DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum DPJ Traded

Seriously? He's 24 years old. How many 24 year olds do you know that have "lost a step"? If he were in his 30's that would make sense. But at 24 years old that's quite a reach.

If he bulked/added weight without working on his explosiveness, it'll happen. If he didn't put in the work he should have in the offseason, it could happen.
Peak performance isn't linear year to year.

It could also be that defenses are just paying more attention to him this year while he's also getting fewer looks because he's one spot lower on the totem pole this year and hadn't done anything to move himself up.
If the line isn't blocking as well as it has in the past - and it isn't - how many looks is the third read going to get?

Is he getting jammed at the line a lot this year and not getting free releases?

There could be a multitude of reasons why this year is different than last, but it is definitely different. Even accounting for any egregious margin of error, that separation graphic is pretty damning. He's nearly dead freaking last among WR's in the league this year.
The Why doesn't matter since he's not here anymore, it's just simply a case of it was what it was. Add in that he wasn't likely to get a new contract, and it just makes sense to get whatever we can for a very easily replaced WR.
He was a fan favorite, but he really wasn't all that.

A WR needs to make catches in the NFL. Blame whatever, blame whomever but he’s not been a difference-maker. Good luck DPJ

Maybe a salary cap issue here. IDK. Whatever.

Probably somewhat.

The team has to decide if they want to go to a higher dollar second contract v going with a rookie contract. In the end I don't think DPJ had done enough to warrant a 2nd contract.

It's not that he was bad or anything like that. It just came down to deciding if you wanted to pay more to keep him. I am sure that had he had another year on the contract, he would probably still be here for another year.

I think it's a combination of that and a QB who lacks the ability to go through his progressions quickly. But yes there are a multitude of possibilities.


For what he was supposed to be, a second WR he was alright. He wasn't Amari Cooper by any means, but I'd say his numbers were pretty good for what he was supposed to be. The only change I can put my finger on is the change at the QB position.

That sounds like how a team in rebuild mode thinks. Not one in the win now mode.

True, lamp. But it's difficult to compile numbers when the ball is seldom thrown your way....

Teams that stay good try to balance both.

I do think there may be something to the OL angle. I wonder if there are time to catch stats somewhere. Some routes would seem to be "designed" to have separation later in the play. If the pass protection isn't holding up long enough to reach that point in the timing of the play, guys that specialize in slower developing routes are going to have a tough go.

We also seemed to be asking DPJ to act as a pseudo-TE a decent bit last week. (Cooper had some snaps of this when DPJ came off the field, too.) I'm still processing what they were trying to do with these alignments and how I feel about them.

DPJ has had separation issues since he got
Into the league . There is a reason why
He was a 6th RD pick out of Michigan.
He was merely ok in college .
And in the NFL he is merely ok.
There is nothing in his skill set that can't be replaced
He is the kind of WR that has to be schemed to
Get open.

I understand what you're saying about balance. Yet at the same time it's hard to contrive a scenario where you let your, arguably second WR on the depth chart go in a year you are trying to compete in. I mean he was after all the staring WR on the opposite side of Cooper. If they had someone better on the roster to fill that role one would think they would have had him playing there. Maybe they know something we don't. At least I hope that's so. But if they do it appears Detroit does not.

Yeah, those 61 receptions and 839 yards receiving last year were just a fluke, right? I mean those guys are a dime a dozen. Am I right?

Good receivers get open and make plays. DPJ's were too few and far between, even considering the poor qb play. Cooper, and to a lesser extent Moore are getting their touches. If we just need a 3rd option once in a while, we didn't need an relatively expensive contract to do that. We had to take what we could get for him.

He was still on a sixth round rookie contract.

I think it was a combination of a few things that were said (I.e. QBs, OL, separation, getting Tillman involved, etc), however I also think it was forward thinking of getting something for someone who was maybe the 5th option in the offense this year

Exactly, You don't trade decent experienced players when you have a talented team that can contend for the playoffs and possibly the Super-Bowl.

DPJ waa 33rd in recieving yards last year.
This is a passing league. QBs and WRs are the 2 of
The most coveted positions on offense.
If this was 1979 I'd be impressed with DPJs numbers
But a 61 800 yd 3 TD stat line isn't alot
To get excited about. And through 7 games
This year he wasn't exactly dominating CBers.
If the Browns saw any promise in him he would
Still be a Brown.

Which was set to expire at the end of 2023 making him an unrestricted free agent that we'd have to re-sign.

alot of hand wringing over a WR that never did anything and was possibly the worst PR we've ever had. We got back what we spent on a player they had no intention of re-signing while they still could. We won't miss him in the least.

The common sense approach is never very popular around here.

lead...DPJ= 8 catches in 5 starts for 97 yds in 2023

All this concern and worry is not warranted...lets see what Tillman can do.

He wasn't helping us win now. He was a punt catcher. Not even a returner.

You will continue to rale on, but he was just a guy.

Teams are always in rebuild mode. There is constant turnover and teams move on from guys like DPJ every year.

Pit, the guy was a dime a dozen receiver. We can find replacements every year, if we already don't have a replacement. We weren't going to pay him the premium of a 2nd contract. We were offered a 2025 6th round pick and decided that was better than nothing.

I just assumed that approach wasn't an option on the board.

Let me tell you what Tillman can does best. He catches the contested balls. He's a more physical type WR that isn't that speedy. So what we will hear of he fails is that he didn't get enough separation and he's a dime a dozen. You know, like the same thing we're hearing about DPJ this year while the Browns have a crappy QB that can only compete 50% of his passes. So why would the story you hear on this board sound any different with Tillman? Tillman got to where he is by being a physical guy who wins the battle for the ball. He didn't get here by streaking across the field getting wide open. But we can see where that gets you around here.

So why pay a premium for the same thing? Tillman's on a rookie contract, DPJ expires this year and would have to be re-signed. We'd either have to do that or let him walk. Why not take what you can get?

Bbecause it took years of development for DPJ to ever get that far. How long do you think it will take Tillman? Why not take what you can get? That would be a great idea if you had panned for that and developed a WR ready to step in and do what he did last year. As far as i can tell it created a hole they have not made contingency plans to fill. And Tillman can be a really good WR. But so was DOJ last year. Until the QB position sucked. But you're gong to have to trust his physicality and not only toss the ball his way when he is wide open.

If someone were trying to make the argument that we suck at QB so it doesn't really matter if we let DPJ go I would entertain that idea.

Pitt, I am not understanding your side of the debate. Are you saying Berry should re-sign DPJ as WR2 or WR3? If Berry does re-sign, that means less money in the receiver pool to retain Cooper. That is fine if you believe in Moore, DPJ, Bell, and Tillman.

Personally, I think they re-sign Cooper. We see Bell and Tillman play through their rookie deal and become expendable after their time. Unless either of these two or another drafted receiver can match or outplay Cooper or Moore, this is what we see in the coming years.

I do like DPJ. I think he is a good receiver. I simply believe DPJ is expendable because of the numbers. I believe we will see this more in the coming years especially at the DT, Safety, running back, and offensive interior lineman positions.

I do believe Berry needs to be held accountable for drafting well in these positions.

DPJ shouldn't be judged solely on this, but our PR game seemed to have more success today.

6 PR for 92 yards.

Also, If I am not mistaken, a big called back on a stupid penalty.

I think there were 2 fairly good returns caled back.

There were. Adams our supposed special teams Ace, had one of them. Not the first time either.

If what we saw was not prioritizing winning, then I support it 100%.

My side of the debate is simply if your goal is to make the playoffs and possibly further, you don't jettison your second best WR because you've been having crappy QB play. As you can see across the league, such teams add talent at the trade deadline, not ship it off. To me it screams the "there is always next year" mentality that Browns fans now think is normal.

You think trading DPJ signals the team giving up on the season?

That's some crazy stuff.

It's an indication. When Brissett was the QB for most of last year DPJ was a very productive WR. He was the starting WR opposite Cooper both last season and this season. This season we've had very spotty QB play to this point and somehow that equates to being DPJ's fault? No, I don't believe that if you're in win now mode you do something like that.

I'm hoping we see some small signs from Tillman the last half of the year. We desperately need a WR opposite Cooper

I think DPJ is a good WR. He can still play. However, I don't believe he was in Berry's long-term plan, and he made the move to get something for DPJ. I don't really see why this move is all this controversial. If this team, make a run at the playoffs or more DPJ being on the team or not will not really be noticeable. He had dropped to #3 behind Elijah Moore and there are 2 higher draft picks in Tillman and Bell right behind him on the depth chart.

Meh, we need the OL to solidify, so that plays can develop as designed instead of going straight from first read to scramble drills.

Tillman being a player would be nice. I don't see receiver as a desperate need, though.