There were 3 or 4 touchdowns left off the field last year where he was wide open

He may not ever be a true #1 but he can blow the top off as good as anyone I've seen for a rookie

@miktoxic said:

It's not you, it's true, but I liked what I saw of Hawkins last year.

Kevin Johnson is 12th on the all-time Browns receiveing yards list, and the 11 guys in front of him all played on the "original" Browns of 46-95.

#11 is Brian Brennan. which means we have not produced a receiver in this era (the era of passing) more productive than Kosar's third receiver ... the stereotypical white "possession guy" who played 7 years with the browns but only started 26 games.

Pretty damn bad.

Zombo

@miktoxic said:

Well put Mik! Sometimes FAs can be just as bad regardless of position. Albert Haynesworth got inked to a 100 million $ contract; and guess what Redskin complained about a 2 hour work day on Thanksgiving or Christmas? Albert. Miami thought they were getting the Mike Wallace that was once a mid-round bargain for Pittsburgh and ended up with a guy that didn't look anything like that guy. And Jay Cutler has pretty much held the Chicago Bears salary cap hostage.

I was raised in Upstate NY and went to college 30 miles south of SU - so I'm always impartial to anybody from that football program. I was at the game in the Carrier Dome when Nebraska was a 35 point favorite and Tim Green, Scott Schwedes and Crew upset Tom Osborne's #1 ranked team in the country there. Anyway, I was really happy with KJ's early career. Butch wanted to edge him out of the lineup with somebody bigger or faster regardless of what kind of hands they had. Unlike Northcutt, he didn't need ear plugs in lieu of courage. He could also get off the line of scrimmage so we didn't have to confine him to the slot. It looked to me like KJ was an overachiever that could lose his place in the league as early as he could lose 1 step or not fight off nagging injuries or both.

@tour2ma said:

Did I really say 2007 was Braylon's rookie year? If so, my bad! I actually LIKED what I saw from Braylon when he finally got on the field as a rookie. I saw somebody that wanted to prove his value. I also liked what I saw from Braylon in his first year and second year post major knee reconstruction. We opened 2006 with what looked like a long TD pass hookup between him and Charlie Frye vrs the Saints. Unfortunately, that got called back. I liked his first 3 year body of work

IMO, somebody that worked so hard to get to that Pro Bowl level of 16 TD receptions in 2007 doesn't just SUCK 1 year later if there weren't some major shuffling of priorities in the offseason heading into 2008. Something drastically changed in his focus or the mere change of scenery to post season caliber teams in NY, SF, and Seattle kept him a round longer than a couple cups of coffee. Instead, none of those teams took very long to tell him "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." Nobody ever saw the 2007 version of Braylon again.

And suddenly getting more headlines for dropsies, bar fights and being Donte Stallworth's favorite drinking buddy isn't going to change my opinion on that.

these guys nowadays.....i don't know. i think the WR 'diva' term came out like 10 years ago and everyone has followed suit.

@miktoxic said:

KJ was very reliable early on. Understanding he played through a pulled hammy most of his second year - he combined his 1st and 3rd seasons for a total of 17 TD receptions. He also had respectable yardages and reception volumes when healthy.

For me, he's one of the biggest underachievers we've ever picked

@flugel said:

When Braylon prioritized football in 2007 (2 years post surgery) - he had 16 TD receptions.

So Edwards applied himself for one year, succeeded and then said, "fuck it"? Not buying that... '07 was just DA's and BE's highlight reel. Were they able to recreate it, then they would have.

@hoorta said:

When Braylon prioritized football in 2007 (2 years post surgery) - he had 16 TD receptions. The Braylon more interested in night life and barfights didn't look too much different than the version of Josh Gordon we saw in 2014. I'd swear the following blues classic is about Braylon Edwards https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+video+of+bb+king+thrill+is+gone&FORM=VIRE9#view=detail&mid=F0B0B2599FD25382EA12F0B0B2599FD25382EA12

@walterwhite said:

Yawn.

@opal312 said:

He's 6'5" and can be coached up. This was a decent signing for the Browns because he can play at an NFL level right away. Some of the tight ends in the draft will take time to develop. I agree with this signing. The Cardinals played three quarterbacks last year and each one had a favorite target. Signing Housler now will give the coaches and the players ample time to develop chemistry. He's still young and might surprise some people.

By the time you get to the NFL- you can either catch the ball or you can't- see: Edwards, Braylon- and a host of others- a LITTLE refresher there.

@flugel said:

The crowd should be yelling "DOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGGGGG".

@tiamat63 said:

God bless ya! I just lost a mouth full of Diet Pepsi laughing at that sucker.

I don't know if it's old age, feeling tired or speed reading dyslexia - but I've already called him Doogie Houser.

Zombo said:

Too bad the criteria isn't like it used to be with the ladies. If you can find a hottie without any beers in the gut - giddyup and get after it. Now, if you need at least 12 beers to make something look attractive - you better hope your competition is the one power gluing that at the end of the night. Your buddy Flugel used to call that 12 pack love back in BC (Before Cellphones). Since 99, our front office has brought in a lot of the football version of 12 pack love.

Jim Dray was a pleasant surprise in the hands department. However, in a world of yards after the catch - that poor guy looked like he was stranded in park on a busy highway.

I'm pretty happy about our FA WRs and what Hawkins can do out of the slot. That should help us get a little more balance from the passing game. I'd still like us to add the dynamic of 1 acceleration gear on the perimeter to help get our other Receivers more favorable matchups. Like I heard about Bowe in 2014, he could have done better on a team that had talented speed lining up on the other side of formation rather than being the guy drawing the most attention. We have enough draft picks where we could set him free from what he was sentenced to in 2014. As a Danny Shelton fan, I'm excited it doesn't even have to be as early as pick #12.

@lbc-mike said:

You mean Aaron Shea?

Ya those guys were OK as was Evan Moore, looks like we might have a three-headed monster of 6'5 guys who catch and block and won't make a lot of mistakes, but aren't game changers. Nothing wrong with that if we can run the ball the wideouts are making plays.

Zombo

Connect rate was decent in 2012 and 2013 at around 75% of targets.

Drop rate was 0.0 in 2014, 7.0 in 2013, 7.4 in 2012, but 19.2 in 2011... so there was improvement.

At 238 lb he's going to have issue with even smaller DEs on the line, but with a head of steam as an F-back??? Maybe...

@tour2ma said:

Kinda depends on the WR... and who else is on the board.

I definitely do not want to see a TE in the first...

I definitely do not want to see a TE in the first...