AFC North WR Corps: Cleveland Browns
The AFC North has by far the most intriguing group of wide receivers corps in the NFL. Top to bottom all four teams are very interesting at the position. I’ll be covering each of the four teams and each one is worth taking a deeper look in to. This edition will be focusing on the Cleveland Browns’ wideouts.
The Cleveland Browns flat out loaded up on wide receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft. After having their WR corps dismantled it was somewhat necessary, although, they may have taken it over the top a bit. They drafted four receivers in the first five rounds. In Round 1 they drafted Corey Coleman, added Ricardo Lewis in Round 4 and grabbed Jordan Payton and Rashard Higgins in Round 5.
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The rookies are obviously somewhat unpredictable and tough to depend on. I liked the value of Louis and Higgins, but I’m not sold they’ll be immediate contributors. Coleman is the star of the group and I’m not even completely sold on him.
Prior to the draft he was my No. 6 ranked rookie wideout and going to the Browns never boosts your value. If anything he’s since dropped the list because he’s been thrown into that dumpster fire of an organization. Here’s a short scouting report I had on him prior to the draft to be fair to the team:
“Most have Coleman ranked much higher than I do. There is no doubt that he’s an aggressive playmaker. He has elite acceleration and his quick feet make him very dangerous in the open field once he has the ball in his hand. However, he also has a lot of red flags. His route tree is very limited and the Baylor offense doesn’t always translate well to the next level. Coleman is also undersized and deals with drops at times. We’ve seen guys like Coleman fail far too often on the next level. The upside is there, though.”
Most of the veterans are just guys on the roster too. Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel are NFL receivers, nevertheless, they aren’t special wide receivers. Hawkins is an incredible athlete but neither guy has been overly productive. Neither WR even pushed 300 yards or reached 30 receptions in 2015. Not exactly wowing anyone.
Terrelle Pryor is the X-factor of the group. He’s a freakish athlete. You can compare him to Cam Newton without the elite arm. This will be his first full year as a wideout and he could legitimately be special. He could also be a complete bust. His development will be fun to watch, especially if he becomes a big-time player. His physical gifts are undebatable, however, he is raw as they come as a wide receiver. I’ll be keeping a close eye on him this preseason.
Now that we have all that out of the way and acknowledged other players, let’s get to what we all came to talk about. What should we expect from Josh Gordon? To be honest, I’m completely on the fence and he can go either way. We all know his off-field concerns and his inability to stay out of trouble, so we’ll focus on what we expect him to do on the field, assuming there are no additional suspensions, arrests or failed drug tests.
The quarterback situation is not ideal. Whether it’s Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown or Cody Kessler, the Browns QB situation will be among the worst in the league entering 2016. So that does him no favors. And yes I know, RG3, Gordon and Coleman all went to Baylor and that’s a cute little story, but it has little bearing on real life unless you are clinging to hope as a Browns fan.
Don’t feel bad Cleveland fans, I know it’s been tough with the Browns. No one can take this from you though!
Optimists will focus on his enchanted 2013 season and was it ever glorious. Naturally, Gordon was suspended for the first two games of 2013 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. However, he hit the ground running Week 3 and burst out of the gates.
In just 14 games he caught 87 passes for a preposterous 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. He had a two-week span when he caught 24 passes for 498 yards and three TDs. Those two games were better than his entire 2014 campaign. Quite frankly, Gordon was incredible, and that’s why fans and coaches are so enamored by him.
The one thing a lot of people choose to ignore is the fact that Gordon wasn’t very impressive the last time we watched him play during that 2014 season. It was a very similar situation as he’s in now. He had a suspension reduced, and fans went crazy with excitement. Everyone thought he’d be a top wideout. Finally, he returned, and boy did he underwhelm. In five games he caught just 24 passes for 303 yards and no touchdowns. So this is what our last memory of him should be. But it’s not, is it?
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I’m taking a wait-and-see approach with Gordon. I just can’t get my hopes too high. I’ve been burned too many times in the past. Will he stay out of trouble? Will he be in shape? Will he be on the same page as his QB? These are all questions that need to be answered.
Even if he’s great, this is a bad WR corps and clearly the worst in the AFC North. They really need him and Coleman to step up though. Either way this is yet another rebuilding year for the Browns as they so often seem to be. This passing attack is projected to be near the bottom of the league once again in 2016.