The Cleveland Browns’ Five Best Day 3 Draft Picks Since 2010

One of the easiest ways for a bad team to stay bad, is to miss out on all the hidden gems waiting to be picked up in the last four rounds of the NFL Draft.

Since 2010, when the NFL expanded its draft to a three-day event made for television, the Cleveland Browns have drafted just three Pro Bowlers in the last four rounds: Shedeur Sanders last year -- inexplicably -- and two fourth-rounders on our list below.

Nowhere to be found on Cleveland's past draft lists are Day 3 superstars like George Kittle, Trey Smith and Tyreek Hill, and that's not even mentioning quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy.

Out of 74 third-day draft picks made since 2010, here are the Browns’ Top-5 selections:

Rashard Higgins, wide receiver, fifth round, 172nd overall 2016

The only player on our list to play more than four seasons with the club, Higgins is the best draft pick at wideout since Braylon Edwards in the first round of 2005.

Higgins was never a full-time starter, but he appeared in 82 games (16 starts) for the franchise along six years. His most memorable season was 2020, when he made multiple big plays through the year to help the Browns achieve their first postseason appearance in 18 years, and first playoff victory since 1994, but also fumbled the ball near the goal-line on a helmet-to-helmet hit during a Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs.

He retired after a brief stay in Carolina. Most recently, he surprised everyone with a shocking career move.

Jordan Cameron, tight end, fourth round, 102nd overall 2011

The former Trojan started just eight games over his first two seasons, but exploded on the scene in his third year, catching 80 passes for 917 yards and seven scores as the team’s second receiving option behind Josh Gordon. He made the Pro Bowl that year.

Cameron played just one more campaign for Cleveland, but his numbers went down and he wrapped up his playing career with a two-year stint in Miami.

Just for context, David Njoku has never reached 900 receiving yards or seven touchdowns in a season.

Joe Schobert, linebacker, fourth round, 99th overall 2016

The opening pick of the fourth round that year, Schobert played all 16 contests as a rookie, earning four starts as an outside backer.

He earned the middle linebacker starting spot the next year, with the team shifting from a 3-4 to a 4-3 alignment, and Schobert became a tackling machine, recording a league-leading 144 stops and earning a Pro Bowl nod.

That would be the first of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons, three of them in Cleveland. After leaving the Browns, he played a year in Jacksonville, another one in Pittsburgh, and one last season in Tennessee.

Travis Benjamin, wide receiver, fourth round, 100th overall 2012

Benjamin only played one season as a full-time starter as a wideout in Cleveland, but he was a dynamic presence capable of big plays from anywhere on the field.

During his fourth and final year in Cleveland, Benjamin started 15 games while catching 68 balls for 966 yards and five touchdowns, the kind of performance that the Browns missed last season.

Benjamin also left a mark on special teams, scoring three touchdowns on punt returns for the Browns.

Buster Skrine, cornerback, fifth round, 137th overall 2011

Skrine was once considered one of the premier slot cornerbacks in the game, after being picked up by Cleveland in 2011 out of Chattanooga.

He was a full-time starter during his last two seasons in Berea, 2013-2014, before moving on to the Jets, where he was an integral part of New York’s defense. He also played for the Bears, 49ers and Titans before retiring in the 2022 season.