Like our NBA counterpart miniseries, this NFL Thursday feature sequence is coming to end soon. But today, we take on the Cleveland Browns and their renowned players of note, and considering the team’s dominance of the 1950s, there are very few players from that era—6 straight appearances in the NFL title game, including 3 championships—are on this list (if any?). We don’t want to spoil it, but this is weird …

No. 10: Brian Sipe, QB—87 AV (1974-1983)

He was a 13th-round draft pick, but development paid off with a Pro Bowl appearance and the voted NFL MVP in 1980. He topped the NFL in touchdown passes once (1979) and QB rating once (1980), as well. His overall 57-56 record as a starter was “good” for Browns football. However, he had the odd distinction of leading the league in interceptions (1979, 1981), while sandwiched around the lowest INT percentage (1980).

No. 9: Myles Garrett, DE—88 AV (2017-present)

An active player who was the top overall pick in the 2017 Draft, he’s made 5 Pro Bowls so far (2018, 2020-2023) as the team also has reached the postseason 2 times during his career. He has 88.5 sacks so far in the regular season, and he led the NFL in AV (20) last season. With 172 QB hits, too, he’s a force in the backfield, and he’s caused opponents to cough up the ball 17 times, as well. He has 1 sack in 3 playoff games, to boot.

No. 8: Jim Houston, DE/LB—90 AV (1960-1972)

Drafted No. 8 overall, he went on to make 4 Pro Bowls (1964-1965, 1969-1970) in a career that saw him tally 29.5 sacks and 14 INTs. He also participated in 9 playoff games for the franchise, and he was a member of the 1964 NFL championship team. While he never posted double-digit AV in a single season, he still managed to achieve at least 8 AV in 7 different years during his career, all with Cleveland. Longevity rules!

No. 7: Doug Dieken, T—95 AV (1971-1984)

Perhaps the most anonymous individual on this list, he was a 6th-round draft pick and made a single Pro Bowl (1980) in his long career, all with the Browns. He played on 4 different postseason squads (1971, 1972, 1980, 1982), and he even caught a TD pass in 1983. Overall, he started 194 regular-season games for Cleveland, providing stalwart protection on the left side for many QBs, including Sipe—an unspoken hero!

No. 6: Leroy Kelly, RB—102 AV (1964-1973)

It’s rare when a team can replace a Hall of Fame player with another one at the same position, but that’s what the Browns did here: he made 6 consecutive Pro Bowls (1966-1971), led the NFL in rushing twice (1967, 1968), topped the league in rushing TDs in 3 straight seasons (1966-1968), and was our pick for the 1967 and 1968 NFL MVP trophies. He also posted the highest AV mark in 1966 (18). Oh, and he was an 8th rounder!

No. 5: Joe Thomas, T—108 AV (2007-2017)

As the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, expectations were high, and he delivered: 10 consecutive Pro Bowls (2007-2016) to start his career, while never missing a single start in those 10 seasons. In 7 of those 10 years, he contributed at least 11 AV to the Cleveland cause. He also recovered 10 fumbles in his Browns career, making sure he was Johnny-on-the-Spot for his teammates. He is in the Hall of Fame now, of course.

No. 4: Gene Hickerson, G—116 AV (1958-1960, 1962-1973)

Maybe just as unknown as No. 7 above, he missed an entire season early in his career to a leg injury, but he came back to play a dozen more years. During that final stretch, he made 6 consecutive Pro Bowls (1965-1970) at one point, too. He started 13 of 15 games in the 1964 NFL championship season, and he started in 13 of 15 games in 1965 when the team lost the NFL title game. Not a bad Hall of Fame career for a 7th rounder.

No. 3: Dick Schafrath, DE/T—120 AV (1959-1971)

After playing in 12 games as a defensive end in his rookie season, he was switched to left tackle and went on to make 6 straight Pro Bowls there from 1963-1968. We’re surprised he’s not in the Hall of Fame, considering his presence on the 1964 and 1965 teams—and the fact he notched double-digit AV in 6 seasons during his career as well. His best season (17 AV) was 1964, which comes as no surprise considering the title.

No. 2: Jim Brown, FB—122 AV (1957-1965)

It’s hard to say anything about him that we haven’t said already: he was a god among men. We gave him a whopping 5 NFL MVP awards (1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965), and he was the first voted ROTY, too. It’s hard to believe 5 teams passed on him in the draft, before he was the No. 6 pick overall: he topped the NFL in rushing 8 times in a 9-year career, and he made the Pro Bowl in every season of his career. Just awesome.

No. 1: Clay Matthews, LB—125 AV (1978-1993)

What is amazing here is that he’s the only guy on this list that didn’t play his whole career with Cleveland … let that sink in for a moment. The No. 12 overall pick, he made 4 Pro Bowls (1985, 1987-1989) while with the Browns and compiled 75 sacks along the way as well as 14 INTs. He played in 10 postseason games with the organization, too. Seven of his relatives played in the NFL, too, including his namesake father and son.