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5 wide receivers the Browns should target in the 2023 NFL Draft

By A.J. Fagerlin

May 25, 2022; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) runs the offense with wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) during organized team activities at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2022; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) runs the offense with wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) during organized team activities at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the 2023 NFL Draft quickly approaching, and the Cleveland Browns needing to add firepower on offense, here are 5 wide receivers they should consider drafting at pick 42.

The wide receiver position seems to be a popular one for Cleveland Browns fans to fixate on heading toward free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft. With a fairly weak free agent wide receiver class, and the lack of early draft capital to trade for a truly impactful wideout, the Browns may look to the draft to add another target for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Amari Cooper excelled as a solid lead receiver this season, and Donovan Peoples-Jones seems to have shown enough to be valued as a draft “steal,” earning himself a significant role in what should be a fairly new-look, high-powered Browns offense under head coach and play-caller, Kevin Stefanski.

While both Cooper and Peoples-Jones played at a high level with both Watson and 2022 starting quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, I would expect the team to look to add a bit more of an explosive, dynamic weapon for Watson’s disposal in his first real season as a starter.

5 wide receiver prospects the Cleveland Browns should target at pick 42 in the 2023 NFL Draft

Browns, 2023 NFL Draft
Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt /

5. Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee

First, we have the player that Cleveland Browns owner, Jimmy Haslam, would likely be petitioning for: Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt. Haslam reportedly has been enamored by the offensive attack deployed by his alma mater and would like to replicate it with his own orange-wearing football team.

Hyatt was an Alabama killer this season, lighting up the Crimson Tide for four touchdowns on his way to a Biletnikoff Award-winning season for the Volunteers. Posting 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on 67 receptions in a breakout junior season, Hyatt enters the 2023 NFL Draft with a first-round pedigree.

While he certainly possesses the speed, explosiveness, and home-run capability that the Browns are surely looking for, Hyatt may not be the most well-rounded receiver prospect in the class. He is effective down the field and with the ball in his hands after quick passes but could be more refined in the middle. To be fair, this was what he was primarily asked to do at Tennessee, so he could certainly be capable of becoming a truly dynamic weapon at the next level.

Unfortunately for the Browns, I think other teams will believe that and select him prior to pick 42 when Cleveland comes on the clock, but if he is still on the board I think Hyatt would be a great addition and a near-perfect fit for what general manager Andrew Berry and the team are likely looking for. He did fall in this mock draft that I wrote in my Dawg Pound Daily debut, so with the wide variety of rankings you never know what may happen in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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