Browns receiving corps under construction
The Cleveland Browns are in a complete rebuild, but perhaps no position group is going through quite the change that the receiving corps is going through.
The Browns made yet another move to the wide receiver position this week when they decided to release veteran Brian Hartline. With a commitment to youth and a belief that the receiver position is vital to success, The moves might not be done quite yet at the receiver position. The Browns tear down the old receiving core and start construction on the new one in 2016.
The New Material
The Browns drafted four receivers in last months NFL draft, Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis, Jordan Payton, and Rashard Higgins. All four rookies Cleveland drafted are now in a good position to make the team with the recent Hartline departure. Coleman and Louis will provide the deep vertical threats while Payton and Higgins will try to become the reliable underneath possession receivers. The team is hopeful that Coleman can emerge as a true number one receiver in this league and can help the team in moving forward from Josh Gordon.
The Browns also added two undrafted free agent wide receivers in Dennis Parks and David Richards.
Demo Work
When and if Josh Gordon is eligible to return to the Browns it is unlikely there will be any place for him in Cleveland. The Browns draft made it clear that the team is ready to move on. Expect the Browns to act quickly, if Gordon is ever eligible to return, in trying to trade the troubled veteran. According to reports earlier this offseason, there are a handful of teams that are still interested in the services of Josh Gordon and will be willing to trade for him despite his past.
With Hartline now gone, what other holdovers could be found on the outside looking in? Taylor Gabriel, Marlon Moore, and Andrew Hawkins all could be names found on the chopping block this fall.
Hawkins is currently the old man at the receiver position at thirty. Hawkins had a disappointing year last season, in just eight games Hawkins posted twenty seven catches for two hundred and seventy six yards and no touchdowns. With injuries taking their toll on the 5’7” 180 pound receiver, it would not be a total shock to see the Browns continue with their youth movement and send Hawkins packing in the later rounds of preseason cuts. The one thing Hawkins does have working in his favor to make this team is that he has a history with Coach Hue Jackson in Cincinnati. Jackson may use the familiarity and his veteran leadership to justify bringing Hawkins back for the 2016 season.
Marlon Moore has made his name through special teams, not as a receiver in the NFL. With all the new talent on the Browns roster at receiver this season it is unlikely that special teams contributions will be enough to save Moore from the chopping block this year. Moore will likely be cut this offseason as he barely made the team last year with virtually no talent at the receiver position in front of him.
The last returning veteran that will have to prove his worth to make this team is Taylor Gabriel. Gabriel came out of nowhere two years ago and appeared in all sixteen games for Cleveland during his rookie campaign. Last season, Gabriel played in only thirteen games and saw his production slip in almost every category. Gabriel was a favorite of the old regime, but has no relationship with the new Coach Jackson era which makes Gabriel just as big of a question mark as any of these returning receivers. Gabriel has shown a lot of promise, but it seems unlikely that the Browns will carry both Hawkins and Gabriel moving forward. What will win out? The veteran leadership and familiarity with coach Jackson Hawkins brings to the table or the youth and potential Gabriel can give the Browns.
Darius Jennings and undrafted free agents Parks and Richards will get their opportunity to impress the new regime as well. Parks, Richards, and Jennings would seem to be long shots to make the final fifty three man roster at this point.
AROUND COVER32
Twitter Tuesday: Doug Baldwin calls out Roger Goodell
2016 Preview: Predictions for the NFC North division
Madden Monday: Ratings for the top ten rookies of 2016
2016 Preview: Top coach of the year candidates
Browns: Hartline Released
Browns: Boom or Bust Ricardo Louis
Salvaging old Material
There’s not much worth salvaging in this receiving core, besides former quarterback turned wide receiver Terrelle Pryor. Pryor has played for Coach Jackson both in Oakland and for a brief stint in Cincinnati. Though Pryor was a quarterback when Jackson coached him previously, Jackson still likely has a pretty good idea of what potential Pryor has at his new position. Pryor continues to make great strides in becoming a legitimate NFL receiver and has barely scratched the surface of what he can become. Coach Jackosn has acknowledged what Pryor has accomplished so far by noting that Pryor had “flashed” during OTA’s last week. Pryor now has had a full year and some change of receiver experience under him. It would be a shock to see the Browns move on from Pryor at any point during this offseason.
Materials still needed
Just because the Browns drafted four receivers does not mean that those four rookies are the teams lone solution to fixing this receiving core. Every receiver that makes this team, with the exception of Coleman, is basically here on a tryout basis. Receiver is one of those positions that you can find guys to contribute all the way through the draft, and even as undrafted free agents, but the chances the Browns hit on all four receiver draft picks this year seems highly unlikely. To think that all four of these rookies will make this team in two years is unrealistic. There is even a small chance one of these draft picks does not make the team this year. The Browns are testing out all these receivers to see which ones fit and where the team will need to make improvements moving forward. The final product of this group is still some years off, but at least this position is being acknowledged in this regime unlike the previous one.
The post Browns receiving corps under construction appeared first on Cover32.
