I’m sorry to learn of the passing of former Browns linebacker Eddie Johnson. He was just 43. He truly was a worthy role model, not just in waging his two-year battle against cancer, but for the spirit of service he embodied, belying his on-field nickname, “The Assassin.”

In my home, our preferred nickname for him was “No Neck,” because, though undersized for a linebacker, he was built like a bullet, with his head barely poking through the hole at the top of his #51 jersey.

Since 1980, the Browns have had terrible luck and/or skill drafting blue-chip linebackers. Tom Cousineau, Chip Banks, Cliff Odom, Doug West, Mike Junkin, Clifford Charlton, Van Waiters, Craig Powell, and Rahim Abdullah all cost us picks in the first three rounds, and were all busts, more or less. Gerald Dixon and Mike Caldwell had their best years later on with other teams. Jeremiah Pharms was a wasted fifth-rounder in 2001.

With character and tenacity, Eddie Johnson filled the chasm. The undersized seventh-rounder held the middle for the better part of a decade. His startling hits on opposing running backs provided inspirational leadership time and again for the Browns defense. The linebacking corps, including Clay Mathews and Mike Johnson, became the strength of the team during the 1980s playoff runs. Eddie made it easy for fans to root for him, and he was obviously popular with his teammates and the community through the very end.