April 17, 1999: Browns blow it by taking Kentucky's Tim Couch first overall in NFL Draft

It's well-known that the Cleveland Browns have had a revolving door at starting quarterback since re-entering the NFL in the 1999 season. The Browns have started a league-high 30 different guys under center since then, with the vast majority of them quite forgettable if not laughable.

Cleveland has been a sad-sack franchise overall since 1999 with just one playoff appearance (2002) and two winning records (last in 2007). The problems all started on April 17, 1999 – 21 years ago today – from the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City when the Browns opted to take Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.

That was one of the worst drafts ever in terms of quarterbacks as five went in Round 1, tied for the second-most ever, and only two were any good. More on that in a second. Couch played five seasons with Cleveland spanning 62 games and went 22-37 as a starter. He finished his career having completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 11,131 yards, 64 touchdowns and 67 interceptions for a rating of 75.1.

Just for a point of comparison, the quarterback with the lowest rating in the NFL last year who started multiple games was Cincinnati's Andy Dalton at 78.3.

Clearly, the Browns should have taken Syracuse QB Donovan McNabb at No. 1 overall; he went No. 2 to the Eagles and had a fine career. Akili Smith went No. 3 to Cincinnati and Cade McNown No. 12 to Chicago, and they were busts. Daunte Culpepper was the No. 11 pick by Minnesota and had a few very good years.

The two best players from the 1999 NFL Draft were Hall of Famers Edgerrin James (No. 4 overall to Colts) and Champ Bailey (No. 7 to Redskins). Buffalo took cornerback Antoine Winfield at No. 23 overall, and Winfield's son Antoine Jr., also a defensive back, is likely to be a second-round pick in next week's draft.