DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns Sign WR Andrew Hawkins

No complaints here. Great pickup by the Browns FO... possibly the best FA addition since 1999. Which isn't saying that much since the Brown's pretty much ignored almost all talent in the FA market for 15 years. This year shows a big change in the FO thought process on free agency prospects. We still need an NFL experienced backup QB. Off topic...I always thought Rex Grossman did a great job as backup in Chi. and Wash. Much better then the multitude of crap QB's we've had.

I agree. I think this has been as good as a FA as I can remember. I wish we could have locked Mack up for 4 years or so, but you just cant keep everyone.

Once again I will say it. I do not care, at all how much this guy cost. Why are some of you so caught up in what a guy costs? We have been sitting on our hands for like 5 years in free agency, picking up scrubs here and there. We finally start aggressively pursuing guys we like and it's a bad thing.


Don't care, we got a play maker, ANY sort of play maker. I don't care if we pay him 13 million to run reverses so long as they work and he makes plays. I am sick of losing, like beyond sick of it and we're in here bickering about the price of what projects to be our slot receiver.

Don't care, pay everyone too much money, put us in cap hell, I do not care, just win.

Dont know why everyone is so concerned about it being a 2 yr. deal. It is a 4 year deal, and as such is a AVG at best contract. You've done nothing but complain about not getting in FA and spending $$$, and when we do now you complain about it being to much. Just because we didn't throw $$$ at a G, your all upset about spending it elsewhere. Course were not allowed to draft a G, we have to sign one in FA

Hawkins deal is far from being a 2 year deal. It is a deal that allows the contract to stay largely stable throughout the life of the deal.

He received a $4 million guarantee, including a $4 million signing bonus. He can make an additional $900K in bonuses. His salaries go from $1.8 this year to $2.6 million in 2017. They are paying him to be a contributor, and they have structured the deal to keep him here long term.

j/c

Yep, the guy who was 8th in the NFL in YAC when he was healthy, don't need that guy.

He's the prefect slot WR. He'll probably lead our team in receptions and first downs. He also has the speed and ability to break a screen pass for a TD.

Very underrated. It was unfortunate for him that he got hurt this past year, probably missed out on a few more million in his contract.

Anyone who wants to complain about it, just look at the three year extension and the numbers we gave Bess. We're getting a younger talent, that isn't a mental, at slot for not really much more than what Bess was getting.

What is there to complain about?

j/c

Can't wait to see him with the ball in his hands. The quick passes from Hoyer will allow this dude to explode. He's going to break ankles, he's going to get 1st downs and he's likely to score a fair share of TDs if he remains unscathed. I really like the signing.

Thats what I was refering to. Most on here were talking about the $$$ in the first two yrs. without looking at the whole contract.

j/c

I don't have an issue with the money we spent because what we are paying for is his future performance. Farmer is projecting that this guy is going to be a solid contributor. Only time will tell if it was worth it but I think he's going to be good.

Exactly. If he makes all the catches that Bess should have, he'll be a solid contributor. He looks like a beast that runs crisp routes, has several skills to make people miss and get YAC - once he shows this people will forget all about the money he's making and they'll be buying their Hawkins jerseys

NFL Network said that he's going to start for the Browns. Does he have that kind of ability ...... to be a starter on the outside? Some smaller guys have done so .... can Hawkins?

The NFL Network may have said it, but did they say in what regard? WR #2 or slot WR?

Since neither the FA signing period, the draft, training camp or pre-season has even happened yet, I believe it's a little early for the NFL Network to be making final roster decisions for the Browns, don't you?



I believe he will most certainly be our primary slot WR. But there's a lot of work and opportunity ahead of us to make any realistic predictions of anything more IMO

They said that the Browns signed him to be their starting WR.

No clarification.

To me, a starting WR is the #1 or #2 guy.

These days I would consider a slot a starter. You've got 5 OL, TE, WR1, WR2, QB, RB. That's 10. Who do teams use most....a 2nd TE, a slot WR, or a FB? Yup a slot WR. He is a starter.

I think most people consider the two guys outside to be the "starters"

But what if you open the game 4 wide? 3 wide? What if you play the first snap then get pulled? You still "started" it's almost irrelevant...

Hawkins is going to be a big part of the offense, in the slot..

Gordon and Little IMO are the guys on the outside, until Little gets replaced...

You mean May.

I can't think of a worse starting receiver in the AFC than Little. Didn't he lead in drops?

It's kind of ironic to see people dismiss Greg Little so easily after they've seen him have some great games, but justify liking Baby Hawk because he's had two great games.

Is that total drops or an average per target?

Actually to get a much better idea.......

Gordon averaged catching 55% of his targets.

Little averaged catching 41% of his targets.

You see Little was only targeted 99 times, while Gordon was targeted 159 times.

I've seen a sig. that says stats never lie. But they certainly get manipulated a lot.



http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr

When you have a lot more bad games than good, then natural reaction is to write people off... he's still the same inconsistent player as he was in 2011. He's not the person you can trust when you need that first down, when you need that touchdown and/or any other production... he just isn't and in three years, there is no evidence to suggest he can change.

Little sometimes does things that only a few players in the NFL can do. They just don't happen on a consistent basis. As of right now there is no reason to get rid of him, especially with the new coaching staff.

If Little started the season as our #2 receiver I would not be upset. With that said, his position can be upgraded by a player who is more consistent.

I wouldn't say I manipulated them. I would just say I omitted them.

That said, I think the highest he's been percentage wise is like 30ish.

'Newest Cleveland Browns WR Andrew Hawkins knows the value of hard work on and off field'

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/03/newest_cleveland_browns_wr_and.html

By Tom Reed, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on March 18, 2014 at 9:33 PM, updated March 19, 2014 at 9:06 AM

BEREA, Ohio – Signing a four-year, $13.6 million contract should give receiver Andrew Hawkins a sense of achievement, not entitlement.

There’s often a disconnect between the lives of fans and the pro players they support. Athletes work hard to reach the game’s highest level, but many don’t know the menial labor of sweeping floors or lugging someone else's golf clubs.

Hawkins does. It's why the Browns' new slot receiver and the Dawg Pound should form quite the bond.

“I don’t think I would be here today had it not worked out the way that it did,” Hawkins said on a conference call Wednesday. “So if I could go back, 100 times out of 100 I would do it the same way.”

Hawkins' sinuous route to his first big NFL payday included working in a Toledo wind turbine factory, caddying at a country club, appearing on a football reality show and serving an internship for the Detroit Lions -- who were grooming the 5-foot-7 receiver to be a scout.

Before finally making it with the Bengals in 2011, Hawkins also was cut by the Browns and St. Louis Rams and spent two seasons in the Canadian Football League.

“So it all works out, man,” Hawkins said. “I think it helped build character. It helped me appreciate where I’m at, and I understood from Day One what a privilege it was to play in the National Football League.”

The diminutive playmaker hopes to contribute to a franchise rebuild similar to the one he experienced in three playoff-bound seasons with Cincinnati. Hawkins, 28, becomes the Browns’ latest free-agent signing following running back Ben Tate, inside linebacker Carlos Dansby, safety Donte Whitner and others.

He replaces Davone Bess, the troubled slot receiver who struggled on and off the field in his one season before his release. Hawkins missed half of last season with a high-ankle sprain, but expects to return to his 2012 form when he caught 51 passes for 533 yards and four touchdowns.

“I’m looking forward to coming out this year and playing 16 full games and ... just really proving my worth,” Hawkins said.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to come in and be the spark they’re looking for, man. Some things I’m good at is run after the catch and hopefully be a leader where I can bring everything I’ve done to this point in my career over to the Cleveland locker room.”

The Browns signed him to an offer sheet last week, front-loading the deal -- $10.8 million over the first two years -- hoping their division rivals wouldn’t match it. The Bengals took all five days to mull their options before allowing Hawkins, who they had signed to a $1.45 million tender, to leave without compensation.

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis called him a “hard-working and contributing player,” in a statement issued by the Bengals. Hawkins would have remained the team’s fourth option behind A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu. He will play a more significant role with the Browns, who relied heavily last season on Pro Bowl receiver Josh Gordon and tight end Jordan Cameron.

Hawkins said it was a difficult five days waiting to see which corner of Ohio he’d call home. The fact two NFL teams wanted his services helps explain his remarkable transformation from the days of sleeping on a friend’s couch in 2008 after his career at the University of Toledo had ended.

To earn money, he toiled in a Toledo factory and caddied at Inverness. The Browns gave him a shot in a minicamp six years ago, but didn’t sign him. The Lions hired him as an intern, thinking he’d make a good scout. None of it deterred him from pursing a playing career.

“I don't care if you're trying to make it to the NFL, become a police officer or a writer, whatever it is there are going to be obstacles,” Hawkins said. “There are going to be times when you lose things. ... I would pray and I just felt if I kept working God would work the rest out."

He believes the experience in the Browns minicamp led to other football-related opportunities.

In 2009, he played a prominent role in the reality show 4th and Long, hosted by Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. Hawkins’ compelling back story and highlight tapes from that minicamp helped land him an audition.

The winner earned a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys and he advanced to the final show before finishing as a runner-up.

"To this day it was the hardest thing I've ever been a part of -- mentally and physically,” Hawkins said. “You are doing an incredible amount of running and physical activities ... But it was one of those things where I was willing to do anything it took make my dreams come true.”
That includes a two-year stay in the French-speaking province of Quebec. Hawkins won back-to-back Grey Cup titles with the Montreal Alouettes, who were coached by Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman.

He returned to the United States in 2010 and, after being cut by St. Louis, finally made it with the Bengals. Among his career highlights are a 50-yard touchdown reception against the Browns in 2012.

Hawkins is pleased to stay in the AFC North and he likes the Browns’ off-season additions.

“It shows what the organization is trying to do,” he said. “They’re trying to win. They’re trying to win now. They’re trying to accumulate an incredible roster, and I think they’ve done great in free agency. Not even including myself, the players they’ve been able to bring in, it just shows where their minds at and I feel good about where the program is going.”

Even before agreeing to a contract with a $3.8 million signing bonus, the days of sweeping floors and toting golf bags were long past.

But Hawkins arrives in Cleveland with a deep appreciation for what it means to work at a job where nobody keeps score or basks in their SportsCenter moment.




(end)

Hawkins Returns to Cleveland (video):

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-cen...4d-76253fdfb021

Quote:

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To me, a starting WR is the #1 or #2 guy.

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To me a starting WR is a WR who is on the field for the first play of the game. But maybe I'm wacked.

Besides, how in the hell do they know who's starting on the Browns? It's still opinions as they try to guess what the team is thinking and what they're attempting by the things they do.

I live in cincy and Hawkins is beloved down here. He is a self-made player who is as shifty as they come. He will be a perfect compliment to Gordon and Cameron.

If we land Watkins in the draft, we will have put together the most talent we've had on offense since 2007.

This is all coming together nicely!