Struggle of Browns wide receivers casts huge gray cloud over front office

The Browns wide receiving corp was viewed as a position of weakness heading into the 2017 season. However, that was before Corey Coleman broke his hand and Kenny Britt failed to produce anywhere close to his expected floor through three games.

Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins put together a good performance against the Baltimore Ravens in week two with seven catches for 95 yards. The troubling thought here is that the Browns cut him, and then resigned him to the practice squad after he cleared waivers.  He could have very easily been picked up by another team. I’m not exactly sure what that says about the player evaluation in Berea.

Without Coleman, the Browns have tried fresh faces Sammie Coates and Kasen Williams in rotation with Britt, Higgins and Ricardo Louis. However, Coates who seemed like a good addition when the Browns traded for him, was apparently following Britt’s lead. He missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring.

Williams and Louis at least appear to be playing hard and finishing their routes but they have also been ineffective. They appear to be able to get open more than anyone else but Louis has had some brutal drops and Williams is having a hard time getting targets.

Last week, the Browns signed Jordan Leslie, training camp standout, to the practice squad and then promoted him to the active 53 for Sunday’s game. Leslie made a terrific one-handed grab in the red zone but was otherwise quiet.

https://twitter.com/Browns/status/912022041624113153

Sunday was an embarrassing performance for the receivers, who as a whole dropped eight balls, and really could be credited for one of quarterback Deshone Kizers’ interceptions.

Yes, the pass is behind him but Britt does get both hands on the ball. Many receivers in the NFL help their quarterback on that throw and haul it in. At the very least, this group isn’t doing Kizer any favors.

So where do they go from here? Head Coach Hue Jackson addressed the media yesterday with the tone of someone who got mugged just before the entering the press room. When asked about the ineptitude at wide receiver, he deferred questions to Sashi Brown and the front office. Not your typical fortitude filled response.

Is Coach Jackson asking for help? Could be. After all, it is on Sashi to put adequate weapons around their rookie quarterback. Something he has wildly missed at accomplishing.

On Tuesday, the Browns did acquire another young wide receiver. They signed Bug Howard to the team’s practices squad according to Clevelandbrowns.com.

Howard spent the preseason with the Indianapolis Colts after going undrafted out of North Carolina.

Howard caught 146 balls for 2,048 yards while in college. He played in 53 games for the Tar Heels and scored 18 touchdowns. Howard does display impressive size and athleticism.

He stands 6-4 and weighs 221 Lbs. He runs a 4.58 forty yard dash and has a 37.5 inch vertical according to nflcombineresults.com.

It will be interesting to see who the Browns choose to feature at wide receiver when they host a divisional game against the Cincinnati Bengals(0-3).

With different guys getting targets each week it can’t be helping them get into a rhythm with Kizer, while at the same time blatant drops cannot be excused. Maybe soon enough, Howard will get his opportunity.