The Cleveland Browns are likely to take a wide receiver at No. 13 in the draft. Which college prospect would be the best fit for the team?
One of the bigger decisions this offseason for the Cleveland Browns involves trying to improve their wide receivers’ room. At the moment there are several different storylines to follow involving this area of the team.
At the forefront of these involves what the team will do with Jarvis Landry. If Cleveland decides to release him from his contract, they’d save a lot of money and have more cap money to spend on future acquisitions.
The well-talked-about wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. left the Browns midseason, joined the Los Angeles Rams, and now has won his first Super Bowl. The departure of Beckham Jr. sent waves through the team ever since and it’s highlighted some dysfunction within the team.
Much of that has to do with the quarterback Baker Mayfield, who painfully played through injuries this season, but those injuries and his psyche took a hit too and it’s been the cause of much debate amongst fans of the Browns.
Getting the quarterback situation under control would be the first step in revamping the offense. If Mayfield is still here by the start of training camp, then the team needs to zero in on what wide receivers to either try and bring in via free agency or through the draft.
There are several high-profile free-agent wide receivers like Mike Williams, from the Los Angeles Chargers or Chris Godwin from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that could be available to the Browns, but they’d come at a high price.
The other option that might be more realistic for the team is drafting a wide receiver in the upcoming NFL Draft in April. There are many good players at the wide receiver position that the Browns could take but much of that decision will involve what player would be the best fit for this team.
The complaints from fans and others that analyze the team is that they haven’t had a receiver that could stretch the field, keeping opponents’ secondaries honest. In many games this past season, several opponents would crowd the line of scrimmage, knowing that the team couldn’t expand the field with speedy playmakers. These teams were able to take away the Browns run game too and forced the Cleveland quarterback to try and win games with his arm.
The need for a wide receiver that can separate from his opponent on the playing field seems ideal. There are several of those types of receivers in the draft. But the team needs a reliable wide receiver who can also catch the ball consistently and give Mayfield a big target.
Some will argue at this point that it won’t matter who the Browns bring in at wide receiver, either through the draft or in free agency because Mayfield is the larger issue here and is why a player like Beckham Jr. forced his way out of town. They’ll argue that Mayfield has lost his confidence and zeros in too much on a target and has failed more than he’s succeeded.
Regardless, of all of that, or if the team brings in a new quarterback in its future the team needs better wide receivers.
Let’s now take a look at a few of the possible wide receivers available in this year’s draft. There are several different options and they all could benefit the Browns long term in the wide receiver room.
Cleveland Browns: Why Garrett Wilson would be the best fit
In the popular vote, most that want to draft a wide receiver want the Browns to draft Garrett Wilson out of the Ohio State University. He’s got speed, the ability to separate from his opponent, and he’s a local player and is considered by many to be the best of the wide receivers available in this year’s draft.
On many mock draft boards, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the Browns are picking Wilson at No. 13. If that does happen in real-time, then it would be a good move and give the team a pretty solid prospect. One never knows until they play the games how the player will respond on the field, but Wilson projects out as a sure pick.
He’d be coming out of college a year early. He had a great junior season, where he caught 70 passes for 1,058 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He’s not the tallest of wide receivers, standing at 6-foot-0, so there is some concern there going against more physical and taller cornerbacks.
But he has the ability and athleticism to separate from the defender, either during the reception or after the catch and he would certainly help a team looking for playmakers.
Cleveland Browns: Why Drake London would be the best fit
When one watches Drake London on tape, one thing that stands out is how tall and athletic-looking he is. He catches many of his passes by literally boxing out his defenders. London has played basketball in his past including for his USC team. His 6-foot-5 height and big frame make him an intimidating player.
It may not seem that he’d have the speed we’ve discussed previously regarding Wilson, but he can separate enough and bounce through tacklers for extra yardage after the catch.
He did break his ankle earlier this fall but that shouldn’t be a huge distractor.
The Browns need a reliable receiver who will catch the ball consistently and that’s a big benefit of drafting someone like London. On tape, London was usually grabbing passes against defenders and taking advantage of his length. He also can take passes out in the flat and make big gains with the ability to run after the catch
He may not burn the defender, but he certainly could gain big yards after the reception and rumble to the end zone.
He seems to fit the type of player that would become a fan favorite because of his efforts and the way that he grinds it out on the field. He likes taking the contact on the receptions and gaining that yardage to move the sticks. Cleveland needs a player that can help make that possible on every offensive series.
His height would favor Baker Mayfield’s game as well because Mayfield usually targets his players with higher passes and give him a target, he’d be able to hit consistently.
Cleveland Browns: Why Jameson Williams would be the best fit
The Alabama Crimson Tide product is probably the best deep threat in the draft. The current problem for Jameson Williams is that he tore his ACL in the National Championship Game back in January. His road to recovery will be long. Will he be the same player that he was before the injury?
We just saw Odell Beckham Jr. return from an ACL injury and yet he suffered a similar injury during the Super Bowl this past week. Knees are delicate and for receivers, they are very valuable if you can avoid injuries.
Wiliams stands at 6-foot-2, a great size for a wide receiver. After spending his previous two seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes, he transferred to Alabama and was outstanding. He caught 79 passes for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Of all the receivers in the draft, he likely would have been the fastest if he weren’t injured now. Do the Browns take the chance at drafting Williams? He certainly would be considered a top 10 pick if not for the injury. Some NFL team will take him and it likely won’t be that late into the draft. The risk and reward on Williams sound like a good bet by some team.
The Browns certainly need to take the injury into account, but he likely will have a stellar career somewhere in the league so why not in Cleveland?
Cleveland Browns: Why Chris Olave would be the best fit
The other Ohio State wide receiver that could very easily be drafted in the first round is Chris Olave. Is he a pick No. 13 type player?
He didn’t have the same numbers as his teammate Garrett Wilson, but he did finish with 13 touchdowns and has always been a very reliable target for the Ohio State quarterbacks.
Olave played all four seasons as a Buckeye and that has likely elevated his status in the draft this year. He’s an excellent route runner and can create space in small windows of space between him and his defender.
He has the ability to get past his opponent but also can elude the defense after the catch and gain big yardage.
Olave could move into the slot in the Browns offense on day one and be a solid pick. The Cleveland Browns do have an early pick in round two of the draft, but Olave might be off the board by then. Is he good enough to take at No. 13?
The beauty of the No. 13 pick for the Browns is that if they decide to take a wide receiver at this point in the draft, they’re getting a difference-maker on the team and can spark an offense that was stuck in reverse for much of the 2021 season. However, there are other receivers that will be available in later rounds as well and Cleveland could go that route.
Players like David Bell, out of Purdue, Jahan Dotson from Penn State, or Christian Watson from North Dakota State are just a few of the many quality receivers that could certainly help the team next season.