DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Receivers

A lot of new blood ... a lot of unknowns ... but at least it'll be fun to watch.

If 2 of our new WRs pan out I'll consider it a great draft

not to mention the prospect of Pryor being effective

+1, receivers who are exciting, we've got a couple...and TEs....and Griffin, he's not old and slow...hope he gets ball out well and SLIDES early....can't wait to see what we've got...GO Browns!!!

Is he on the field now? Last I heard he was out with a hammy. Is he back?

Coleman is really the only guarantee but I suspect when all is said and done, it will be 6 receivers and 3 TE's.

Coleman, Gordon, Pryor, Higgins, Payton with Gabriel, Hawkins, Moore, Louis, Jennings all fighting for that last spot.

TE is gonna be even crazier than the battle for receiver.
Barnidge and then Bibbs? Telfer? Devalve? Hamlett?

probably the most competitive these positions have been since Butch Davis was here. Now the question becomes, are these positions also talented and that we just have to wait and see.

I suspect that we'll keep 10 between the WR and TE positions. (and maybe even 11)

Does anyone think Gabriel is just as good as Hawkins?

Seems like a wash to me, with Gabriel being the less expensive of the two.

Hawkins is good in the slot, whereas Gabriel is an outside WR (despite his size). That might make a difference when it comes to making the team

Hawk is better in traffic but Gabriel gives u the big play ability and less effective in traffic

Hawkins > Gabriel

Personally, I don't think Gabriel makes the team.

the question will be if Marlon Moore makes it. He's had a great camp as a WR and is great on ST

If we get Gabriel the rookie he is far better than Hawk. We get last years sophomore slump Gabriel then he has no chance.

Hawkins age and contract will be a factor too.

yes it would be, but his knowledge of Hue's system might be as well.

do we have another valid slot WR?

Hawkins' contract is extremely team-friendly. $1 million for the season. Got a lot of money up front so they Bengals wouldn't match the offer as an original-round tender RFA.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/andrew-hawkins/

Gabriel is $600k.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/taylor-gabriel/

Gabriel is in the last year of his deal and we drafted 4 guys. Hawkins has one more year on his deal. In most cases I'd agree that age and money play a big role in these decisions but it doesn't seem to be the case in this one.

wow hawk is very cheap

j/c

or we could just get rid of both of them.

What's Hue's history with small/slot receivers? Green, Jones, and Sanu were his top three in Cinci. I'm trying to remember if he ran many "shifty" routes.

The stated desire to run the ball more probably doesn't help their chances. Moore and Jennings probably give more on special teams. I really liked Gabriel his rookie year leading up to the season, but he seems to have regressed.

Really interested to see what our WR's potential will be. We have a lot of boom or bust prospects.

Call me 'Wood': Rashard Higgins has a flashy nickname and the lofty goals to go with it | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/08/call_me_wood_rashard_higgins_h.html

BEREA, Ohio -- Rashard Higgins knows exactly what he wants to do in his rookie season with the Browns.

"I want seven touchdowns, man," Higgins said. "However I can get them, I'm going to do it."

Seven's been a lucky number for Higgins, he said. It has also been a number that only two Browns receivers have eclipsed since 2007.

"Right now, they've got Corey (Coleman) in front of me," Higgins said. "I know he was drafted in the first round. So if I come in, he needs a blow, I'm going to make that touchdown that he should have been in for, man."

Higgins knows Corey Coleman's draft position, obviously. He knows his own draft position, too. It's right there on his Twitter profile: 18-172. The 18 is the number of receivers picked before him. The 172 is where he was picked.

"I've got a lot of motivation coming my way," he said. "I feel like I should have been higher than that, but you know what, God put me in this predicament for a reason and I'm going to go out and show the people what I'm about."

Higgins, for his part, believes he should have been drafted in the first round. Instead, he lasted until the fifth round. He was the fourth receiver picked overall by the Browns and the second receiver they picked in that round alone. Higgins says that he can "just about" list all the receivers taken before him.

"I mean, it's no hate against those guys," he said, "but I just got like a revenge to go out and show the people what I'm really about."

Higgins comes to the Browns as highly a decorated college receiver as there was in last April's draft. He set Colorado State career records in catches (239), yards (3,649) and touchdowns (31). He led the nation in 2014 with 1,750 receiving yards and 17 touchdown receptions, both also single-season school records.

He also arrives with one of the better nicknames on the Browns roster: Hollywood. His pee wee football coach gave him the nickname while he was playing safety.

"I was just making big plays," Higgins said. "Just stuck around."

Kind of. Higgins has since shortened it.

"I changed to 'Wood,'" he said. "I like 'Wood' for short."

He first moved to the offensive side of the ball when he was a sophomore in high school after his coach decided he needed him to play wide receiver.

"It got me a scholarship," Higgins said. "Colorado State, and I just took it and ran with it."

Since then, he's impressed his coaches with his ability to catch and his route running, something that can sometimes present a challenge to a young receiver.

"He can do a lot of things with regards to beating press coverage and running routes," Associated Head Coach on offense Pep Hamilton said last week. "His routes are fairly detailed for a young guy and he's still a work in progress, but he's shown tremendous progress over the course of training camp."

Higgins credits his time spent in the offseason training with David Robinson, a man he's trained with since high school, and Coach Reggie Fish in Dallas for his progress as a route runner.

"I know every time I get a chance I'm always working on how I can beat my defender coming in and out of my break," he said. "I know if I'm pitter-patting trying to get out of my break, that gives the (defensive back) more time to close in on me and break the ball up. There's just all kinds of times where I'm doing the little things to try and help my game."

Robinson boasts on his Twitter profile that he has trained the likes of Denver's Emmanuel Sanders, Washington's Jordan Reed and Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown.

"I was basically on the board drawing up a lot of plays, a lot of defenses, a lot of stuff with D-Rob. ... Footwork, a lot of speed work," Higgins said. "People say I'm not fast, but I feel like when the time comes, s---, I'm fast enough. So that's just about what I did."

Higgins added of Robinson, "He trained the top dogs and I'm one of them."

One particular drill Robinson put him through paid off last week when he made a one-handed catch as the wide receivers were running through drills, a catch that even Coleman attempted but couldn't haul in. Robinson would take his receivers out at night and throw balls at them as hard as he could and it was up to them to catch it.

"It's like if you can do it at nighttime you can sure do it with the lights on, man," Higgins said. "I just take a lot of emphasis on catching the ball and running routes and I just let everything else handle the rest."

The nickname. The numbers. The confidence. It all paints quite a picture.

"I've got to have a little swag about myself," he said. "I've got to show out a little bit, but not only that, make plays on the field, and that name will stick around for a long time."

All of it, at least for the man called 'Wood,' points towards his goal of seven times in the endzone.

"Then next year man, it might be -- I'm going to tell y'all that number next year, man," Higgins said. "Y'all stay tuned for that one."

lol at least hes confident

I liked Higgins coming out of college.

I will say that while listening to the radio today, they said that other than Coleman, none of the rookies are dong very well thus far.

They did say that the big TE, what's his name---Connor Hamlet or something is looking pretty good.

I thought Hawkins was making more than that. Well, that about seals it for Gabriel then. I do like him, but I dont think he will be out the "potential" from the new rookies.

Not good news then.

Hamlett is HUGE though

Payton did not start practicing with the team until training camp began, because his glass had not graduated. he is weeks behind in the 1st week of camp. I have read that he catches everything he gets his hands on.

Higgins is reportedly doing very well. He understand route running better than most, and has sure hands.

Gabriel has reportedly done well, but maybe/probably not well enough to win a job.

Ricardo Lewis has shown great speed and some quicks, but his hands have been questionable.

I wonder how many of each group we'll keep.

I think that we can safely lump WR/TE.FB all together, because we might keep 6 or 7 WR, 3 or 4 TE, and a FB ... or not.We could keep 7 WR and 4 TE ... or 7 WR, 3 TE, and a FB ...... or 6 WR, 4 TE, and a FB.

Based on the personnel in camp, and the fact that Johnson has been out for a while now, I tend to think that it will be 7 WR and 4 TE, with No FB. It's probably too early to say for sure, but that is where my thinking is leaning as of right now.

Just to be clear..........I said rookies.....not receivers. I only put that info on this thread because we have a few rookie WRs.

Well, as far as rookies, on the OL , Drango has shown up well. Coleman reportedly looks like he needs to be "built". He has the size and strength, but needs to learn all of the technique. I have read some good things about Ogbah on the DL, and also Shobert at OLB. The kid we got from Miami in an exchange of late round picks is reportedly also doing well so far.

I haven't head much about many of the others, good or bad.

YTown............have you been at camp every day? I simply repeated what was said on the radio by people who have been at camp.

Goodness!

I thought you hated shill reporters that said nothing but the company line.

No, just what I have seen reported.

I do...............and if you read YTown's comments, you can see why. Guys like Andrew Gibble make crap up.

I am excited as well and it will be interesting who we keep on the 53 and even the PS. I quite like the kid Payton but, I think he has stiff competition to make the team. Kinda cool we are in this position in the first place. Who would have thought the Browns would be making harsh decisions on which WR to keep?

Do we keep Marlon Moore? Has he every played 16 games? He seems hurt, a lot. On ST he often showed spunk only to have a long gain called back thanks to a penalty.

They are harsh decisions because we don't really have a proven WR.

True.

But, we are in a better place today than we were with Farmer. Simply because Farmer never valued the position.

I liked Benji I really did but, I think it is fair to say he was never a true threat. No team worried about him. Also, even when he had those great games they seemed to happen early in the season and then he was pretty silent. It's good to be in a place where we have several and *hopefully* a couple pan out.

I think Benji was a "threat."

However, I will agree w/you that I am glad this FO addressed the position, something that Ray Farmer never did.

I think he definitely has speed on his side. Not sure if he was a great route runner or not. I don't see that side of the game as well as others. You probably do as you were, I believe, a coach.

But, if he was in the open flat or behind the defense that is when he seemed to truly threaten the secondary. Once the opponent figured that out I never really saw him raise his game to counter their moves. That to me is where the real "threat" lies. Kinda like a chess.

All of the above said...it will be interesting to see who raises their game. Coleman is a sure thing, it appears. But, then we have Pryor (who I am thrilled about...dude has worked and should earn that roster spot!), Higgins, Louis, Payton, Hawk, Gabe, Moore, Gordon (any others?). Not to mention the several TE's. I'm excited to see how it all develops.

I always thought Benji was a slight, fast, punt returning WR ... but he turned himself into a fairly complete WR. I give him props. The money he got from SD was hard earned.

Geesh. Just because you don't want to believe stuff doesn't mean it's made up, ot even written by a reporter employed by the Browns.

Can Spencer Drango settle the Browns' unsettled right tackle spot? | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/08/can_spencer_drango_settle_the.html

Call me 'Wood': Rashard Higgins has a flashy nickname and the lofty goals to go with it | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/08/call_me_wood_rashard_higgins_h.html

Cleveland Browns Scribbles: Will Robert Griffin III impress and what receivers will emerge? -- Terry Pluto (photos) | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...art_river_index

Browns rookie Jordan Payton getting caught up in first NFL training camp | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/08/browns_rookie_jordan_payton_pl.html

Just for starters, mentioning different Browns rookies, and not a Browns employee among them. (4 articles by 3 of the Plain Dealers browns reporters, and not even a Mary Kay Cabot article in there) If you want more, there are others from Browns beat reporters.

Dude only wants to score 7 touchdowns?

Is he talking about September, or the whole season?