3 receivers Cleveland Browns should target at No.13

The Cleveland Browns have the No. 13 pick in the NFL draft. Will they go “all in” on a wide receiver? There are several options in a deep class of wideouts.

At one time, in the not-so-distant past, the Cleveland Browns, at least on paper, looked to have one of the best wide receiver groups in the NFL. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. were going to lead the way for the team advancing to another postseason and hopefully a Super Bowl. Oh, how the tide turns quickly.

Beckham Jr. has flown the coop and is in Hollywood with the Los Angeles Rams after leaving the Browns midseason. Landry is still here but might be released later this offseason to save the team a bunch of money.

That leaves the Browns with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz being the only two receivers from this past season that will likely return. Wideout Rashard Higgins, who’s been with the team since 2017, is likely going to try and escape to another team as he hits the free-agent market in March.

While Peoples-Jones improved in year two with Cleveland, he didn’t have the bust-out season many were predicting when he was dazzling the Browns faithful with catches at training camp in Berea. Schwartz is coming off a less than spectacular rookie campaign. He was able to show signs of his speed that he has but not to the degree that made any huge difference in the passing game this past season.

The Browns wide receivers haven’t been able to create much separation in their routes when on the field and that left the offense struggling to move the ball down the field with much success or consistency. The last time the Browns drafted a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft was in 2015 when they took Corey Coleman from Baylor with the 15th pick.

Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2005 when the team took Braylon Edwards, from Michigan with the third pick. For some perspective on how that pick landed with the team, Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers was selected at 24th that draft. Oh my…

So, picking wide receivers for Cleveland isn’t very commonplace and yet it is likely the most glowing deficiency on the offensive side off the ball for the team right now. With that in mind, let’s study a few of these top-rated wide receivers entering the draft and see which might be the best fit for the Browns.

Cleveland Browns WR draft target: Drake London

When watching Drake London catch passes for the USC Trojans this past season, one might think of a player like tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. London is a giant, standing at 6-foot-5. He has even played basketball for USC. But now he’s committed to playing football and is projected at being picked in the first round of the NFL draft.

When you watch highlights of London’s football games you can see how his basketball skills have helped develop him into a reliable possession receiver that would definitely keep the chains moving forward. Many of his receptions were plays where he’d literally box out the defender and use his height to complete the catch.

He can also break away from the initial contact and gain extra yardage. He broke his ankle back in the early part of this past season but still managed to gain 1,084 yards in only eight games including seven touchdowns. He had four games this last season where he registered north of 162 yards receiving.

He might not have the breakaway speed that a few other potential wide receivers in this class might have in the draft, but what he has are incredible instincts and a feel for the game that can’t be undenied.

If the Browns are needing to get their offense moving again next season, then London is your guy. The eerie resemblance he has to a player like Travis Kelce, who also used to play basketball in college, is hard to miss.

Becoming a consistent 80 to 100 receptions a season and 1,000 yards wide receiver, like Kelce has done every year in his career with the Chiefs could be what is in store for London. In addition, he has a great football name that fans of the Browns would gladly wear on the backs of their hometown’s jerseys.

Cleveland Browns WR draft target: Garrett Wilson

Before Cleveland drafted Denzel Ward, a cornerback out of Ohio State in 2018, the Browns seemed to try and avoid drafting Buckeyes, like they were the plague. It’s still a mystery to most but fortunately, the Browns have Ward on their team now and could be looking at adding another Buckeye in Garrett Wilson, the speedy wide receiver.

Wilson is all about that breakaway speed he has to separate from the defense. He would be your big-play receiver that would bring the Browns fans to their feet down at First Energy Stadium on Sundays.

He’s just such a smart route runner and has instincts like a wideout like Odell Beckham Jr. Wilson’s hands and ability to grab passes that would seem tough are also very impressive. The cuts and ability to separate quickly from the defense are also on display when you watch his highlight film.

He might go down to the ground or jump high to grab a throw, but it doesn’t matter as Wilson usually gobbles up anything near him. And once he catches the ball, his swiftness to get away from the defense and bolt of speed he displays will make one team this draft very happy. He’s lightning in a bottle.

Taking Wilson at No.13 for the Browns would be a very popular move for the team and bring a renewed excitement to the season ahead.

Cleveland Browns WR draft target: Treylon Burks

Treylon Burks recorded 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games in his junior season at Arkansas. He stands at 6-foot-3 and is a little bit of both a breakaway receiver plus a big receiver who can go up and grab the passes that a little wideout might not grab. It’s that type of combination of player that has NFL executives salivating at the month wanting to draft this kid.

He can take a screen pass in the backfield and bolt 90 yards for the score. He’s got that kind of speed. Or he can escape the defensive on a wheel route and go the distance for six points. He’s a little of everything and that makes taking Burks a real possibility by the Browns.

If the Browns decide to release Jarvis Landry this offseason, a player such as Burks would be a nice replacement. Arkansas used Burks in jet sweeps often or gave him the ball in the backfield to then try and stretch for big gains on the run. Burks reminds you of a player like Landry but much younger.

Some have compared Burks to Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss because he’s been able to go up and get the ball on plays that seemed too difficult for most. When the Razorbacks played Alabama, one of the best teams in college football, Burks had a great game.

In one highlight, he adjusted on the pass and gave Burks a pass to his backside where he caught the ball and then ran 50 yards away from the Crimson Tide defenders for a touchdown. If he can do that against Alabama, then he’ll be more than ready to do that in the NFL.

Intriguing was the one word you see the most when trying to calculate Burks’s value to a team in the NFL. His size and other intangibles mentioned above make him a very solid draft pick and one Cleveland needs to consider as they try and make their offense better next season.