Can the Browns wait until the second round for a wide receiver?
By Jesse Runner
Heading into the 2015 offseason, the Cleveland Browns had a growing need at wide receiver. However, through multiple free agency signings, the receiving core has been much improved. Despite this, the question still remains: Can general manager Ray Farmer afford to wait until the second round to draft a wide receiver?
The Browns got off to a rough start after the 2014 season. Just weeks after the season ended, ESPN reported that star receiver Josh Gordon failed another drug test and would be subject to another season ban.
Not to mention the whispers throughout the league that Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron was on his way out of Cleveland.
This left the Browns receiving group with the likes of Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel and Travis Benjamin. Yikes.
Luckily, Cleveland was able to land a pair of veteran wide receivers through free agency.
The first signing came in the form of seventh-year pro Brian Hartline. At the age of 28, Hartline spent the first six years of his career with the Miami Dolphins, totaling 4,243 yards on 521 receptions and 12 touchdowns. More recently, he recorded 474 yards on 39 receptions and two touchdowns in 2014. While Hartline’s numbers aren’t flashy by any means, he is a solid, reliable possession receiver with good height (6-foot-2). Hartline doesn’t have a game-changing skill set, but he adds solid size as an outside receiver and will help to draw attention away from Hawkins.
If Dwayne Bowe is able to return to his 2010-2011 form, and if Brian Hartline makes the most of his opportunity with the Browns, then Cleveland’s receiving core is actually in pretty good shape.
The second veteran Farmer brought in, Dwayne Bowe, should have a bigger impact than Hartline. Bowe signed with the Browns after spending eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2010 and 2011, totaling 2,321 yards. Since then, however, Bowe has only recorded 2,228 yards total. His lack of elite production the past three seasons could be due in part to poor quarterback play around him, as he caught passes from Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, Alex Smith and Chase Daniel.
If Bowe is able to return to his 2010-2011 form, and if Hartline makes the most of his opportunity with the Browns, then Cleveland’s receiving core is actually in pretty good shape. Hawkins, Bowe and Hartline could be a formidable matchup for opposing defenses.
Yet, there’s always room for improvement.
If the Browns decide to spend a first round pick on a wide receiver, especially at No. 12, then the unit could immediately become a strength for the Browns and possibly one of the best in the NFL. The addition of Amari Cooper, Kevin White or DeVante Parker would be enough to set the Browns over the top. What better way to help a young quarterback like Johnny Manziel then to surround him with weapons?
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Not to mention that Gordon is still penciled in to potentially return sometime during the 2016 season – if he is reinstated by the NFL. Whether Farmer and owner Jimmy Haslam decide to keep Gordon on the team that long remains to be seen, but imagine a team with one of the “big three” receivers from the 2015 NFL Draft, Bowe and Gordon. If Cleveland decides that Gordon is too much of a distraction, they can cut him without so much as an afterthought, knowing that the receiving core will still be in good hands.
Therefore, if it were up to me, the Browns would select a receiver at pick 12. If none of the top three receivers are available, Farmer could wait until pick No. 19 and select Jaelen Strong from Arizona State, Breshad Perriman from Central Florida, or even Sammie Coates from Auburn.
However the Browns go about it, a wide receiver in the first round should be the answer. After all, Manziel (or Josh McCown) can’t do it all alone next season.
Do you think the Browns need to select a wide receiver in the first round of the draft?