9 Cleveland Browns wideouts who will make NFL rosters this season
Deep dive: Cleveland Browns WR room
Amari Cooper, third-year player Donovan Peoples-Jones, Pro Bowler and big bucks free agent return man Jakeem Grant, third-round draft pick David Bell, 2021 third-rounder Anthony Schwartz, and 2021 sixth-rounder Demetric Felton are extremely likely to make the Cleveland Browns roster unless there’s a trade.
The Browns have four developmental receivers on the roster: Bell (rookie), Woods (rookie), Weston (rookie), and Schwartz (second-year). That’s too many. They might get lucky and find that one’s ready for prime time this season. In particular, Bell had outstanding collegiate preparation with three years as a starter in the Big 10 at Purdue, which included 232 catches and 2,946 yards.
They drafted Woods in the sixth round, so he should make the team, even though he didn’t post huge numbers in college and did not destroy the Scouting Combine.
It’s judgment time for Ja’Marcus Bradley. He has developed to the point at which he should make the team or not based on his present capabilities, rather than future promise. Bradley is a 4.4 guy who has honed his skills for two years and may be more advanced right now.
He’s played well in limited opportunities. He may not be a starter, but he had better find his way to the top of the depth chart for at least some of the specialty sets, such as the four-wides or (shudder) empty backfield sets. Everything we have seen indicates he should be up to the task.
If not, there’s a good chance he will get claimed on waivers should the Browns cut him. As ridiculous as it sounds, his 64 receiving yards last season would have led all Bengals backup wide receivers.
If he gets signed to a practice squad, he’ll get the call from an NFL team within a few weeks.
Isaiah Weston is a Combine freak whose main fault is coming from a small school but has impressed in camp so far. Honestly, Weston is more interesting than Woods. He looks like a small-school version of D.K. Metcalf.
If you were going to give an extra seventh slot to the wide receivers, it makes more sense to give it to Weston if he continues to show raw potential in summer camp. Do not, do not, do not expose this player to waivers if you intend to keep him. But the alternative would seem to be cutting a sixth-round draft pick in Woods.
That’s why Woods was not a good choice. There’s no roster space for him. If there was no one else in Round 6 that they felt good about assigning a roster spot to, they should have tried to trade that pick for a Round 5 pick in 2023 or even 2024.
Look at the Bengals’ roster and try to make a case that they will not claim Weston, Woods, or Bradley if given the chance. Without breaking down the other 28 NFL rosters outside the AFC North, there are probably some other decrepit receiver rooms around the NFL that could use a receiver as a WR4 or WR 5.
To resolve the problem, the Browns face the unpleasant prospect of just giving away a few ballplayers via the waiver wire at the end of summer camp. Hello Bengals, have a game-breaking wide receiver on us, how about? Alternatively, they may be able to trade someone.