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Editor’s note: The NFL is currently in a quiet period that is more quiet than usual. To help fill in that space, we are running a series to determine the best player to wear each jersey number in Cleveland Browns history. Today, we select the best player to wear uniform No. 11.
The Cleveland Browns made a proper mess of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, but they quickly righted the ship with the selection of right tackle Mitchell Schwartz in the second round and wide receiver Travis Benjamin in the fourth round.
While he may not have been spectacular during his four seasons in Cleveland, Benjamin did enough — and provided enough highlights — to earn the honor as the best Browns player to wear uniform No. 11 in franchise history.
Benjamin did not make a huge mark as a wide receiver his first three seasons with the Browns, catching just 41 passes for 717 yards, although he did make the most of his speed as he averaged 17.5 yards per reception and pulled down five touchdown passes.
His second season ended with a torn ACL in a Week 8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and it wasn’t until his four year that Benjamin fully recovered and showed his capabilities as a wide receiver.
That season Benjamin finished with 68 receptions (17th on the franchise’s all-time single-season list), 966 yards (20th on the all-time single-season list) and five touchdowns while starting 15 games. That put him second on the team in each category, and he lead the Browns with 14.2 yards per catch.
His most memorable moment came in Week 2 of the 2014 season against the Tennessee Titans when Benjamin had two touchdown receptions — including the game winner — as the Browns game back from a 25-point deficit to beat the Titans.
Benjamin also saw time as a punt returner, returning a punt for a touchdown in 2012, 2013 (part of a seven punt returns for 179 yards night against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5) and 2015 (six punt returns for 154 yards and a touchdown to go along with two touchdown receptions against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2) while earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in each of those seasons.
A free agent after his breakout season in 2015, Benjamin signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, but saw his production fall each season as he went from 47 receptions for 677 yards his first season down to six receptions for 30 yards in just five games while battling injuries in 2019.
Benjamin signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers this past offseason.
Honorable mention: Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, who posted 77 receptions for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in 2016, only to turn down a four-year, $32 million contract from the Browns and subsequently see his career fall apart.
Poll
Who is the best player to wear No. 11 in Browns history?
This poll is closed
-
10%
Jim Nonowski
(32 votes) -
1%
Don Gault
(4 votes) -
0%
Lee Johnson
(3 votes) -
0%
Jeff Christensen
(1 vote) -
1%
Brian Hansen
(5 votes) -
2%
Mark Rypien
(9 votes) -
2%
Ty Detmer
(7 votes) -
0%
Ken Dorsey
(3 votes) -
12%
Mohamed Massaquoi
(40 votes) -
51%
Travis Benjamin
(162 votes) -
11%
Terrelle Pryor
(37 votes) -
0%
Bryce Treggs
(0 votes) -
0%
Jordan Leslie
(3 votes) -
2%
Antonio Callaway
(8 votes)