I can't help being somewhat redundant here, but the irrational punditry about the state of, and need for, Browns wide receivers just keeps getting worse.
The mock drafts have them drafting one in the second round. Mary Kay Cabbot prescribed a required influx of at least six impact players, and Hue Jackson recruiting Mohamed Sanu from the Bengals. Everybody else keeps saying the Browns need wide receivers.
Before I go on, I like Mohamed Sanu. He's a big guy who can jump out of the stadium. He's a sure-handed possession guy, and he's only 26.
I like Hartline a lot, too, but he's much older. Sanu is more physical, and can do most of the same things. Sanu wouldn't really be an upgrade, but would provide long-term depth, and he's already familiar with Jackson's system. Probably, he wouldn't cost much, if any, more than Hartline.
Having said that, I once again have to bring up Josh Gordon. Mary Kay mentioned him "if Hue Jackson is willing to give him a chance". I guess that's similar to Hue calling his own plays being "risky".
Of course, duh, Hue will welcome Josh with open arms. Certainly, DePodesta will be there to point out these two facts:
His second last suspension was based on a positive test for thc which was negligible, and could only be attributable to second hand smoke.
The player's union pointed out that the threshold set by the NFL was something like five times lower than that of the U.S. military (or anybody else), and it was lowered almost immediately after Gordon's test.
Indeed, one of Gordon's two samples was below that ridiculously low threshold, and by rights the suspension should have been thrown out. It probably would have been by anybody except King Roger.
Josh's indefinite suspension was for having drinks on a plane (like almost everybody else) after the season had ended.
Sure, it was stupid of him, but good grief are you kidding me? I'm all done defending Johnny Fishbowl, but not done pointing out the idiocy of these restrictions.
True, Gordon had a history of pot-smoking going back to college, but since that time got popped for second hand smoke (and very little of it), which set him up for getting popped for drinks on a plane in the off season. (He had to take a twelve-step program off that! Steven A Smith refers to him as an addict!!!)
Gordon is at risk, simply because he has to pee in a cup every third day or so, and might take the wrong supplement or something, but he's older now, you DON'T get addicted to pot, and he's not Johnny Manziel.
Josh Gordon will be back, Hue Jackson will make sure he's in shape, and he's already proven that he can be better than ANY wide receiver in the NFL. He did that in fourteen games, with Brian Hoyer, Campbell, and a guy named Joe.
And yes, here comes the Terrelle Pryor rant again: When this freak first switched from quarterback, all the football guys talked about how difficult it would be, and how most of these attempted switches failed. This is true.
It's also true that none of the other guys had Pryor's height, weight, or speed. None had actually started and played quarterback in the NFL as long as Pryor, ergo didn't understand patterns or reads as well as he had to.
But 31 other teams didn't pick him up after the Browns released him. That's also true, but for one thing, he's not eligible for a practice squad. No team could "stash" him, and he wasn't expected to be ready to contribute YET by the other teams. Finally, those teams that weren't stacked at wide receiver who wouldn't sign him were a bunch of blockheads. Especially the Cleveland Browns, who kept Dwayne Bowe instead!!!
This is where I get repetitive: The few games in which he was active, and the four passes he was thrown, showed anybody who knows what they're looking at that he has the ability to succeed. He screwed up about as much as most rookies do, but he's not a typical rookie.
He knows exactly what he did wrong, and what to work on. Before, he practiced and trained with Randy Moss and Josh Gordon, and he probably will again.
He's never been suspended, and pays for his own tats now. He's still a work in progress as a wide receiver (by the way Hue will at least consider him at H-back and tight end), but this coming season will be in the mix out of the gate.
If Josh Gordon stumbles again, Pryor will be here. Indeed, Terrelle can learn more by just watching and imitating Gordon than he can from any of his coaches.
I mentioned H-back and tight end. This would match him up with tiny cornerbacks or linebackers a lot. He overmatches everybody, but this would make the mismatches even more funny to look at. It would be a way to get him on the field sooner, and without taking a Benjamin or Hawkins out.
None of this has even registered with Mary Kay or anybody else! I just don't get why this "we need a wide receiver--no two!" mantra keeps droning on when if they do sign Sanu, they'll probably cut Hartline!
Well, trust me: Hue Jackson already knows better. He gets a kick out of all you guys.
The Browns are highly unlikely to target a wide receiver with any high pick in the 2016 draft.
T H I N K! PLEASE!
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