I notice the Browns drafted four wide receivers. Saturation bombing. That hasn’t happened before in this century. But does that mean they have adequately addressed their wide receiver situation? Maybe.
We have talked previously about Corey Coleman. I like him a lot. I settled on him as my clear favorite wide receiver in the draft even before they selected him ahead of Treadwell, Doctson and Fuller. To me, Coleman looks a lot like Steve Smith, Brandin Cooks and Antonio Brown. Other Baylor wide receivers have caught even more passes for more yards in their final college season – Kendall Wright, Terrance Williams – but Coleman runs a 4.37 and is quick as hell, getting away from people after the catch.
In the fifth round, they selected two receivers who don’t have great measurables but caught a ton of balls in college. Jordan Payton is the career receiving leader at UCLA, and Hollywood Higgins is probably the all-time receiving leader at Colorado State. Neither of those players have the off-the-charts athleticism you’re looking for, but they’ve both been very productive. There’s a good chance one of them will pan out.
And in the fourth round, the Browns selected Ricardo Louis, who brings more athleticism to the table but wasn’t as productive at Auburn.
They certainly injected a lot of prospects into their receiving corps.
On the other hand, it’s not easy finding significant wide receivers and developing them. A bunch of other teams have selected three wide receivers in the draft in this century, and none of those teams really knocked it out of the park with said selections.
I am listing them below. If a player was what you might call a really good pick, I put a black dot in front of his name. And I used the following thinking with those guys. If the clock was backed up, and everyone knew how said player would perform, would he have been selected perhaps a half round earlier? If yes, then I call that guy a “hit” and put a black dot in front of his name.
2009 CHICAGO BEARS
(3-99) Juaquin Iglesias, Oklahoma
(5-140) • Johnny Knox, Abilene Christian
(7-251) Derek Kinder, Pittsburgh
2008 CINCINNATI BENGALS
(2-46) Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina
(3-97) Andre Caldwell, Florida
(7-246) Mario Urrutia, Louisville
2000 DENVER BRONCOS
(3-70) Chris Cole, Texas A&M
(5-154) Muneer Moore, Richmond
(7-246) Leroy Fields, Jackson State
2005 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
(5-155) Larry Brackins, Pearl River C.C.
(7-225) Paris Warren, Utah
(7-253) J.R. Russell, Louisville
2003 NEW YORK GIANTS
(6-199) Willie Ponder, Southeast Missouri State
(6-211) • David Tyree, Syracuse
(7-255) • Kevin Walter, Eastern Michigan
2009 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
(4-107) • Mike Thomas, Arizona
(5-144) Jarett Dillard, Rice
(7-253) Tiquan Underwood, Rutgers
2014 NEW YORK JETS
(4-104) Jalen Saunders, Oklahoma
(4-115) Shaq Evans, UCLA
(6-209) • Quincy Enunwa, Nebraska
2003 DETROIT LIONS
(1-2) Charles Rogers, Michigan State
(6-175) David Kircus, Grand Valley State
(7-260) Travis Anglin, Memphis
2014 GREEN BAY PACKERS
(2-53) Davante Adams, Fresno State
(5-176) • Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin
(7-236) • Jeff Janis, Saginaw Valley State
2006 GREEN BAY PACKERS
(2-52) • Greg Jennings, Western Michigan
(4-104) Cory Rodgers, Texas Christian
(4-115) Will Blackmon, Boston College
2000 GREEN BAY PACKERS
(4-114) Anthony Lucas, Arkansas
(5-151) Joey Jamison, Texas Southern
(7-242) Charles Lee, Central Florida
2003 OAKLAND RAIDERS
(2-63) Teyo Johnson, Stanford
(5-167) • Doug Gabriel, Central Florida
(7-262) Ryan Hoag, Gustavus Adolphus
2004 BALTIMORE RAVENS
(3-82) Devard Darling, Washington State
(6-199) Clarence Moore, Northern Arizona
(7-244) Derek Abney, Kentucky
2002 BALTIMORE RAVENS
(4-123) Ron Johnson, Minnesota
(6-195) LaMont Brightful, Eastern Washington
(6-206) Javin Hunter, Notre Dame
2007 TENNESSEE TITANS
(3-80) Paul Williams, Fresno State
(4-128) Chris Davis, Florida State
(6-188) Joel Filani, Texas Tech
2005 TENNESSEE TITANS
(3-68) Courtney Roby, Indiana
(3-96) Brandon Jones, Oklahoma
(4-136) Roydell Williams, Tulane
2007 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
(2-44) • Sidney Rice, South Carolina
(5-146) Aundrae Allison, East Carolina
(7-233) Chandler Williams, Florida International
—Ian Allan