DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2018 NFL Season 2018 NFL Draft Browns select Antonio Callaway with the 105th pick

Goodell, owners, GMs, the NFL as a whole don’t really care if the players are on weed. If they did they wouldn’t be giving a notice that they have a drug test coming up with enough time to get it out of their systems. If they gave random tests probably a 1/3 of every team would be in the drug program. I agree Callaway is a dimwit he knew when the combine was and shouldn’t have tasted positive. Browns will have to get him on his test schedule like all the other NFL teams do. If you don’t draft them your gonna play against them.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Joe Banner shared your concerns when he draft Leon McFadden over Tyrann Mathieu.

It swings both ways. Passing on a player with character concerns can be just as painful as selecting them. What we can say, however, is that our 4th round pick has talent far beyond that of a typical 4th round pick.

Personally, I'd rather hope a player can stay off weed than hope a player can excel beyond his physical ability.

On the bright side, there is two important sentiments: Firstly, that things have changed for Callaway since becoming a father. I'm not a father myself, but I've seen friends change for the better following the arrival of their child. Secondly: Florida teams took Callaway off their board. Their concern was the people he ran with. Perhaps moving him out to a new environment will be what he needs. I've personally thrived from my parents decision to move across the country when I was younger. Got me away from people that I was then too stupid to see where going nowhere and dragging me with them.

Give him a chance before he's a dim wit.

I just watched the John Dorsey presser and it basically was all why we selected this troubled kid.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. We can bet now which of our troubled wrs will get suspended first. Heh. Horrible selection John. Quite frankly, I think less of you just for this selection alone. Horrible.

I like how you used the one example of where it has gone the other way.

How about we just keep it to Browns players Josh Gordon, Donte Stallworth? or Justin Blackmon? Bryant Mckinnie? Maurice Clarrett? Pac Man? Ricky Williams? Aldon Smith? Martavis Bryant?



Those are just the big names I can think of. Not to mention guys whose entire career wasn't derailed by it like Leveon Bell who has missed many games for it.


The point it, you are much more likely to end with a headache than a star. I'm sorry if you KNOW you're getting tested at the combine and still smoke you're just not that smart. I smoked weed for over a decade, multiple years of smoking it every day.

If you were about to hand me millions I would have gladly put down my bong.

Dorsey has a pretty good track record on straitening out these guys on his teams. Guess we'll see if that track record holds out.

1 strike already.

1. This kid can play - I mean really play.
2. Its the 4th round, its not like its a huge risk. How many 4th round picks actually make the team?
3. I like taking a flier on this kid. Dorsey and his team worked wonders for Hill, and we have (so far) seem to have gotten through to Gordon. Gordon also could serve as a "big brother" type to him.

Callaway has some soft hands.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0a...Combine-workout

I don't mean to sound like I'm rooting for Callaway's failure, like I did after I read my own post, but... I hope John's track record does continue then in that aspect. Having Gordon and Callaway would be so much easier for me to get behind and approve.

And dropping only a 4th on him is extra, if it works out.

I'm pretty sure a backroom deal with the pharmaceutical industry is the only reason the NFL tests for pot. Same deal for the federal government and legality.

...Business school has made me jaded.

Public sentiment may have reached the tipping point though, so maybe we'll catch a break with our stoner players not being tested any more soon.

^Proper hand placement.

I'm intrigued by his talent. The WRs Sashi drafted are like 'uh-oh' right now.

Palms up! DiamDawg

I agree. As a gator fan, I know this cat can play.


Great risk/reward pick. I don't understand some peoples backlash. 4th rounders wash out all the time. Lets say this guy does as well. Does it really matter why he washed out?


I'd say the chances of him being a really stud player are far greater then him washing out. That's a bet the smart gambler takes every time.

Steelers WR Antonio Brown helping to mentor Browns rookie Antonio Callaway

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23394...ntonio-callaway

PITTSBURGH -- As Antonio Callaway heads to Cleveland Browns rookie minicamp this weekend, he'll come equipped with receiver tips from the world's best.

Thanks to exchanged Twitter messages and a home base in South Florida, Callaway -- a major talent who fell to the fourth round due to off-field issues -- has spent extensive time with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown over the past few weeks.

Brown is known to befriend his football peers at all levels, training with everyone from retirees to high school kids. And according to Callaway's agent, Malki Kawa, of First Round Management, Brown was gracious with his time after Callaway reached out to him on social media.

Brown, who like Callaway grew up in Miami and is 5-foot-10, worked out with the receiver and even broke down game film with him. Brown was present at Callaway's draft party on Saturday to spread good vibes.

"He has a special affinity for the kids that are from here," said the Miami-based Kawa of Brown. "He's showing him not only what it takes to be a pro, but be one of the best."

The Browns called Callaway the best receiver in the 2018 draft, but his stock took a major plunge after the Florida Gators suspended him for the 2017 season for allegedly using stolen credit card information to fund bookstore accounts. In August 2016, a Title IX hearing officer cleared Callaway of sexual assault allegations. In May 2017, police cited Callaway with misdemeanor marijuana possession, a substance that reemerged with Callaway's failed marijuana test at the NFL scouting combine in February.

Callaway disputed the test, citing a diluted sample. He's expected to be placed in Stage 1 of the league's substance abuse program.

Kawa said Callaway has owned up to his mistakes in his talks with the Browns, and fatherhood has reignited his love for football.

Brown has emerged as one of the league's most popular players, which means his "Call God" hand gesture after every touchdown -- thumb and pinkie in the air -- gets plenty of airtime. Callaway has seen that signal a time or two.

Brown has a different backstory, but he had plenty to overcome as an under-recruited player who lived in different homes as a teen.

"[Callaway] is trying to show Antonio that there's a difference in him," Kawa said. "And all the kids [Brown] talks to, he can tell them he was a troubled guy, too -- 'I've had my struggles, but look what I'm doing, look how my life has changed for the better, the fruits of my labor.' He shows young players this is attainable, this is reachable."

That's a good read! Hopefully the young man is really committed to making a great life for himself and new family. Be an idiot or set yourself and kids up for life...not a tough decision or at least shouldn't be. Hats off to Brown for trying to make a difference in the world. Now I both hate him and like him!

From your lips to Josh Gordon's ears

Think about this ....

He could have been a free agent this off-season, and probably would have signed a much better deal than Marquis Lee, (4 yr, $38 million) Sammy Watkins, (3 yr, $48 million) and others.

Instead, he signed his ERFA (exclusive rights) tender, which was basically sign this, or don't play in the NFL. He'll make just under $800,000. Next off-season, assuming he stays clean, he'll be an RFA. He'll cash in, but who knows to what degree. Maybe next year's draft will be a better WR draft than this year's was. It would be hard to be worse. If so, then the WR free agent contract bonanza could be over.

Hopefully he will stay on the straight and narrow, but it is always a huge question mark with him.

Just stop.
Dorsey is,and was,a GM.
His contact with the players will be little more than to say "keep up the good work"
Andy Reid gets the credit.Unfortunately,there's no one compareable to him in Berea.

Antonio Callaway, with help from Antonio Brown, vows not to let the Browns down

Posted May 5, 9:00 PM


By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Antonio Callaway grew up in such a rough part of Miami that it's remarkable he's still standing, let alone standing in front of a group of reporters in a Browns uniform.

"The worst of the worst,'' he said on day two of Browns rookie minicamp Saturday. "From killing to drug selling to you name it, I've seen it at a young age."

It was just him, his mom and his four little sisters growing up. They didn't have much but each other.

"It's hard where I'm from,'' he said, so softspoken that he's barely audible at times. But he never pined for the father figure he never had.

"I ain't searching for that someone,'' he said "My mom, she's my hero."

With violence and poverty all around him, he found his refuge in football.

"Growing up, I didn't want that life, so I stuck with football,'' he said. "I wasn't a troubled kid. I ain't never get in trouble till I got to college."

Drafted by the Browns in the fourth round out of Florida, Callaway, who left midway through practice Saturday with a toe injury, fell in with the wrong crowd at school and got in trouble time and again.

In December of 2015, he was accused of sexual assault and suspended from the school that offseason, but was cleared in August of 2016 in a Title IX hearing. His accuser and her attorney boycotted the proceeding because it was adjudicated by a Florida booster. During the hearing, he said he was "so stoned I had no interest in having sex with anyone."

In May of 2017, Callaway was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession, and was in the car with a 40-year man, Kendrick Williams, who had been arrested more than a dozen times in Florida for drugs, guns, battery, auto theft and more.

Last season, he was suspended the whole year for allegedly using stolen credit cards to fund a bookstore account, and in March, he had a diluted urine sample at the NFL combine, which constitutes a failed test. Still, Browns general manager John Dorsey, who did "extensive research" on Callaway that included sending people to Gainesville, Fla., took a chance on him in the fourth round.

Without the long rap sheet, Dorsey believes Callaway (5-10, 200) would've been the first or second receiver drafted. In his two seasons at Florida, he caught 89 passes for 1,399 yards and seven touchdowns. He's also the first player in school history to score touchdowns via rushing, receiving, passing, punt return and kickoff return in a career.

While out of football last season, he spent more than a month training at N.U.M.A. Speed in Gainesville with Tim Montgomery, the former Olympic gold medal sprinter who overcame a troubled past of his own. At times, Callaway wondered if he'd ever get to this point.

"I questioned it a little bit, but I just kept my faith up, praying on it and leaving it in God's hands,'' he said.

At N.U.M.A, Montgomery mentored the young and troubled wideout and also introduced him to Browns receiver Josh Gordon, who trained at N.U.M.A while trying to get reinstated to the NFL.

Callaway trained alongside Gordon "for about a week. But it was just all work. There wasn't too much social,'' said Callaway.

About six weeks ago, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, who has a heart for the hurting, reached out to fellow Miamian Callaway on Twitter and offered to take him under his wing.

"(He's) basically just been mentoring me, telling me that I have too much talent to let it go to waste,'' he said. "Where we are from, Miami, Fla., people rarely make it out. I'm one of the few to be able to say I was blessed to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns."

The relationship includes plenty of face time. "Yeah, we met up a lot,'' said Callaway. "I talk to him every other day. We work out, watch film."

When asked about his own football style, Callaway answers "Antonio Brown."

And his mindset?

"Don't let the man in front of me beat me,'' he said.

The dilute sample at the combine was a surprise to some, but Callaway takes responsibility.

"That was a wakeup call,'' he said. "But like I said, day by day, today I'm still getting better as a person, as a player, as a man.''

And as a father. Three months ago, Callaway's daughter, Aulani, was born. Between providing for Aulani and his mom and sisters, he knows he can't mess up.

"It's going to be easy because I've got a purpose now,'' he said. "I've got a daughter. Ain't nobody going to make sure she's taken care of, so I've got to do my job."

Besides, he has to repay Dorsey for taking a chance on him.

"This is just telling that he believes in me, that I can do the right things,'' he said. "Just not going let him down. For somebody to put their job on the line, I can't let him down.''

He agrees with Dorsey that poor life choices "caused me to fall a couple of rounds. I have learned from them, moved on and became a better person and learned from mistakes day by day. Taking it day by day still, growing and maturing."

Can he be trusted?

"Yes, sir,'' he said. "I was just young and immature, living in the moment. I've learned from my mistakes.''

In Stage One of the NFL's Substance Abuse Program because of the dilute sample, Callaway knows he has little margin for error.

"Yes, but I already know what I've got to do,'' he said. "I know I've got to provide, so I'm got to stay focused on my behalf.''

Given his talent and speed, Callaway can give Corey Coleman a run for his money.

"He is very, very fast - a fast man," Baker Mayfield said of Callaway. "He makes good plays on the ball. When you have a guy like that and you get chemistry down, then it's very dangerous. You can do a lot with that. He's a guy that I think can help us out."

If he can, there's somebody else he'd like to help: his mom.

"She's been through a lot, so I want to reward her with everything she's ever dreamed of,'' he said.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2018/05/antonio_callaway_with_help_fro.html

I gotta say his presser eased me up a little on selecting him/the risk. Hopefully having the talent and a three year old daughter can lead to good things both on and off the field.

Doubts are still in place, but it'd be great to see him hold true to his vow regarding John's selection on him. For him, us, his family... everybody.

he's certainly saying the right thing. I truly hope we hold him to the fire if he screws up though

I need to have my spell checker when posting here ( Catty ; thank you very much ) ..

Do we have any teachers on the Board ? Are English and Gamer taught in High School and / or College ? Is anyone interested in helping these young men succeed in life ( other than sports ). When I was in school ( back in the caveman days )I talked so fast folks couldn't understand me half the time. I ended up taking a speech class where my wonderful AND patient teacher beat diction and enunciation into me .. My heart goes out to these young guys !

I've heard that on some campuses being a Gamer is now an elective.

That's only because you can make more money playing videogames than teaching.

hahaha CHS probably didn't pick up on the response, but his response is just as funny

I think Higgins or Louis will be cut. Maybe both. But, if one survives it could be Louis as he often featured on STs.

And they both will be competing for one roster spot, with the likes of our 6th round draft pick Damion Ratley, and a few UDFA in Evan Berry who is a KR, and Da'Mari Scott, and Derrick Willies.

Higgins and Louis are both gone IMO. Janis will be on the team for sure

No loss for me if both are cut. They have had two years to prove what they can do and thus far I see nothing that makes me favor them over some of our new guys.

I remember more of Louis' drops than actual catches. And Higgins is MEH

Higgins had one good game last year. But, that is also because Louis was inconsistent, Gordon was suspended, Britt was lazy, Coleman was injured, Coates was rarely activated, Leslie was on IR and Williams/Treggs never materialized outside of their preseason highlight reels. So yea...one game to elevate and highlight "Hollywood" above our stunning 2017 WR depth chart.

My goodness, you listed the WRs we had regularly playing last year and it made me want to vomit.

Louis does everthing but catch the ball. Higgins does everything, but can't get separation due to his lack of speed and lack of burst. I think that they will be kept around as insurance for the 'unknown' factor, until the cuts.

Berry is making the switch from Safety to WR, so he propbably is a candidate for our PS. Willies is known for his drops too, so if I had to project a guy, it would be Ratley unless he totally fails to impress.

My goodness, you listed the WRs we had regularly playing last year and it made me want to vomit. [/quote]

And then we wonder why our 2nd round QB struggled so mightily. Not that he didn't have his own issues...but come on, man he certainly wasn't given much of a chance to succeed.

And then we wonder why our 2nd round QB struggled so mightily. Not that he didn't have his own issues...but come on, man he certainly wasn't given much of a chance to succeed. [/quote] I can literally think of a half dozen times when the WR tipped, dropped, or bobbled the ball for an INT

I've been saying this for years that a tipped INT by a WR should be a tracked statistic in the NFL. And it should follow both the QB and the WR. What's the old addage...if you can touch it you should catch it.

That's one hell of a group right there. I think our current guys have a lot to prove to reach the level of those guys.

Chapter 1, Verse 1, from The Book Of Ozzie.