His head and the league weren't a match. He would have liked to have waited until later in the draft. He believed that he could be part of the team and then worked his way up from there and then gotten a better job, but that wasn't the case, and so he becomes the story's main protagonist instead. A story of 10 players who, like R. Jay Soward, do not have any shady ways to get into the league.

Here are their own stories which are a bit shorter.

10. Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State - 1st overall, Cleveland, 2000

Picked 28 spots ahead of Soward The first player on this list includes a player who was not supposed to be a red flag. Other than this: Judging premier defensive end prospects seems impossible. Talent evaluators do get the wrong impression with almost every position, but you don't seem to find as many mistakes that you would at defensive lineman.

It could be due with the fact that defensive linemen are often drafted in the first round and , therefore, will experience many failures. However, take a note of the names that didn't even make it onto this list: Jerome McDougle, Michael Haynes, Aaron Maybin, Tyson Jackson, Derrick Harvey Johnathan Sulley as well as Dewayne Robertson.

Brown completed his season with a school record 70 tackles and 33 sacks for loss. He also won which earned him the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year prize and one of the best four-year seasons in college football history. At 6'4and 285 pounds, he was the perfect size. He ran the 40-yard sprint in 4.52 seconds with a 37-inch vertical and performed 26 reps in the bench. There was nothing to worry about Brown as a player, and there was no reason to think that the Browns made mistakes by putting Brown over teammate LaVar Arrington, Chris Samuels, Jamal Lewis, Plaxico Burress and Brian Urlacher.

Aldon Smith recorded more sacks last year (19.5) that Brown has had in his entire career (19).

Injury may have taken a impact on Brown at times, but this isn't the reason for his low production as a run-stuffer, pass-rusher or run-rusher. He had the type of career that you'd expect, and respect, out of a player drafted in the fifth round , but not the kind of thing you'd expect to observe from the top overall pick. Sometimes , when everything seems to be working and everything is going to be perfect, it doesn't.

Honorable Mention Vernon Gholston

9. Gerard Warren, DT, Florida - 3rd overall, Cleveland 2001

I'm wondering whether there's going to be a dispute over the inclusion Madden 24 coins Warren. He was a player in the Madden NFL 24 from 2001 to 2011 , playing for The Browns, Broncos, Raiders and Patriots. Courtney Brown was a teammate of and the Browns along with the Broncos, Warren was supposed to assist in bringing Cleveland into the future with enthusiasm and vigor thanks to having three top-three selections in three consecutive seasons.

The top picks of the century. Need some Madden NFL 24 Draft positive affirmation? Take a look at the top 10 selections that teams made in the draft.

Alongside Tim Couch, Brown, and Warren, they would soon not remember mut 24 madden coins that the Ravens won that Super Bowl in 2000. Right?