Cleveland Browns: WRs tapped as most improved by PFF

The Cleveland Browns went all-in at the wide receiver position in the draft, making the unit one of the most-improved in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Cleveland Browns have done a lot of work on the wide receiver position since the close of the 2015 NFL season.

The team lost Travis Benjamin, second on the team in receiving in 2015, via free agency, and let under-performing veterans Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe leave by the waiver wire.

On draft weekend, the Browns made the most of the league-high 14 draft picks to select four wide receivers in Corey Coleman, Rashard Higgins, Jordan Payton and Ricardo Louis. They join returning players Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel and Terrelle Pryor, among others, in what is shaping up to be one of the most-watched training camp battles this fall as 11 receivers compete for what will most likely be just seven roster spots.

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Keeping everyone in line, and trying to sort out the quantity from the quality, is ageless wonder Al Saunders, who at age 69 joined head coach Hue Jackson‘s coaching staff as the wide receivers coach.

“Every practice that’s who Al Saunders is, and our players, our receivers, you can see that there are some guys in that group that are really growing and getting better,” Jackson said in published reports. “I think it’s because of his tutelage and his ability to relate and get guys to play hard and understand what they need to do. I think you see some guys emerging and getting better every day in every practice. That’s good.”

Not everyone is enamored with the moves the Browns have made at wide receiver, a group that includes ESPN analyst Louis Riddick.

“Go back with free agency and everyone who left, those are all some pretty damn productive players,” Riddick said. “Adding Rahim Moore, Justin Tuggle and Alvin Bailey wasn’t enough. Then you go to the draft, we will find out. I don’t know how many teams draft five wide receivers in a single draft and have it be productive for them. Corey Coleman, I do like him.”

That is certainly one way to look at what the Browns are trying to do. But Pro Football Focus took a different approach as they picked the Browns revamped wide receiver group as one of the 10 most-improved units in the NFL:

"There were very few good wide receivers in free agency, and the draft class wasn’t as strong as previous years, so if a team wanted to revamp their receiving corps, it was going to be very difficult to do so. Despite that, the Browns found a way by drafting four wide receivers who could all see significant playing time this year. Their two most promising receivers were Corey Coleman and Rashard Higgins, who finished third and fifth, respectively, in yards per route run in 2015. While it might take a year or two for the receivers to develop, it will be sooner rather than later before they become a strong unit."

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A cynic could say that after being so collectively disappointing as the wide receivers were in 2015 that there is nowhere to go but up for the Browns. But vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry deserve credit for identifying the a problem and taking an aggressive approach to finding a solution.

We may look back on this draft in a few years and discover that the Browns missed on some of their selections, which happens with every team, but at least the team is doing something to other than throwing free agent dollars at aging wide receivers that are on the decline.

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What is your opinion, Browns fans? Has the team taken the right approach to fixing the problems at wide receiver?

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Cleveland Browns: Wide receivers tapped as most improved by PFF

By Thomas Moore | May 28, 2016

The Cleveland Browns went all-in at the wide receiver position in the draft, making the unit one of the most-improved in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

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