No Leukimia for an Orange Graduate
WI if Ernie Davis, who was the # 1 overall draft pick in the 1962 (surprisingly held in December of 1961), did not have Leukimia.
He was drafted by Washington, and then traded prior to the season to the Cleveland Browns. He never played a down for them.
The Browns still had Jim Brown in 1962. Jim Brown retired before the start of the 66 season. So from 62 - 65, no matter how good Ernie Davis was, I just can't see him making that much of a difference to the Browns during that period.
In 62, last year with Paul Brown as Head Coach, they went 7-6-1. Jim Brown was merely mortal that year. But the Browns would need to win 5 more games to beat the 12 and 2 Giants for the division title to make the playoffs. Davis is great, but not that great.
In 63, they went 10-4, missing the playoffs by one game. Its possible they might have made the playoffs with Davis. While Jim Brown did run for an NFL record 1800+ yards that year, there were still 150 non-Brown running attempts by the offense that year. So its quite possible Davis would be a difference maker this season.
In 64, they went 10-3-1 to win their division and then beat the Colts to win the Championship. Can’t do better than that.
In 65, they went 11-3 to again win their division. But they lost the Championship game to the Packers 23-12. It’s possible with Davis they could have won the Championship.
In 66, 24 year old Leroy Kelly was their primary running back, rushing for 1100+ yards at 5.5 yards an attempt and scoring 15 rushing touchdowns. The Browns went 9-5, finishing 1.5 games behind the Cowboys and not making the playoffs. The Browns had the number one rated rushing offense, and the 2nd overall offense that year. Hard to see Davis making enough of a difference to push the Browns to the Divisional title.
In 67 the NFL went to a four Division format, with the Browns winning their division. They were walloped 52 – 14 by the Cowboys in the 1st round of the playoffs. It’s possible with Davis they might have down better in the playoffs. (FYI, the Rams and Colts both went 11-1-2 playing in the same division that year, but the Colts didn’t make the playoffs)
In 68, they won their division, but lost to the Colts 34 – 0 in the Conference Championship game. The Colts were 13-1 that year (before losing to the Jets in Super Bowl 3). Hard to see Davis making that much of a difference, but it is possible he could have had a great playoff performance. Leroy Kelly ran for 1200+ years at a 5.0 yards per attempt pace with 16 rushing touchdowns for the Browns.
In 69, they again won their division, but lost in the Conference Championship game. This time to the Vikings by a score of 23-7. Leroy Kelly had an off year. Could Davis had made enough of an impact to get them into the Super Bowl?
In 70, the Browns go 7 and 7 and miss the playoffs by 1 game. The running game was only ranked 18th in the now 26 team merged NFL. In what would have been his 9th season, a healthy Ernie Davis would have been enough to push the Browns to win the Division over the Bengals.
In 71, the Browns return to winning the division championship with a 9-5 record, but they lose in the first round 20-3 to the Colts. The Browns rushing offense was even worse in 71, ranking only 20th. Ernie Dave would have significantly improved it. It’s possible they could have pushed further into the playoffs with Davis.
At this point Ernie Davis would have played 10 seasons in the NFL. He’s taken a lot of hits, and been injured (hopefully to validate this POD, none seriously). Not many running backs are still great after 10 seasons. His career length would have been helped by splitting the rushing duties for the first 4 years of his career with Jim Brown. I assume Jim Brown would still have retired when he did. I assume the Browns would still have drafted Leroy Kelly. He was an 8th round pick in 1964. He likely would have helped share some of the running load with Davis after Jim Brown retired. So maybe Davis is still pretty effective after 10 seasons and able to help the Browns win, but the likelihood of this is entering a grey area.
In the period 62 – 71, the Browns didn’t make the playoffs in 1962, 1963, 1966, 1970. With Davis they likely do make the playoffs in 63 and 70, and maybe in 1966. More difficult to guess how their playoff appearances might have improved. I see 1965 and 1969 as the most likely possibilities for them winning Championships.
Ultimately, the Browns already had a fantastic running game through this period. Davis was great, and he’d have helped improve the Brown’s legacy. But unless he in fact was the second coming of Jim Brown (which we’ll never know), I’m not sure he’d have been a mythical figure who’d have pushed the Browns to multiple consecutive championships.
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