The Cleveland Browns signed Nate Burleson yesterday. Burleson is 32 years old and on his last legs, but in Cleveland, he could actually end up being the No. 2 wideout across from Josh Gordon. Based on Burleson's career to this point, you could look at this as a positive development for Josh Gordon.
Burleson's enjoyed an 11-year career, and he's been a starter throughout, for three different teams (Vikings, Seahawks, Lions). In almost every season, while he's toiled in that No. 2 role, his team's No. 1 wideout has put up big numbers. Now, Burleson has played with a couple of the league's best wideouts in that time, but several lesser lights have put up the best numbers of their career across from him, as well. Three different Seattle wideouts went for at least 900 yards with Burleson in the lineup.
Burleson's season-by-season yardage (leaving out 2008, where he played in only one game), and his team's top wideout's numbers in those sames seasons, are presented below.
| NO. 1 WIDEOUTS IN NATE BURLESON'S CAREER | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Burleson | No. 1 | Rec | Yards | TD |
| 2003 | Minnesota | 455 | Randy Moss | 111 | 1632 | 17 |
| 2004 | Minnesota | 1,006 | Randy Moss | 49 | 767 | 13 |
| 2005 | Minnesota | 328 | Travis Taylor | 50 | 604 | 4 |
| 2006 | Seattle | 192 | Darrell Jackson | 63 | 956 | 10 |
| 2007 | Seattle | 694 | Bobby Engram | 94 | 1147 | 6 |
| 2009 | Seattle | 812 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh | 79 | 911 | 3 |
| 2010 | Detroit | 625 | Calvin Johnson | 77 | 1120 | 12 |
| 2011 | Detroit | 757 | Calvin Johnson | 96 | 1681 | 16 |
| 2012 | Detroit | 240 | Calvin Johnson | 122 | 1964 | 5 |
| 2013 | Detroit | 461 | Calvin Johnson | 84 | 1492 | 12 |
| 2014 | Cleveland | ??? | Josh Gordon | ??? | ||
--Andy Richardson