Ja’Marcus Bradley set to debut for Browns at WR

Ja’Marcus Bradley, an undrafted rookie, makes his debut for the Browns

Ja’Marcus Bradley, an undrafted rookie wide receiver from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, has been elevated to the Cleveland Browns active roster and will likely see action against the Tennessee Titans. Bradley is being promoted from the Browns practice squad under a new rule which allows up to two practice squad players to be promoted for up to two games without being counted against the 53 player limit, and then they can be returned to the practice squad without having to clear waivers.

Basically, it is a one-to-two week gig with the big club, but they probably would not make the move unless there was a real need for his services.   Bradley will be wearing No. 84, so hopefully he can channel his inner Webster Slaughter and do his jersey number justice.

Incidentally, though the focus of DPD is always on the Cleveland Browns, we would be remiss to not mention that Bradley’s Ragin’ Cajuns had an enormous road win against arch-rival Appalachian State on Friday, 24-21. The Ragin’ Cajuns are currently ranked number 20 in the AP Top 25 poll. This has been a good week for Louisiana fans.

Bradley is getting his shot this week because KhaDarel Hodge is banged up with an uncooperative hamstring.

The Browns will go with Jarvis Landry and Hollywood Higgins as their two starters, with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Taywan Taylor as the extra wide receivers in addition to Bradley.

In any conversation about small college wide receivers without blazing speed, Jerry Rice is always brought up as an example to prove that players do not necessarily need major college experience nor do they have to torch the practice field at the combine. In Bradley’s case, the Covid situation messed with the Pro Day schedule, so we do not know how fast he is or how much he bench presses and all those great stats. But in actuality, straight-line speed is not that important for a wide receiver.

It’s kind of like judging a Corvette. What we would really like to know is how well he can change direction and blow the doors off the competition while maneuvering, not necessarily how great he is at sprinting. There’s definitely an opportunity for small school wide receivers to excel in the NFL without olympic sprinting and jumping ability.  We will have to see if he has some particular routes that he has been practicing for the Browns and Baker Mayfield, and whether he can actually make the  plays.

What about blocking? Hodge is a terrific blocker for a wide receiver, an often overlooked attribute.  Maybe Bradley can help out with the running game in addition to being a pass receiving threat.