JR Smith suspended two games for hitting the Celtics Jae Crowder in the head
April 27, 2015Kevin Love is very good, but on-off stats can be very misleading: WFNY Stats & Info
April 28, 2015With the NFL Draft beginning Thursday night, the Browns are looking at all options for improving their team. One of their biggest needs is wide receivers. With draft night quickly closing in, Cleveland’s front office and coaches have met with some of the top wide receivers in the draft — Amari Cooper, Devante Parker, Kevin White, and Breshad Perriman.
In addition to visits w/A.Cooper and D.Parker, and dinner w/Breshad Perriman in Orlando, #Browns met w/ Kevin White night before his pro day
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 27, 2015
With the signings of Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe, the Browns have definitely improved their wide receiver group since the end of the 2014-15 season, but they are still in search of a true No. 1 wideout.
From Alabama, Cooper looks as though he could be the next big thing at wide receiver. Not only did he dominate his competition in the rugged SEC, but Cooper made NFL-like plays while with the Crimson Tide. Standing 6-foot-1, Cooper racked up 228 receptions, 3,463 receiving yards, and 31 touchdowns in 40 games. While receiving plenty of awards and honors during his three-year college career, Cooper has most likely secured his spot as a top-10 pick Thursday night.
If the Browns were to move up and draft Cooper or if they were lucky enough to have him drop to them at No. 12, he would most likely be the team’s top receiver and deep ball threat in come fall.
Out of Louisville, Parker is among the top receivers in the draft. At 6-foot-3, he has the height and wingspan to be an elite wide receiver. In 33 career games with the Cardinals, he wound up with 156 receptions, 2,775 receiving yards, and 33 touchdowns. He will likely be a top-20 pick, so the Browns should be able to grab him with either their No. 12 or No. 19 pick Thursday night.
If Cleveland decides to draft Parker, he may not be a true No. 1 receiver, but he would add depth, along with height and length to the receiving corps.
[WFNY’s 2015 NFL Draft Coverage: Top Five Wide Receivers]
Before his Pro Day at Central Florida, Perriman was not high on many draft boards. Since running 40-yard dash between 4.22 and 4.27 seconds, Perriman’s draft stock has rocketed up to one of the top receivers in the draft. At 6-foot-2, he not only has the height, but also has the speed to beat any defensive back in the league. In three seasons at UCF, Perriman attained 115 receptions, 2,243 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns. With his 4.2 40-yard dash time, he most likely secured a spot in the first round.
If the Browns decide to draft Perriman, he will immediately give them a deep-ball threat on the outside. He not only will be a deep-ball threat, but he can open things up in the middle for both the running backs and other receivers to get open running/receiving lanes. Interestingly, NFL.com compares Perriman to Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Former West Virginia star, White is quickly climbing up the draft boards of many NFL teams. Before the NFL Combine, Cooper looked as though he was the clear-cut No. 1 receiver in the draft, but White has changed that. Both he and Cooper will most likely be among discussions for the first wide receiver chosen Thursday night. At 6-foot-3, he has the desired frame for a NFL receiver. White had 144 receptions, 1,954 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns in two seasons (24 games) as a Mountaineer.
If the Browns want any shot of drafting White, they will most likely have to trade up and into the top-10 to have a shot at seeing White in the brown and orange. If they do so, he is an immediate impact-type player that would fill the slot of Cleveland’s top wide receiver.
The Browns cannot go wrong with any of these four receivers, if they do actually decide to go that route in the first round.
11 Comments
http://www.arcticblubber.com/gallery/d/734-1/davis-jr-sammy-photo-sammy-davis-jr-6233615.jpg
“White is quickly climbing up the draft boards of many NFL teams.”
Josh, why do you think this? Specifically, what leads us to believe that front offices are leaking their boards, as opposed to White only moving on the boards of “draft analysts”?
Every year agents whisper to writers in a mutually beneficial system that permits agents to float self-serving info and gives writers fodder for daily deadlines. If a FO employee was suspected of divulging a his team’s board he would, presumably, be canned by his employer post haste, and have trouble landing another job in the biz.
Josh, to reinforce Harv’s point and to reiterate a pet peeve among many readers of this site, there are no players suddenly moving up and down NFL teams’ draft boards. This is a myth.
The only movement, as Harv explained, is on draft analysts’ boards, and analysts have very little idea what is actually on NFL teams’ boards, as has been shown countless times in very inaccurate mock drafts. So we have to make sure we clearly state whose boards we’re talking about.
ray farmer would be setting aside his philosophy on WR’s if he were to take one in the 1st round … but at least it would show he’s not totally set in his ways.
white will probably be gone when we pick at 12 … there’s always a chance parker and/or cooper could make it to us at #12. it will be very very interesting to see what farmer does if the browns stay at 12 & 19 & parker and/cooper are still available … i just don’t think he’ll pull the trigger on a WR.
there will also be some very good WR talent still available in rounds 2 & 3.
… also , all the WR visits shows me that farmer is leaving no stone unturned.
http://media.giphy.com/media/Jx8EejoxUVSW4/giphy.gif
A WR selection in one of the first 3 picks would be fine by me.
Just when I was starting to come over to the improve both sides of the line camp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-IkWpm7TS0
Unfortunately when it comes to this organization this news means absolutely zero!
My apologies and I agree with both of you. I guess I should have written “NFL Draft boards” not “NFL team’s draft boards”.
But what kept coming to my mind while writing this was that Amari Cooper was the clear-cut No. 1 WR at the end of the college football season. Now, although they are just “experts” and not the actual team’s, many “experts” have Kevin White being drafted before Amari Cooper.
Obviously, the experts are not part of any team, but I do not think the experts are so far off from the team’s views that they would just change their thoughts on the White vs. Cooper front without seeing/hearing things.
Please, Josh, there’s no need to apologize. It’s just a little of the give and take that makes following sports so much fun, interesting, and educational (when it’s not horribly cynical, depressing, hypocritical, dishonest . . .).