Mike Pettine shares just how the Cleveland Browns create their depth chart

While Dwayne Bowe may actually be the third-string wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, head coach Mike Pettine hinted that fans and media members alike may not want to put too much stock in his team’s depth chart. During Wednesday’s meeting with the local media, Pettine pulled back the curtain, shedding some light on just how the Browns make their mid-week depth charts heading into each game.

“Let me walk you through how we do our depth chart: (Vice president of communications) Pete (John-Baptiste) types it up and walks into my office. He says, ‘How’s it look?’ Sometimes I look at it, sometimes I don’t. It is usually a very cursory glance. I say, ‘It looks good.’ I don’t put a lot of stock in depth charts, neither should you. I know the league requires it. The NFL nowadays is very specialized. There are some groupings where guys might be listed as fourth string… Here is our depth chart here. Guys that are going to start the game or could potentially start the game, they are listed third or fourth. I don’t put a lot into it. To me, it makes no sense for me to me to go into detail and list who I truly think our starting 11 is going to be. It is an exercise we have to go through.”

It’s tough to not appreciate Pettine’s candor here. Depth charts and other NFL formalities have become such commonplace that teams no longer take them seriously. The head coach of an NFL team has so many other things to worry about that he’s not about to open up Microsoft Excel and create a spreadsheet with player names on it. There’s a solid chance that Pettine has no clue what a pivot table even is, but this isn’t a bad thing—his time should be spent on improving his team’s chances to win on a given Sunday.

There’s a fine line between anti-establishment and whatever the hell it is Bill Belichick believes in. Bowe was listed as the team’s third wide receiver after spending most of the preseason on the stationary bike. It appears that the depth chart for the fourth game of the preseason was the same one utilized for the first round of Week 1 discussions. When asked specifically if Bowe will start or if fans will have to wait, Pettine cut right to the chase by saying “you can wait.”