Cleveland Browns: Looking ahead to their needs in 2019
By Shane Carter
Receiving Depth
Truth be told, I would be fine if the Browns starting trio next season was like this year: Rashard Higgins, Jarvis Landry, and Antonio Callaway. Higgins is finally coming into his own now that he’s got a quality quarterback, and these two seem to have a solid chemistry. Landry is the best slot receiver in the game and is a reliable target for Mayfield. Callaway, if he can stay out of trouble, is a great deep threat who can flat out fly.
However, this year the team’s receiving corps has been hit by the injury bug. It did more than expose the lack of depth but also put the team in jeopardy in many of their games as a result.
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Derrick Willies and Damion Ratley have shown to be quality depth pieces but they still need help. Duke Johnson and David Njoku are reliable but a team can’t rely solely on throwing to the back and tight end all game.
The team doesn’t need to get a receiver in the first round, and they don’t need to spend top dollar on a quality free agent. Cleveland should focus on getting a player who they can trust. Someone who can come off the bench, have a good rapport with Mayfield and give the team a sigh of relief of the team happens to lose three receivers again.
Some free agent options could be Randall Cobb, Golden Tate or Jermaine Kearse. Some draft options could be Parris Campbell (Ohio State), Deebo Samuel (South Carolina) or possibly Riley Ridley (Georgia). Any of these options wouldn’t come at too high of a price or require a first or possibly second round pick to get. Either way, the team needs just one more player to fill the missing back end of the depth chart.