DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Supplemental Draft

One thing I didn't think of....he's going to want to be paid like the #34 pick in the draft. I wonder if that becomes a sticking point.

If he holds out he has little hope of helping us much early in the season.

With most hyped up receivers come hyped up egos. Barring that, I hope he can perform like a end 2of pick. Overall, I too commend Heckert for putting his reputation on the line for this kid. I'm happy we are at least looking like we are trying to fix our problems. I really think this offseason will make us a competitive force in 2014.

I like this move, I actually really like what we've done the past two off seasons. I'm ready for some football.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/090..._headline_stack

Just a video on his character, during an interview. I'm no psychologist, but from just his tone and word selection, he seems that he understands what he did, and does not want to go through that again.

I'm know I'm getting in late to the conversation but first reaction was ... Reach, and are we getting desperate this offseason?

Heckert is really starting to confuse me. He kept talking about how our wr's are so improved... Yada yada yada. Doesn't go after any FA WR and then jumps and reachs for another project WR.

I'm tired of seeing u guys talk about this guy or that guys measurables. I want a player, A football player. We got that at rb now, and even if Gordon pays off, he would be our first at WR that can play. Everybody knows we have no wr's at all. H&H can blow all the smoke they want.... But this is a desperation move, caused by their own ego's. Alot is riding on this year for them. The reach for weeden, the trade up for TR.

Bottom line...They had to get somebody for weeden to throw to or it would of made them look completely inept and make Weeden look like a horrible pick. They were very aggressive in the off season but didn't even look at filling the need at WR in free agency. A 2nd rounder is a lot.... A third would of been better.

I still thnk we gotta go WR next year 1st round no matter what. Even if Gordon pays off. Little looks to be in shape and improved, mitchel gone, momass lost cause, Benjamin cnt catch, Cooper possible 3rd/4th WR, Criibbs getn better but also older. We really have no talent hardly at all here.

That 84 sup. draft was awesome!

Anyone else remember sittin at ol muni stadium waiting for the browns to receive a kickoff or punt while the entire stadium chanted : "cube, cube, CUBE, CUBE, CUBE"!!!!

haha, good memories!

jc

Heckert probably figured out he was all in with Weeden anyway...might as well burn a 2nd next draft to improve the team since he could be gone by then if the team repeats a 4-5 win season (depending on HOW this scenario was played out I would probably disagree, but the homers already have their pitchforks ready)

and for the record: a future 2nd has the value of an actual 3rd....the value of our pick invested in Gordon was that of a late 2nd/early 3rd...still think it was too much for a boom or bust prospect, but I'll have to trust Heckert on this one...after all I was wrong on Little too

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Going this high in a guy with character concerns and a slow speed, I'm beginning to wonder.

Jerry Rice was slow but his route running was second to none. I don't see that here.

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From what I've seen Gordon's 40 time is almost identical to AJ Green's and almost 2/10ths ahead of Jerry Rice. Where is the notion that he's slow coming from?

Because instead of a 4.45, he ran a 4.52 (and tweaked a leg muscle somewhere in there).

That .07 seconds makes or breaks a receiver....


....it still baffles me how much stock people take in .07 seconds, or .1 seconds. I mean really. Think about how little of a timeframe that it.

Yep... 4.52 is PLENTY fast for a guy his size. Reports that he has excellent hands are very encouraging too (given our current WR core couldn't catch a cold last season). I applaud the bold move to bolster a weak group. Here's hoping it pays off.

I only have the CNNSI scouting report and the few Baylor highlight reels to go off of, but the "hands" do seem to be a plus. In these, he always seems to attack the ball with his hands like one is supposed to do (rather than the body-catching that Little often gets caught-up doing).

The only thing about this move that was REALLY surprising to me is the 2nd round pick..... and, quite frankly, my guess is that the ONLY reason we jumped so high is because we really wanted this kid and we were certain enough that someone else would drop a 2nd on him that we had no choice but to jump high or walk away.


I'm glad we jumped high. The kid has big time talent, hands, skills, and measurables. If he only plays as well as Little did last year, this pick is a solid one.
I have a feeling we just committed robbery, actually.

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Heckert is really starting to confuse me. He kept talking about how our wr's are so improved... Yada yada yada. Doesn't go after any FA WR and then jumps and reachs for another project WR.

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We went after some FA WRs... they went to Washington... we were hoping to get Wright in the first round... we just missed him... to me this is not much of a reach for a guy who probably would not have been there in the 3rd round of this supplemental draft.

Kid showed some great flashes at Baylor.. I just hope he can come in and play.. unlike Little he was allowed to practice with his team all last year, so he just didn't get to do it on game day.

I'm really hope he works out and we can have a couple really solid WRs. I still like Little and Norwood and hoping that MoMass can get out of his funk.

j/c

Gordon (6-3, 224) remained drug-free throughout the season and finished strong, catching 42 passes for 714 yards and tying teammate Kendall Wright with a team-high seven touchdowns. But when he returned to the school in June after summer break, he tested positive again for marijuana.

"That was the last straw for them," said Gordon. "We had to part ways that summer."

The farewell broke coach Art Briles' heart, because he loved Gordon as a person and a player.

"It killed me, it really did, because as a coach, I think we're in the kid-saving business," said Briles, who's remained in close contact. "I know Josh's character, I know his heart, I know his mind, I know his soul and it's all good."

Gordon transferred to Utah, but shortly before leaving, his family's apartment caught fire, and they were forced to evacuate. Gordon fled early for Utah, taking his mom's car and his brother with him. His mother stayed behind but had to live in a hotel and drive rental cars.

"It was hard for all of us," said Gordon.

At Utah, Gordon sat out the season but still practiced with the team and submitted to drug tests.

"I was in a rehabilitation program with group counseling, and I saw a psychiatrist, like, three times a week," he said. "I had to report back to the team while I was practicing. But I never tested positive at Utah."

Every Saturday, Gordon watched as Baylor took the college football world by storm and Robert Griffin III made his amazing run toward the Heisman Trophy and toward becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

"It was hard watching ESPN every day, seeing the whole RG3 phenomenon take place, and I was like, 'Man, I was just there a year ago, this is crazy,' " Gordon said. "I was really happy for them, but it was hard."

After the year, Gordon had a decision to make. His brother couldn't find work, and they struggled to pay their rent. His mom was also back home struggling financially.

"I decided to go back home and try to enroll in the University of Houston," he said. "I wanted to alleviate the stress on my mom and brother."

As recently as June 27, Gordon still was trying to obtain a transfer hardship waiver to get into Houston. "But time was running out," he said. "I had to declare for the supplemental draft by June 29th. I had to make a lot of hard life decisions pretty quickly."

Coach Briles helped him make the decision to go pro.

"Having his belief in me and support helped motivate me," Gordon said. "I thought another year of college and film was what I needed and what everybody expected me to do."

The moment Gordon declared for the draft, the Browns pursued. They had already fallen in love with him during the 2010 season while scouting their 2011 first-round pick, Phil Taylor.

"Cleveland was the only visit I made," said Gordon. "I had a good feeling they were going to draft me, but I was still shocked when they jumped up to the second round."

The cost for the Browns was their second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Browns General Manager Tom Heckert already had done his homework, talking to Briles, Taylor and Baylor assistant head coach Brian Norwood, the father of Browns receiver Jordan Norwood and a close associate of some in the Browns personnel department.

"I couldn't find anybody to say one bad thing about the kid," said Heckert. "I drilled him pretty hard when I was with him. He didn't back down, and he told me everything that I thought I needed to hear from him."

Gordon said he's not a drinker and never used other drugs.

"There was definitely a pattern there with the two failed tests, but marijuana has never had that strong of a hold on my life," he said. "I'm not an addict, and I shouldn't be treated as such. Being sober is not a struggle for me."

But he knows actions speak louder than words.

"I can tell people until I'm blue in the face, and there will always be naysayers that will say, 'I just don't believe him, I can't trust him.' But I know that I have no intentions or any ambition to try to go back and regress to what I was doing before -- testing positive or just being caught in a negative light."

He viewed fellow rookie receiver Justin Blackmon's recent DUI arrest as a cautionary tale.

"I've definitely learned from this," he said. "It's been a long road, but I'm seeing light at the end tunnel after today. Looking back, it was something that had to happen in order for this to even take place. I promise the Browns won't regret this."

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/josh_gordon_cleveland_browns_n.html

I hope for everyones sake this kid flies straight. But with two strikes, he's right. He's going to have to prove it.......

Giddy? Nah. Draft picks are almost always a crap-shoot. Hopeful... Yes (cautiously so).

He looks like he's got really big hands and long arms. I would think that;s gotta help in addition to all of the other physical attributes he brings to the table.

I am cautiously hopeful. I'm not expecting him to come in and set the world on fire from day 1 ...... but they might be able to use him in a role similar to the role they used Little in last year ..... which is a lot of quick throws off the LOS, and simple routes to start with.

Someone brought up speed, and wondered how much of a difference it can make. I recall an article where the Browns mentioned that they had lined up Benjamin and another receiver and had them run the same route on opposite sides of the field. Benjamin got almost 5 more yards on his route than the other receiver did at the same time. Benjamin runs a 4.3 vs probably a 4.5 for the other receiver. (and IIRC, it was Cribbs who ran the opposite side route) Now part of that is burst, and part is speed, but never underestimate the value of all out speed on the football field.

if we wanted him to be an eventual starting WR (and that they think he has that ability), it was absolutely the right thing to do to spend a 2nd rounder on him. We would have had to use a 1st or 2nd on a WR next year anyways.

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Justin Blackmon 40 Time: 4.45

Michael Floyd 40 Time: 4.47
(pretty much the exact size of Gordon)

That's a top 20 picks time and size combination.

Stephen Hill 40 Time: 4.36

I just think so many are hungry to get a WR, they are all giddy.

LOL

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So now we are splitting times into 100ths of a second. Justin Blackmon is 7/100ths of a second faster and Floyd is 5/100ths of a second faster.... and you call Gordon slow?

There are reasons they use stop watches and YTown pointed out just how much difference that makes over 40 yards.

You kmow, if any other NFL division rival had picked this guy up with 2 strikes on weed, shuffling to his second school, attempting to shuffle to his third and this 40 time, people would be all over it.

Funny how that works. LOL

Good point DC....I was thinking the same thing.
1. Good hands
2. Route running.
3. Speed.
And in that order. First you must have good hand...if you can't catch it dosnt matter how nice your routes are and how fast you are...your no good.
Secondly...if you can't run good routes it dosnt matter how fast you are the average cb will cover you.
Speed its very important yet having the 2 while showing adequate speed for the position is the must.

Other side is - most cover guys easily run 4.5's or better.

How often do receivers run 40 yds. - straight - no check at the line, etc?

40 times are way, way overvalued. Football speed isn't valued enough.

I agree, when you get down into debating hundreds or even a couple tenths of a second, the difference could simply be that one has better track technique getting off the blocks than the other, which is a totally useless skill in football.

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You kmow, if any other NFL division rival had picked this guy up with 2 strikes on weed, shuffling to his second school, attempting to shuffle to his third and this 40 time, people would be all over it.

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I would probably make my jokes about the other stuff, but I still would think the speed was irrelevant.

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and for the record: a future 2nd has the value of an actual 3rd

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I think that's correct.

Frankly I'm a bit surprised we made the move, with all of the love the FO has thrown the way of our group of WR's.

I'm a happy camper.

If Gordon can become a starter along with Little, then that will also allow us to look at CB (to pair with Haden) in the 1st round of next years Draft.

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Frankly I'm a bit surprised we made the move, with all of the love the FO has thrown the way of our group of WR's.

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I'm not at all - they've shown them love publicly... but we went after a couple WR FA and then wanted to draft Wright from Baylor.. it was obvious (to me) that they wanted to upgrade the WR core... I still think we have a couple of guys who can turn into good WRs, but so far we don't have anyone elite... will little or gordon become elite? time will tell... I'll settle for really good right now

j/c

I'm glad that we made a move, even if it doesn't pan out, it was worth the risk. If it does, H&H will be labeled a genius.

That's 4 top 37 picks in one offseason all on one side of the ball. Crazy!

Most of our picks this year I don't know from Adam and the vast majority of you don't either. Face it, we're a team that needs to gamble and hit on some numbers and that's what we're doing here. As much as any of us can glean from youtube, online scouting reports and sports columns it's a drop in the bucket compared to the homework the front office does. They have a pretty good track record for picks thus far.

So we needed a receiver, this kid is a gamble but we need to roll some dice and he looks like a classic 50/50 bet which aren't bad odds considering timing and circumstances. I don't think we're going to win a lot of games this year but I think we're going to see a lot of raw talent and fight and hopefully a nice setup for a legitimately competitive playoff team in 2013. If this kid is Little 2.0 without the drops we're a much better offensive team. If he turns into a legit #1, we're well on our way.