Beginning April 29, the NFL鈥檚 future stars will be in Cleveland for the 2021 NFL Draft. It鈥檚 a primetime televised event with musical performances and fireworks. But there will be several hundred players drafted who won鈥檛 be on that big lakefront stage.
WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto reached out to a handful of former Browns players to get their draft day stories.
Show business
Preparations for the have been ramping up in the last several weeks. A big stage has been built along Lake Erie downtown. There will be concerts from Kings of Leon, Machine Gun Kelly and others. There will be a fan festival, watch parties and fireworks each night. Football fans all over the country will be tuned in to see NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce the top picks.
But NFL Draft wasn't always a star-studded event. It wasn't even televised until 1980.
"When I was a kid, you kind of picked up The Plain Dealer the next morning to see who they drafted," Pluto said.
From Academic To Pro
was a Browns fourth-round pick in the 1984 draft. He played at Boston College but was more interested in a career in business than in football.
"He said, 'I was piling stuff on my resume to get a good corporate finance job.' But suddenly, he's a draft pick, and he's waiting and watching. He finally sees his name about five hours afterwards," Pluto said.
Brennan played eight seasons with Cleveland. His ninth was split between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers.
After his retirement, Brennan stayed in Cleveland and began his career in finance. He works at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
The Undrafted Kicker
One of the Browns expansion-era fan favorites is kicker , who played in Cleveland from 1999 to 2012. He holds the franchise record for field goals.
Pluto described him as "one of the greatest kickers in Texas high school football history" and went on to play at the University of Texas.
Dawson had high expectations heading into the 1998 draft. Pluto said his family rented out a barbecue restaurant to watch and celebrate. Not only was Dawson not a high draft pick, he wasn't drafted at all.
So, Dawson ended up being signed and released as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots and several other teams. Then the Browns called, and Dawson never looked back.
He went on to play his final years with San Francisco and Arizona. In 2019 when he announced his retirement, a one-day contract to finish his career