5 unknown Cleveland Browns who might surprise in 2021

Ja’Marcus Bradley, can he make an impact in 2021?

Ja’Marcus Bradley had to start when the Browns wide receiving corps was wiped out due to Covid-19 against the Jets.

We do not know enough about Bradley after the Combine was wiped out due to Covid-19. We do know that he was one of the most prolific wide receivers in Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns school history, with 48 catches for 760 yards and seven TDs. He was tied for third in career TDs with 20, and fifth in receiving yards with 2213.

Josh Keatley of Brownswire/USAToday Sports reports that Bradley ran a 4.4 40-yard dash in a virtual Pro Day. Numbers geeks would much rather have seen that at the Combine under better-controlled conditions, but 4.4 is not half bad.

Against the Jets, Bradley became the number one receiving threat. This was one of the worst game plans of the season, however. Rather than finding ways to use the weapons that remained (namely Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, David Njoku, and Austin Hooper) the Browns elected to target Bradley 11 times, which was the most they had targeted any wide receiver all year long.

Nevertheless, Bradley looked good at first, making 5 catches for 60 yards in his only start. Once the Jets figured out which routes Bradley was going to run, they were able to cover him. After the game, in retrospect, the Browns coaching staff recognized that they had overreacted to the Covid-19 roster situation and the solution should not have been to pin all of their hopes on a rookie making his first NFL appearance.

Still, Bradley showed some ability and is the Browns WR6 going into Summer Camp. He will have to improve to leapfrog Switzer and Hodge to become WR5, but he could appear on the practice squad again.

The Browns are not short on longshot wide receivers. Versus the Jets, Derrick Willies was the other starter, who in 2018 was looked at as a legit receiver for Baker Mayfield after some clutch catches in their upset victory over Baltimore (that’s the team that Colin Cowherd insists that Browns can never beat, by the way).

Willies was also used as the gunner on special teams. But coach Stefanski seemed to prefer Alexander Hollins as his WR7.