Cleveland Browns: Who is Connor Hamlett?

The Cleveland Browns need a reliable second tight end for Hue Jackson’s offense and may have found one in Connor Hamlett.

As the Cleveland Browns close out the first week of training camp, much of the focus on the offensive side of the ball has been on quarterback Robert Griffin III and wide receiver Corey Coleman.

But if things continue the way they have, rookie tight end Connor Hamlett may soon be sharing part of the spotlight with his more high-profile teammates.

Hamlett has caught the attention of both the coaching staff and fans not only for his size — at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds he is hard to miss — but also for his skills.

The Browns are looking for a reliable second tight end behind starter Gary Barnidge and Hamlett is in a training camp battle with Randall Telfer, E.J. Bibbs, J.P. Holtz, David Reeves and Seth DeValve for a roster spot.

“One thing about him, the guy is really accountable. He’s always out here competing. I’m very, very impressed with the things he has done.” – Hue Jackson on Connor Hamlett

Under normal circumstances Hamlett, who was signed to the Browns practice squad in December, might be at a disadvantage because of his inexperience. But the other tight ends in camp behind Barnidge have combined for just one career NFL reception, which puts everyone on even ground.

“What we have at my position really is Gary and the kids. We are giving everybody an opportunity to play different positions within the tight end group through camp here,” position coach Greg Seamon said earlier this week.

“Connor is a long, tall, spidery guy with excellent hands. What we’re attempting to do in practice is give everybody enough repetitions at all the various spots so that when we get to the games, they can go in and show what they can do.”

Hamlett made the most of his opportunity at Friday night’s scrimmage, catching a touchdown pass from Griffin while working with the first-team offense.

All this from a player who considered giving up the game because of injuries, despite being the Pac-12’s best tight end as a senior, before his agent persuaded him to give it a shot.

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Hamlett had 104 receptions for 1,109 yards and 10 touchdowns in 47 career games at Oregon State. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015, but was released at the close of training camp.

He spent time last fall on the practice squads of both the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints before finding his way to Cleveland.

“I was coming off of a couple of injuries. I took some time off and just had to recover my body a little bit. It took a little convincing, but my agent knew I was going to get a shot,” Hamlett said earlier this week. “I’ve always loved the game. I’m going to give it my all if I get a shot. Teams have given me shots, and I feel like I haven’t let them down yet.”

While Barnidge is the unquestioned starter after posting a Pro Bowl season in 2015, the Browns need a reliable second tight end under head coach Hue Jackson.

“If you look at Hue’s offenses in the past, multiple tight ends are a big part of what we do. We have some flexibility in that there’s flexibility with what Gary does. He can be a point of attack guy. He can be a slot guy. He can be out on the edge,” Seamon said. “That helps because we can then play off of that with how we structure the rest of the depth chart. We’ve got a good spread of other kids in the room in terms of their abilities. We just have to see how they perform here in the preseason, and then we’ll match them up.”

Next: Browns training camp Day 7

There is still a long way to go before the Browns make their final roster decisions, but if Hamlett keeps playing the way he has through the opening week of camp, there may be more end zone connections in his immediate future.

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