Cleveland Browns: What Johnny Manziel needs most

The Cleveland Browns were able to net their first win of the 2015 season behind a stellar defensive performance in Week 2 against Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans, but Johnny Manziel will not be the starter in Week 3 against the Oakland Raiders after veteran Josh McCown was cleared from his Week 1 concussion. Manziel dazzled Browns fans by making some big plays, which overcame the fact that he was unsurprisingly the NFL’s least accurate quarterbacks on shorter passes.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Ranking The NFL’s Starting Quarterbacks

Manziel was at his best when tossing it to the Browns newest weapon, Travis Benjamin, who might become a bona fide deep threat for a team that is otherwise sorely lacking talent at the receiver position. In fact, outside of Benjamin and Andrew Hawkins, it’s hard to feel confident in the rest of the Browns pass-catchers. They have nothing at tight end, and veterans Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline have been complete non-factors (to put it kindly).

More from Cleveland Browns

Benjamin’s six receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns through two weeks makes for an impressive line, and he’s certainly shown off some incredible speed. The problem is that he’s nothing more than a situational deep threat, simply because all he’s good at is breaking loose for big plays. While that’s extremely valuable for a Browns offense that desperately needed a vertical playmaking factor from somebody on the roster, it’s hard to ask a 5’10”, 175-pound receiver who is mostly a one-trick pony to win at the catch point or lead an offensive attack.

Hawkins is- and has always been, ever since he joined the team last year- the Browns best pass-catcher, but the issue with Hawkins is that he just doesn’t have the size or long speed to be a true focal point without a better outside receiver.

Basically, what I’m getting at here is nothing ground-breaking, and that’s the idea that the Browns really need a true “X” receiver in their passing attack. More importantly, that’s the kind of player Manziel needs if he’s to have sustained success in this league, because I’m not optimistic when it comes to his ability to suddenly make better reads and throws over the middle of the field and in other shorter regions of the gridiron.

There’s no doubt that McCown- who has played with the likes of Mike Evans, Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, and Vincent Jackson over the past couple of years- would also benefit from an “X” receiver, simply because every quarterback would do well with a talented big receiver with good hands who possesses enough long speed to test defenses.

The Browns have passed up on any chance to draft a receiver with anything resembling a No. 1 receiver skill-set, choosing instead to cut Charles Johnson, draft Vince Mayle (full credit to them for quickly giving up), and sign two plodding, Z-type veterans in Hartline and Bowe.

Benjamin is the only receiver on the Browns who has the speed to make big plays, and we’ve all seen just how willing Manziel is to hit him up. It’s because Manziel- like Tyrod Taylor in some ways- is at his best when he’s going for deeper passes or sideline shots.

The best evidence for an “X” receiver greatly elevating Manziel more than a No. 1-type would aid most quarterbacks? Manziel’s college days. A crucial question in evaluating the future first-round pick’s merits as a potential franchise quarterback went something like this, “Is it a negative that Manziel relies so much on Mike Evans, or is it a positive that he’s so good at working with and trusting a star receiver in contested catch situations?”

Sep 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) throws a pass in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Whatever the answer may be, we won’t really know it if the Cleveland Browns never give him a true star receiver. He’s made some nice throws to Benjamin deep, but he doesn’t have a receiver he can use on back-shoulder throws or in “I need to be bailed out” (small, running QBs who lack high-end aniticpation generally need these kinds of wideouts) situations.

The problem with Manziel is that while he’s willing- and able- to sling it deep to a vertical target, he’ll try to make those same passes to receivers who simply won’t come up with the ball. Case in point? Early in the second quarter of the Browns win over the Titans, Johnny Manziel took a deep shot to, of all people, Hawkins.

While Hawkins is a good receiver with exceptional quickness and route-running chops, he is not the type of wideout who can win a contested situation 40 yards downfield in double-coverage against Perrish Cox and Michael Griffin. Manziel nearly threw a pick, and it was an example of one of Manziel’s several glaring weaknesses.

The only way for Manziel to improve is through experience, and, even then, his biggest weaknesses and stylistic traits won’t change; it just doesn’t happen that way in reality, no matter how much we’d like to exaggerate the remedial affects of the term “coaching up”. So if the Browns decide they want to continue to give Manziel a shot to compete in 2016, then why not bring in a player who can help him play to his strengths? Because if you don’t have a top-15 quarterback (let alone someone outside of the top ten), then your goal is to find a way to accentuate that player’s strengths.

Next: Who Are The NFL's Best Safeties?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Cleveland Browns