3 takeaways from Cleveland Browns first padded practice of 2021

2. Don’t forget about Hodge

Odell Beckham, Jr. is returning from a torn ACL. Anthony Schwartz runs a sub 4.3. Jarvis Landry is healthy after being banged up in 2020. Rashard Higgins is on another one-year “prove-it” deal after his best season as a pro last year. Donovan Peoples-Jones is showing major signs of improvement in his second season.

All of these storylines have been discussed at length when it comes to the Browns wide receiver corps and for good reason. Every one of the above statements is true and that’s led to a lot of excitement with the receivers.

But there’s one guy who shouldn’t be slept on — KhaDarel Hodge.

Statistically, Hodge doesn’t jump out at anyone with his 11 receptions for 180 yards last season ‚— although the 16.4 yards per reception average was impressive. Also impressive was the fact that every single catch he made went for a first-down.

Even with his high average and the fact that he made so many first downs, Hodge simply gets overlooked but that was hard to do on Tuesday. The veteran wideout made several plays including a touchdown pass in the red zone.

As it stands now, he’s probably the No. 6 wide receiver on the team, and barring an injury, he might struggle to see the field much on offensive sets. However, he’s a stud on special teams in coverage and if he continues to make plays the way he did Tuesday, he could wind up being a surprise contributor.