may have been better off taken in the seventh round; the NFL adopted a seven-round draft beginning in 1994, and since then the Browns have taken 26 players in the final round.

Hall of Famers Gene Hickerson and Bobby Mitchell were taken by the the Browns in the seventh round, but that was decades ago when teams were drafting for as many as 30th rounds. Our goal today is to find the best player taken by the Browns in the final round during the modern draft era that began in 1994. The choice was not easy, but defensive end Armonty Bryant stands out as the best seventh-round pick by the Browns in this era.

Bryant was the No. 217 overall pick in 2013 out of Division II East Central University in Oklahoma. His career was controversial right away, as he dealt with a DUI charge weeks after being drafted, but the team stuck with him. He ending up spending three seasons in Cleveland, where he recorded 11.5 sacks in 31 games. He was eventually released in 2016 after facing more legal trouble.

He did not face much competition when it comes to seventh-round picks since 1994. Diehard Browns fans will remember the names of Syndric Steptoe, Eric Haag, and Scooby Wright, to name a few. Bryant's career was not long, but he still put up enough production to warrant the use of a pick that is often a straight-up throwaway for most teams.