The Cleveland Browns have a long and productive history at the wide receiver position.
From their first season in 1946, when Dante Lavelli averaged 21.1 yards per reception, through Gary Collins and Paul Warfield in the 1960s, Reggie Rucker and Dave Logan in the 1970s, Webster Slaughter, Reggie Langhorne, and Brian Brennan in the 1980s, almost every generation of fans enjoyed watching Cleveland’s receivers in action.
That has not exactly been the case since the team returned in 1999, with a few outliers
(such as Josh Gordon’s 1,646 receiving yards in 2013 or Braylon Edwards’ 16 touchdown receptions in 2007).
The situation bottomed out in recent years as the combination of historically poor quarterback play and a group of wide receivers averse to catching passes left Cleveland’s offense struggling to accomplish anything.
Things could be improving this fall, at least when it comes to the guys tasked with catching the ball, in the form of three young players.
First up is Isaiah Bond, who has been drawing favorable comments throughout his first offseason with the club. While Bond is in his second year, he did not sign with the Browns until training camp due to off-field issues, which left him having to catch up during the season, which is never an easy task.
Now with some additional seasoning to go along with some added muscle, Bond is starting to resemble an NFL wide receiver, according to wide receivers coach Christian Jones:
“He’s not afraid to go up and attack the ball. He’s not afraid to get guys off of him when he’s running his routes. A lot of fast receivers typically have issues getting in and out of their breaks, carrying their speed into their breaks, and that’s something that I have not seen with him. He’s not afraid to carry all his speed into a speed cut, coming back down the stem, an angle break, a square cut, and that’s been really impressive.”
Cleveland’s trio of young wide receivers will be filled out by rookies KC Concepion (one of the club’s two first-round draft picks) and Denzel Boston (who the Browns chose in Round 2).
The rookies were highlighted in Terry Pluto’s column on Sunday at cleveland.com about what he is hearing about the Browns:
I heard a lot of good things about the Browns’ various preseason workouts. One name dominated – Denzel Boston. My source told me, “Don’t misunderstand, we like KC (first-round pick KC Concepcion) a lot … but Boston has been phenomenal at times.”
Boston has impressed with his size, and his strength and reliable hands mean he can catch the ball in tight coverage. He had 19 TD catches in his last two college seasons. The Browns wisely stuck to their draft board and grabbed Boston, even though they had picked Concepcion in front of him.
Concepcion has been getting better during the various workouts. He’s had some drops, but not excessive. Coach Todd Monken can use him in various ways — as a slot receiver, an outside receiver, and on jet sweeps. The idea is to get the ball into his hands and let him make plays.
It is easy (or at least easier) to look good in a practice setting with no pads and where the defense is not hitting you. But it is still encouraging to continue to read that Bond, Boston, and Concepcion are showing why the Browns were interested in them in the first place.
Cleveland still needs to fix the quarterback issue, but at least there is renewed hope that if whoever is at quarterback can get the ball out, the guy on the other end may actually be able to catch and make a play.
Which for a team looking for anything positive on offense, would be a great first step.
