Three Quarterbacks Taken With 22nd Overall Pick Were Complete Busts

Published on July 1st, 2024 1:17 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It's well-known that the Cleveland Browns have had some spectacularly bad luck when it comes to drafting quarterbacks.

The pain is especially traumatic when it comes to the franchise's "22 Curse".

The "22 Curse" has stretched back over the past 25+ years, and involves three separate quarterbacks that were taken with the #22 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

All three quarterbacks bombed in spectacular fashion.

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The Cleveland browns drafted Brady Quinn with the #22 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Quinn finished his time at Notre Dame with 11,762 passing yards, 95 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.

Over his junior and senior years at Notre Dame, Quinn threw for 69 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions.

The Browns thought that they had their quarterback of the future when they drafted Quinn in 2007, but he ended up being a total failure.

Injuries certainly didn't help Quinn during his time with the Browns, though he also didn't do enough to establish himself as the full-time starter. Quinn was seemingly in a constant battle to win the starting quarterback position.

Over his three seasons with the Browns, Quinn would play in just 14 games, throwing for roughly 2,000 passing yards and just 10 touchdowns.

Quinn would get traded to the Denver Broncos and would play in just 10 more games over the course of his career.

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The Browns selected Brandon Weeden with the #22 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, despite the fact that Weeden was 28 years old.

Weeden impressed during his time at Oklahoma State University, setting a number of school records.

In his senior year, Weeden passed for 4,724 yards and 37 touchdowns.

After a somewhat passable rookie season with the Browns (14 touchdowns, 17 INTs, 3,385 passing yards), Weeden didn't get any better and was released by the Browns after two seasons.

Weeden was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to be Romo's backup QB. After spending two seasons with the Cowboys, Weeden had stints with the Texans and Titans before leaving the NFL after the 2018 season.

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Last but not least - Johnny Manziel, who was selected by the Browns with the #22 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Manziel put together two very successful seasons with Texas A&M before jumping to the NFL, and had a considerable amount of hype attached to him.

Manziel would spend just two years in the NFL before being released by the Browns. Manziel was the biggest bust of the three QBs mentioned here, as he threw just 7 touchdowns over the course of 15 NFL games.

Manziel had a host of personal issues that hastened his exit from the league.

Manziel was the most talented quarterback of the three, which is why his quick demise was so shocking to people.