Cincinnati receiver Tyler Scott should be a player-of-interest for GM Andrew Berry at the NFL Combine this week. (USA Today)
Can Browns GM Andrew Berry find the speedy receiver in the draft that Deshaun Watson sorely needs?
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Browns GM Andrew Berry will address national media – and then throw Northeast Ohio media some breadcrumbs in a sidebar meeting – in the NFL Combine media room Tuesday at 1 p.m., a day ahead of coach Kevin Stefanski’s interview session.
Berry will speak from the coveted inside rail podium No. 1 – as opposed to Stefanski, who has been relegated to the far outside No. 5 podium position. Take what you want from those NFL podium assignments.
To attentive note-takers, Berry will announce that the Browns are devoting their attention here this week to finally selecting an impact receiver with their first draft pick, No. 43 overall in the second round.
Uh … um … fat chance of Berry speaking that headline.
The Harvard- educated GM likes to espouse his aggressiveness in talent acquisition. But he is the exact opposite in front of media – guarded, reserved, quiet, predictable and downright boring. On purpose, of course.
It amuses the Browns to allow pre-free agency mock draft pundits to tout defensive line as the Browns’ No. 1 priority in the April 27-29 draft in Kansas City.
It surely is the club’s biggest priority of the transaction season to provide new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz with perhaps two defensive tackles and one defensive end. But they are more likely to come from the veteran ranks via free agency or trade.
The Browns have enough young linemen still under rookie contracts for Schwartz to develop. These are tackles Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai and Perrion Winfrey, and defensive ends Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas.
No doubt Schwartz will lobby for veterans at these positions to not only make a more immediate impact on the defense in 2023 but also to lead the young guys by example.
If Berry accedes to Schwartz’s presumed wish list, he could then concentrate on using his top draft choice to correct his blind spot at the receiver position.
Berry’s three drafts for the Browns have produced high-value receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (sixth round, 2020), but also a trio of foul tips, such as Anthony Schwartz (third, 2021), David Bell (third, 2022) and Michael Woods (sixth, 2022).
When you consider that Berry also was part of the Sashi Brown draft process in 2016 that brought us Corey Coleman (first round), Ricardo Louis (fourth), Jordan Payton (fifth) and Rashard Higgins (fifth), then you realize why it is imperative for Berry to reverse course on his receivers draft record.
For several years now, pass-happy college programs have poured out blue-chip receivers into the NFL. The Browns have failed to take advantage.
With the offense in 2023 expected to center around $230 million quarterback Deshaun Watson, it is more important than ever for Berry to produce an immediate impact receiver in the draft.
Last year, Berry passed up elite Georgia receiver George Pickens with the 44th overall pick in the second round. He traded it to Houston and wound up with cornerback M.J. Emerson, Winfrey and kicker Cade York with the assets from the trade.
Pickens, an outside burner who killed the Browns with a 31-yard touchdown in a crushing, 28-14 loss in Pittsburgh in Game 17 in January, is exactly what the Browns need now to move Amari Cooper to the slot and complement slow-off-the line Peoples-Jones.
Berry has to work his stopwatch and eyes at this Combine to come down with the necessary speed receiver – and pass catcher -- to run down Watson’s expected “shot” plays downfield and also to adapt to Watson’s half-dozen or so scrambles per game.
Receivers arrive on Tuesday at the Combine for orientation and their first batch of team interviews, which continue through the week. They take their medical exams on Thursday, meet the media on Friday and have their measurements and on-field workouts on Saturday.
Here are a few receivers for the Browns to consider in the second round – unless Berry does something stupid like trading down again.
* Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee, 6-0, 180
The Biletnikoff Award winner, as the nation’s No. 1 college receiver, surely will not be there for the Browns at No. 43. But if Berry is inclined to make a dramatic trade-up for the first time in his four drafts, this would be the player to do it for.
* Josh Downs, North Carolina, 5-10, 175
He doesn’t fit the Browns’ analytics template for size at the position. But he might run in the 4.3s and vertical-leap through the roof of Lucas Oil Stadium. On the field, he had 195 receptions for 2,364 yards and 19 touchdowns his last two seasons for the Tar Heels.
* Tyler Scott, Cincinnati, 5-11, 185
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah gushes about Scott. “What I love about him is when the ball goes up, as fast as he is, he gets faster,” Jeremiah said. “He is fast after the catch. You can use him on jet sweeps. He's got reliable hands.”
* Zay Flowers, Boston College, 5-9, 182
Despite having 78 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 TDs in 2022, Flowers wasn’t considered among the top receivers until he turned heads at the Shrine Bowl. Now he’s one of the draft’s “players on the rise.” ESPN’s Todd McShay warbled, “I’ve got him going in the late first round, and it won’t surprise me when it’s all said and done if he’s somewhere in the top 15.”
* Cedric Tillman, Tennessee, 6-3, 214
Tillman’s role as Vols’ No. 1 receiver was usurped by Hyatt because injuries limited him to six games in 2022. He had 1,081 yards and 12 TDs in 2021. Tillman had the Stephon Curry “tightrope” surgery on his left ankle in September. Tillman opted to come out early in the draft despite the sub-par numbers
