Disappearing Act: Where have these 3 Cleveland Browns gone?

The Cleveland Browns have three players that have disappeared from the field of play and it has many of us wondering when we’ll see them again

A magician’s disappearing act has always been a fan favorite but in the case of Cleveland Browns fans, the disappearance of several players these last few weeks has many of them wondering when they’ll see them again. Will they reappear when the Browns take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday?

Cleveland has been running smoothly despite these players going missing but in the long run, if these players keep hiding then they may not be playing much longer in a Browns uniform.

All of these players that are “MIA” have had the spotlight on them in the past and have performed well but the fact the team is having success now and these players don’t seem to be needed much anymore. Let’s look now at each one of these Browns and see what has happened to them and if we might ever see them again.

Where have these 3 Cleveland Browns gone?

No. 3: Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR

After a good Week 1 effort where Donovan Peoples-Jones caught 6 passes for 60 yards, he has fallen off the offensive radar and has had only one catch for 10 yards since. That’s definitely not good enough and the third-year player from Michigan needs to step up his game in these next few weeks.

Part of the issue is that he hasn’t been targeted much. He only had one pass thrown his way in Week 2 and last Thursday, he was only tossed the ball three times. He’s been on the field between 78-88 percent of the offensive plays the last two games so either he’s not getting good separation from his defender or Jacoby Brissett just isn’t seeing him open or looking his way.

With Amari Cooper stepping up in his game the last couple of weeks, opponents of the Browns will likely try and take Cooper out of games and force them to look to a player like DPJ.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1320458408055681026?s=20&t=R3E42DUkBXwIZjhLA37ztA

The problem for DPJ is that there has been talk of him finally having that breakout season and becoming a legitimate No. 2 receiver, but we are still waiting for that to happen. Despite the flair of DPJ and the chatter about all the great catches he’s made or attempted to make, he still has fallen short of expectations.

By year three, the cream of the crop pass catchers begin establishing themselves as stars. The highlight of DPJ’s career is the game-winning grab he made two years ago against the Cincinnati Bengals in the closing seconds. That, however, has really been it and that’s not enough to carry a career too much further.

These next few weeks are very important to the Browns and if they use DPJ more, hopefully, it will help the team win a few more games.

No. 2: Anthony Schwartz, WR

He’s only in year No. 2 but Anthony Schwartz hasn’t done much of anything in his career with the Browns. The coaching staff seems to still be in love with the possibilities with the former Auburn track star (and his blazing speed), but it doesn’t seem that love affair is doing much for either side at the moment.

In the Week 1 contest, he ran the ball twice for 20 yards and caught one pass for 19 yards. Since then, he hasn’t caught any passes or run the ball again.

The disappearing act is really happening for Schwartz too in terms of not being on the field. He played in 29 snaps in Week 1 but that has shrunk from 12 plays in Week 2 to a measly five plays last week. Maybe the Browns coaches are finally seeing what we all have seen the past two years.

Could he be traded before the trade deadline on November 1st? Would he even draw interest from other teams? None of those questions are good ones for Schwartz if he still has hope of a lengthy NFL career.

Things don’t seem to be going too well for him at the moment. He may have missed his opportunity already, but we’ll see if anything changes over the next few ball games. It starts in Atlanta and if we don’t see him again on the field, we might not see him much longer in a Browns uniform.

No. 1: Demetric Felton Jr., punt returner

Demetric Felton was drafted last year in the sixth round as the Browns liked the versatility ohe brought to the table. Cleveland played him at various positions last year, including running back, wide receiver, and punt returner.

He had some success at receiver where he caught 18 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 32 punts and nine kick returns, so he was a valuable asset to the squad but then this season started, and he’s gone missing.

In Week 1 he took five punts back for only 29 yards and that also included a fumble. In Week 2 he had two punt returns but again looked shaky at best.

His contributions to the offense have been limited as well. He has one rush for negative-four yards and one catch for three yards, so offensively he’s standing at negative-one on the year. The coaches then made the right decision to bench him for the game last week. The team brought in veteran wide receiver and special teams player Chester Rogers to return punts and he looked decent in Felton’s absence.

However, Cleveland has Felton listed as the punt returner again for the Falcon’s game and placed Rogers on the practice squad. If Felton doesn’t look better or continues to fumble the ball, then the team might have to demote him permanently.