The worst position group for the Cleveland Browns last year was arguably the wide receiver group. GM Andrew Berry took on the assignment to improve this group and get them out of the hole of being ranked #32 last year. In case you are scoring at home, that is dead last.
In the April draft, Berry selected KC Concepcion of Texas A&Min Round 1, and then with his very next pick he chose Washington’s Denzel Boston.
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Each NFL club usually retains five or six receivers.
For the Browns, Jerry Jeudy and the two rookies are a lock. The coaching staff really likes the development of Isaiah Bond. That leaves two spots.
Berrysigned Tylan Wallace from the Baltimore Ravens, who is a receiver but was inked for his return skills. But still, he would count as one of the six spots.
That leaves one. The competition is between Cedric Tillman, Larvadain, Luke Floriea, Malachi Corley, and undrafted rookie Ben Patterson.
Tillman was released before “The Turk” shows up on August 30. That means the one roster spot is down to one guy.
Floriea was signed to a reserve/futures deal in January. Jamari Thrash and Corley were tendered in March. Wallace came to Cleveland during the free agency period. Undrafted rookies Aaron Anderson and Kole Wilson were inked right after the draft.
Anderson and Thrash ended up injured and were waived with an injury designation. Undrafted rookie Ben Patterson was then signed to fill the void.
The Ohio kid
Back to Floriea, which is pronounced as “Flo-REE-uh.” He is an Ohio player. He grew up in Mentor, Ohio, and attended Mentor High School, where he played basketball and football despite only being 5’-8” tall and weighing 179 pounds. Floriea was an exceptional basketball player, playing 101 contests and averaging 11.5 points a game, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 4.4 assists. 22 times in his final three seasons, he was named the “Player of the Game.”
In football, he played receiver and ran a 4.48 in the 40 with a vertical leap of 32”. As a senior, he had 52 receptions for 939 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was named Second Team All-Ohio, First Team All-District, and First Team All-County. He was listed as a three-star recruit. Athletics run in the family, as his sister Paige was a track star.
He had plenty of offers, but chose Kent State.
His career totals are 48 games played, 100 receptions for 1,321 yards, 12 TDs, a 13.2 yards-per-reception average, and four rushes for 23 yards with a single score. Floriea was also a return man with seven kickoffs for a 17.8 yards-per-return average, plus 21 punt returns with an average of 7.6 yards per return.
After his junior and senior seasons, Floriea was named First Team All-MAC and received a Hula Bowl invite. As a senior, he caught 44 receptions for 699 yards with seven touchdowns. He ranked fifth in the conference in yards per catch (15.9).
The sixth and final receiver spot on the Browns’ roster is up for grabs. Last year, Floriea was a bubble guy as well, was waived, and then spent the year on Cleveland’s practice squad.
Versus the Patriots
Going into the final preseason game with the New England Patriots, it was made known that the starters weren’t going to play, and this contest was for the bottom third of the roster to prove that they deserved a roster spot.
Like Floriea.
Against New England, Floriea was lined up with the second team. The final catch of the first drive impressed.
Cleveland had driven down to New England’s seven-yard line with a first-and-goal. Rocket Sanders had gotten most of the yardage to finally get the offense down close. With Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, he found Floriea who had come from the left slot to the right flats, alone at the 9-yard line.
He then headed to the right pylon despite three defenders bearing down on him. Staying in-bounds by inches, he fought his way to the pylon for the game’s first touchdown with CB Kindle Vildor and S John Saunders all over him.
It wasn’t the crossing route, or getting wide open, or his decision to turn upfield, or his speed. It was the fight to get into the end zone for points that was the most impressive.
Make that two touchdowns in two weeks.
On the next possession, the pass was to WR Greg Larvadain with 7:31 left in the first quarter. Larvadain caught the ball while Floriea then walled off his man, which gave the receiver an extra six yards on the completed pass. It’s plays like this that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
Let’s discuss his second touchdown of the game.
The Browns drove down to New England’s fourteen-yard line. Dillon in shotgun, with Floriea now as the right slot receiver. He did a right juke, then immediately cut to the inside and headed towards the left center of the end zone. He pretty much shrugged off his man, CB Marcellas Dial, but still had a safety man deep. The pass hit him perfectly at the seven-yard line with two steps now on Dial.
His speed got him to the three as S Dell Pettus approached, Floriea gave him a right-turn head bob. This caused Pettus to pause, which gave Floriea a millisecond. Then the two met at the one with a fight to cross the goal line.
Yes, both scores were against the Patriots’ second-team defense. We get that. However, receivers have the job of catching passes and trying to score. Floriea is doing both. He doesn’t drop balls. He doesn’t throw his arms up when he doesn’t make a contested catch. He accepts incompletions. He runs crisp routes. He sells his fakes. He does his job.
This year, it just seems different for Floriea. His routes have more meaning. He is giving extra deception and is selling it more.
Take Floriea’s touchdown-not-touchdown in the second quarter. The throw was bad and died heading towards the ground. Yet Floriea made the effort with both hands and was one inch away from his third touchdown of the game. In fact, the initial call was touchdown, but the replay showed a small skip off the turf.
Is it enough?
Patterson did some good things in the Patriots game, including the 52-yard gain and leading all receivers. He seems destined for the practice squad. Larvadain has had a roller coaster in training camp as well as in preseason games. That might become two down.
Corley is a guy who failed to wow anybody in preseason, but the coaching staff loves him. He offered more as a complete player last year, even though that was with another staff. But he has a lot of potential, has genuine juice, and came from a college program that was on full throttle every game on offense. He is a weapon once he catches the ball and is an above-average kickoff returner, adding to his versatility. The last receivers on the depth chart usually have to also play on punt and kick coverage units as well, something Corley has experience with.
Preseason Comparison:
vs. Chicago Bears
Corley: 2 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD
Floriea: 2 targets, 1 reception, 35 yards, 35.0 average, 0 TD
Larvadain: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 37 yards, 9.3 average, 0 TD
Patterson: 0 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD
vs. Buffalo Bills
Corley: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards, 13.5 average, 0 TD
Floriea: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 31 yards, 15.5 average, 1 TD
Larvadain: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards, 2.5 average, 0 TD
Patterson: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards, 5.0 average, 0 TD
vs. New England Patriots
Corley: 2 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD
Floriea: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards, 9.7 average, 2 TDs
Larvadain: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards, 9.6 average, 0 TD
Patterson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 71 yards, 35.5 average, 0 TD
What do you think about Floriea’s chances of making the roster? Should the Browns choose WR talent over special teams contributions to keep the Mentor native?
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