Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson never played with the older Baker Mayfield at Lake Travis (TX) High School, but he'd love to in Cleveland. (TheLandOnDemand)
At the Combine: Diversity at wide receiver presents an evaluation challenge
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
INDIANAPOLIS
Takeaways from the NFL Combine …
The Browns are fortunate that their two supposed top position needs – wide receiver and defensive linemen – should be easily filled in this year’s draft. Those are two of the deepest positions.
But evaluating the positions becomes more of a challenge because of the diversity of styles at each position.
“It is a really good question,” said coach Kevin Stefanski, “because as I start watching the receivers and you watch some of the defensive linemen, each one of those players is his own entity. Some have traits that this guy does not have, but this guy does this thing really well. It is a puzzle.
“What you try to do is just be real honest about your evaluation in terms of what you see on tape. Then it is our job to figure out if we can exploit those traits or use those traits in our schemes. Certainly, it is fun. It is hard at times when you have a small, speedy receiver [versus] a big possession receiver, or you have a flamethrower defensive end and a stout three-technique and trying to compare those guys and how they fit in your scheme.”
As for the receivers, the consensus is six may be taken in the first round. But there is no firm consensus yet on the order.
The top three – order to be determined – may be Treylon Burks of Arkansas, Garrett Wilson of Ohio State and Drake London of USC.
Here is what they do best, in their own words.
Burks (6-3 and 230 pounds)
“I would say [what I bring to the table is] just my physicality, able to be used at multiple positions. I can play outside receiver, inside receiver and running back. It doesn’t matter. That sets me apart from everybody else.
“I’ve watched a lot of Deebo Samuel, just the way he plays running back, inside [receiver], outside. That’s who I try to mimic game after.”
Wilson (6-0, 186)
“I would say the way you can describe me is a competitor. I’m one of those guys I'm really passionate about what I do, I put a lot of effort into what I do and I want to show that over these next couple of days.
“I feel like I do a good job of getting the 50-50 balls. I play bigger than my size, and I feel like I play with a whole lot of passion.
“Breaking tackles, making someone miss after a short pass and turning that into a big gain. All those types of things. You can't really go down easy, you don't want to go down easy. Blocking, all that type of things, that goes into that.”
London (6-5, 212)
“I try to learn something from everybody. I'm trying to be a Swiss army knife. Somebody who has all the tools in the bag. So I've definitely sat down and watched film of Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper people like that.
“Just learning and see what I can be at that, at the end of my career. I'll see who I could turn into and how good I can be.
“[Mike Evans is] somebody who I look up to, somebody who's built similar to me, and I could take parts of his game and put into mine. Davante Adams, some of the best feet in the game right now. Definitely, somebody who I watch. And at the end of the day somebody like Calvin Johnson.”
Don’t count him out
The wild card of the receiver class is Jameson Williams, who burst on the scene last year at Alabama (79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns) after transferring from Ohio State.
Williams (6-2 182) tore an ACL in the CFP National Championship Game against Georgia on Jan. 10.
Some believe Williams would have been the top receiver taken in this draft if not for the injury. He is a possible trade-up option for the Browns late in the first round if they choose to draft a pass rusher with their first pick at No. 13.
“I’m not sure what it did to my draft stock,” Williams said. “I hope it didn’t hurt it. Hopefully a team takes a shot at me and drafts me.”
Williams said he is ahead of schedule six weeks after having surgery to repair the ACL.
“Have been walking well. Walking without the brace for two weeks. Walking without the crutches for three weeks,” Williams said. “Been doing well. Just recently been getting running motion."
Williams said his goal is to be ready for his first NFL training camp in August, but “it’s not something I’m going to rush.”
By the way, Williams, who was considered one of the fastest receivers in college prior to the injury, said he never was timed in the 40 at Alabama, so he doesn’t know what he would clock if healthy.
“I just know nobody can run with me,” he said. “I don’t know no 40 time. I just know nobody can run with me. Just say whatever the fastest 40 time here. I’m faster.”
The Lake Travis connection
Besides receiver, the Browns have a need at place-kicker. It so happens that two of the highest-rated players at those positions prepped at Lake Travis High School in Austin, TX – the alma mater of Baker Mayfield.
Wilson is the receiver and the kicker is Cameron Dicker of University of Texas.
“Baker’s my guy,” Wilson said. “He was always a little older than me and he would come back and he coached 7-on-7. And during the quarantine, we actually threw together a couple times. So I know that Baker’s a great player, and we have a good relationship.
“It would be great to link up with Baker. Baker’s someone that did all the things that I wanted to do. Being a Heisman winner, that’s stuff you can only dream about. So watching him ball when I was younger, that was really awesome. Having that opportunity to maybe have that happen again would be awesome.”
Mayfield, 26, attended Lake Travis from 2009-12.
Wilson, 21, was actually born in Columbus, OH, and moved to Austin at age 11. He attended Lake Travis from 2015-18.
Dicker, 21, was born in Hong Kong and his family moved to Austin when he was in middle school. He attended Lake Travis from 2014-17.
“Yeah, Dicker’s the best kicker I’ve ever played with,” Wilson said. “Noah Ruggles [from Ohio State] is up there too. Dicker, I played with him in high school, he was always one year older than me. And so I played with him throughout high school. He didn't miss in high school. Finished some games for us.”
What did he learn?
I asked Kevin Stefanski if watching the NFL postseason play out on TV resulted in any revelations to him about how he might do things better as Browns coach.
“No, I think you see the teams and the systems they are running and a lot of similarities to what we are doing,” the Browns coach said. “There are certain things that each team does to differentiate themselves schematically, but looking at the final four with the Rams, Bengals, and Chiefs, [and 49ers], all of us are related, if you will, schematically.”
There is some truth in that. It’s just that those four teams had more playmakers on offense.
But I was thinking more about how willing the coaches in the conference championship games were willing to kick field goals. Stefanski seemed averse to field goals in 2021.
Unamused, Stefanski responded, “We are always looking for ways to find a way to put ourselves in position to win that particular game.”
