The Browns' 2004 season was a disaster, as the team finished with a 4-12 record. It was also the end of the Butch Davis era, leading to the dramatic change brought upon by Phil Savage.(Photo via blog.cleveland.com)
I keep looking back at the roster for the Cleveland Browns during the 2004 season, and something keeps bugging me: how on earth did we ever get excited about that team? Look at some of these names...
WR Frisman Jackson
WR Andre King
RB Dee Brown
OG Craig Osika
OT Enoch DeMar
OT Joaquin Gonzalez
LB Barry Gardner
LB Warrick Holdman
LB Eric Westmoreland
DB Michael Jameson
DB Dyshod Carter
And those were only a select few names from the list. Can you imagine any of those players having a significant role on today's team, even as a backup? It just goes to show you the A+ work that Phil Savage has done with today's team. When you look at our projected 53-man roster this season, I see a lot of backups that could be starting elsewhere in the league. The backups from the 2004 season would've probably been lucky to make someone else's roster as a special teams contributor, and yet our roster was absolutely STACKED with them.
Excluding TE Kellen Winslow and S Sean Jones, who were rookies during the 2004 campaign (and both of them basically missed the entire season due to injuries), these are the only players still on our team from that season, where Jeff Garcia was our starting quarterback:
1. TE Steve Heiden
2. OL Ryan Tucker
3. LB Andra Davis
4. K Phil Dawson
5. LS Ryan Pontbriand
Two cheers for special teams players. Pretty sad, eh? There are a few names on the list though that I wouldn't mind seeing on our roster heading into this season. So, if we could hold an expansion draft giving us three picks, I would take the following individuals (not including players currently on our roster):
1. DB Anthony Henry: Pretty much a no-brainer here, as Henry has been a decent starter with the Dallas Cowboys for several years now. He still hasn't reached elite level, but he would start on today's roster.
2. DB Lewis Sanders: Signed with the New England Patriots now, Sanders has had two stints with the Browns. I was hoping it could have been three until the Pats signed him, as he was a good nickel back and a good gunner on the special teams unit. He would shore up our secondary immediately in terms of depth, preventing us from relying on a Jereme Perry or A.J. Davis to come through.
3. OT Kirk Chambers: He wasn't a proven stud, but right now we're thin at the backup tackle position if you don't include Tucker.
Are there any players, instead of the three people above, that you'd "draft" to today's team?