5 Cleveland Browns that surprisingly won’t make the Week 1 roster
By Greg Newland
3. JoJo Natson, Wide Receiver/Returner
Last season the Cleveland Browns brought in JoJo Natson as a special teams ace and gadget player. Although Natson is only 5-foot-7, 153 pounds, he is lightning quick and has had a ton of success returning kicks in the NFL.
Unfortunately, Natson’s 2021 season was ended short with a season-ending injury in Week 3. In his short tenure with the team, Natson was only able to return four kicks for a total of 56 yards.
Timing is bad for Natson as the Browns drafted Anthony Schwartz in round three of the 2021 NFL draft. Schwartz has the same type of game-changing speed and has significantly more size.
With NFL rosters already limited, don’t look for there to be room for two guys that are just complete burner. Not only does Schwartz have similar if not better speed than Natson, but he is also a much bigger threat as a wide receiver.
Stefanski brought in Natson to return kicks and run the reverse/jet sweep or fake it, to hold the opposing defensive ends. That job is certainly important but will be filled by Schwartz.
Guys like Natson are becoming less and less valuable in the league as the rules have all but taken the return game out of the NFL, but his speed will still allow him to find a home for the 2021 season.