Throughout the course of history, we’ve seen some absolute shockers during the NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns have starred in several of them.
That’s why it wasn’t much of a surprise to see one of their first-round picks make Bleacher Report’s list of the 20 most shocking moments in NFL Draft history.
Matt Velazquez listed their decision to take 28-year-old Brandon Weeden in the first round back in 2012 among the most shocking:
“Weeden’s senior season (4,727 yards, 37 touchdowns) put him squarely on the radar of numerous quarterback-needy NFL teams […] At the time of the 2012 NFL draft, he would already be 28 years old after starting his college football career late after pursuing a baseball career,” Velazquez wrote. “Heading into the draft, he wasn’t in the first-round mock drafts […] And yet, the Cleveland Browns surprisingly opted to make Weeden the oldest player ever drafted in the first round by taking him with the 22nd overall pick.”
Weeden fared well in his Oklahoma State tenure.
He even took down Stanford and eventual No. 1 pick Andrew Luck in the Fiesta Bowl by throwing for 399 yards and scoring four touchdowns (one rushing).
However, as Velazquez pointed out in his article, he was older than Aaron Rodgers, who had been in the league for seven years by the time the Browns took Weeden.
Weeden wasn’t projected to be a first-round pick.
He wasn’t even expected to be taken in the top 50.
Even so, the Browns hoped that he would put an end to their eternal struggles at the most crucial position, so they made him the oldest player ever taken in the first round in NFL Draft history.
He went on to have a decent career as a backup, but he clearly never lived up to the expectations that come with being a quarterback taken in the first round.
Notably, that’s why several people are worried about potentially taking Louisville’s Tyler Shough, who’s going to be 26 years old by the time he takes the field as a rookie.
NEXT: NFL Insider Has No Doubt About Browns' No. 2 Pick
