By: Jake Rajala

The Carolina Panthers have a quarterback in Sam Darnold that is somewhat deservedly virtually sacrificed on Twitter, but they have an impressive wide receiver duo in D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson. Moore is coming off his third straight 1,000+ yard season – as he also has 87 receptions and 93 receptions in two of his past three seasons. Moore had an impressive 76.9 grade by PFF last season.

Anderson may not be as productive or popular (in recent memory) as Moore, but he is still a very explosive WR. The former Jets wideout had a career-high 1,096 yards in 2020 and then took a dip in receiving yards last season (519 yds). Although, he recorded 5 touchdowns a season ago. Anderson is talented, but he has been a bit confusing as of late. He tweeted that he was contemplating retirement two weeks ago – which may make some Panthers fans less excited about his future and fit in CAR.

Terrace Marshall Jr. and Rashard Higgins are also expected to be productive WRs in the Panthers offense moving forward. Marshall was a second-round pick in 2021 and he could be a key reason for the growth or down-fall from Darnold in 2022. Higgins was also a strong under-the-radar addition to the Panthers offense this off-season. He nicely had 37 receptions and 599 receiving yards in 13 games in 2020. It’s safe to say that he has a lot of upside as a WR4. The fifth WR on the Panthers is primed to be Brandon Zylstra ( Concordia College) – who had 250 yds in 2021.

The Panthers passing attack will certainly blossom from a motivated Darnold. Yet, the Panthers QB1 should feel more confident with a more superb WR3 and WR4 in his line-up. Also – let’s not forget about a healthy CMAC in the receiving game.

The post Carolina Panthers wide receiver outlook appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Michael Welsh

It is no secret that the Browns struggled on offense during the 2021 season. The quarterback play was the reason for some of this, and the other main reason was the lack of explosiveness at the wide receiver position. Odell Beckham Jr forced his way out in the middle of the season. Jarvis Landry missed several games due to injury and never quite looked explosive. He has always been better as a slot receiver than a number one. Donovan Peoples-Jones had some big plays and did take a step forward, but he still isn’t ready to be a game-changing option. Rashard Higgins was a non factor and will most likely be on another team in 2022, and Anthony Schwartz proved to still need a lot of development. Overall, there are more questions than answers at the receiver position. The good news is that this is a good off-season to have problems in that area because there are several free agents and players in the draft that could change it all for the Browns. Let’s take a look at two players in the draft and two players in free agency that Andrew Berry needs to consider going after.

Draft – WR Drake London – USC

Cleveland picks at 13, and there should be a few good options there. One of the best ones is Drake London out of USC. He hauled in 88 catches for 1,084 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2021. One of the most appealing things about London is his size. Standing tall at 6’5″ and 210 pounds, he could be a mismatch for NFL cornerbacks. He has strong hands, good route running skills, and is a big play threat. The Browns desperately need a player like that.

Draft – WR Garrett Wilson – Ohio State

If the Browns decided not to go with Drake London, Garrett Wilson would be another great option if he is still available. Perhaps a more sure thing than London, Wilson comes from Ohio State where WR coach Brian Hartline has a great reputation coaching up playmakers for the NFL level. Wilson had 70 catches for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2021 season. Standing at 6′ tall and 192 pounds, Wilson lacks the size London has, but he makes up for it with his quickness and yards-after-catch ability. His burst off the line and hands are fantastic and that should make his transition to the pro level easier. The biggest downsides with Wilson are the inconsistencies at his route running and his struggles against press coverage. Those issues are able to be fixed with coaching and experience, though. Andrew Berry will have a tough decision to make if Drake London and Garrett Wilson are both on the board at 13, but you can’t really go wrong with either of them.

Free Agency – WR Mike Williams – 2021 team, Los Angeles Chargers

For the record, the likelihood of receivers such as Davante Adams and Chris Godwin coming to Cleveland is extremely low. So let’s just pretend they’re not even free agents. This brings us to a fantastic option in Mike Williams. Coming off his second 1,000 yard season of his career, Williams can bring playmaking ability and a big bodied frame to an otherwise small Cleveland receiver room. The downside is that traditionally, spending big money on a free agent wide receiver in today’s NFL rarely works out. Williams would demand a contract at $16-17$ million a year. That is a pretty hefty price, so it’ll come down to how much money Andrew Berry wants to spend.

If Andrew Berry wants to go a slightly cheaper route while still getting a good receiver, DJ Chark Jr might be the way to go. He is another tall receiver, standing at 6″4″, and possess the ability to make contested catches. He didn’t see much action in 2021, but in 2020 he caught 53 passes for 706 cards and 5 touchdowns. There have been plenty of flashes, so signing him to a cheap, short term deal could be a good idea. He could be signed for anywhere from $10 million a year to $13 million, but I wouldn’t put it past Andrew Berry to get him for even cheaper.

The post Wide Receivers the Cleveland Browns should target this offseason appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Michael Welsh

Training camp is in full force around the NFL and football is officially back. The Cleveland Browns have one of the most complete rosters in the NFL and are stacked on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, there is a plethora of talent at wide receiver. In Kevin Stefanski’s run-heavy offense, it will be intriguing to see how he schemes all of this talent week in and week out. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is great at spreading the ball around, so the wide receivers should all get plenty of opportunities. Let’s take a look at stat predictions for Cleveland’s pass catchers going into the 2021 season.

Odell Beckham Jr

Coming off an ACL tear, it is hard to fully know how good OBJ will be this season. All indications point towards a great bounce-back year, though. He is ahead of schedule in his rehab and is looking good in training camp so far. There is a lot of pressure for him and Mayfield to click on all cylinders this year, but people tend to forget that OBJ was having a good season before his injury in 2020. With consistency on the offense in terms of system, scheme, and players, OBJ should enjoy a “Comeback Player of the Year” type season.

85 receptions, 1,220 yards, 9 touchdowns

Jarvis Landry

Since Baker’s 2018 rookie year, Jarvis Landry has been extremely consistent in a Cleveland uniform. Him and Mayfield are almost always on the same page and there is no reason to think that 2021 will be any different. He is never gonna be the guy to stretch the field and catch a lot of touchdowns, but he is clutch and helps move the chains. He should join Beckham in breaking 1,000 yards this season, similar to how they did in 2019.

73 receptions, 1,078 yards, 5 touchdowns

Rashard Higgins

The chemistry between Baker Mayfield and Rashard Higgins is simply incredible. When OBJ went down with his injury in 2020, Higgins stepped up big and made countless big plays on the back half of the season. He will most likely be the third string receiver, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of opportunities for him. There is a good chance Stefanski’s offense will evolve and have more of the receivers involved at once. Higgins isn’t the fastest guy, but he acts a security blanket for Mayfield. Look for him to have a similar year to what he had in 2020.

41 receptions, 520 yards, 5 touchdowns

Donovan Peoples-Jones

There is a decent chance the Donovan Peoples-Jones beats out Rashard Higgins for the third string roster spot. DPJ looked really good as a rookie in 2020 and he is arguably having the strongest camp of any player on the Browns this year. He has bulked up and gotten faster, and one can assume that Stefanski will have to find ways to get him on the field this year. He stepped up big time when OBJ got injured in 2020 and has proven to have great hands at the NFL level. He only had 14 catches in his rookie campaign, but averaged and impressive 20 yards per catch.

26 receptions, 467 yards, 4 touchdowns

Anthony Schwartz

The last wide receiver that will be fighting for playing time is rookie Anthony Schwartz. He definitely needs a lot of time to develop, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a role in 2021. Being extremely fast, he could help take the top off the defense in certain situations. However, with all of the other talent on the offense, don’t expect him to get a lot of touches. His main role will most likely be on end around and trick plays.

16 catches, 185 yards, 2 touchdowns

The post Projecting the stat lines for the Browns WRs appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

by Michael Obermuller

Odell Beckham Jr. has become one of the more polarizing players in the NFL, ever since being drafted by the New York Giants in 2014. After receiving a five-year, $95 million contract extension from Big Blue in 2018, OBJ forced his way out of New York with his off-the-field antics. The first franchise to step up in negotiations was the Cleveland Browns, who outbid the competition for the frustrated star wide receiver.

Pretty much since the day he touched down in Cleveland, trade talks have swirled around Odell and the Browns franchise once again. You see, Beckham didn’t choose the Browns, and he has not seemed truly happy in Cleveland since the day he arrived. Now Browns general manager Andrew Berry (who took over after the OBJ trade) has rumored that the franchise is open to dealing the playmaker for the right return.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of trading OBJ, from the perspective of the Browns.

Cases FOR Trading OBJ

• An Offer Cleveland Cannot Refuse
  • Another franchise could simply offer the Browns a similar haul that they once paid the Giants for OBJ, which would allow them to wash their hands of the situation entirely. Cleveland sent NYG Jabrill Peppers, a first (No. 17 overall), and a third in return for Beckham.
  • This seems unlikely based on Beckham’s contract and injury history, especially when you consider that the pandemic has crippled revenue and lowered the cap this season.
• Financial Obligations vs. Contribution
  • Considering how little Beckham has actually played (more on that below), he’s costing Cleveland a fortune in both dollars and cap space.
  • OBJ has a $15.75 million cap hit in 2021, and a $15 million flat cap hit in 2022 and ’23. They made the postseason without the wide-out in 2020, so the argument could easily be made that this money could help this roster more if it were allocated elsewhere.
  • Beckham had over 1,000 yards receiving and four touchdowns for the Browns in 2019, but they missed the playoffs that season. He only totaled 319 yards and four touchdowns in 2020, when the Browns made the playoffs and defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in round one. OBJ did not factor in the second half of the year, or any of the postseason games.
• Off-the-Field Noise
  • OBJ has become a locker room distraction in the past with the Giants. It’s not that he’ll break team rules or do anything illegal, but Beckham tends to run his mouth to the media and aggravate teammates.
  • The Giants ended up trading OBJ the offseason after he publicly criticized quarterback Eli Manning in an interview. Baker Mayfield is not exactly an MVP candidate either, so you never know when Beckham might get frustrated and make waves, which could negatively impact team chemistry.
• Injury History
  • Speaking of the aforementioned injuries the star has suffered, Beckham has only played 15 or more games in three out of his first seven seasons in the league. He made 12 appearances twice, seven once, and four in 2017 with only two games started.
  • In terms of wear and tear, most of OBJ’s injuries have been to his lower half. Beckham had his first issue during preseason of 2014, when he suffered a grade three tear in his hamstring. He then pulled his hammy again in OTA’s the following season, has missed minor amounts of time with hip strains, suffered a grade three high-ankle sprain in preseason of 2017, fractured the same ankle later that year, missed games with a quad hematoma bruise in 2018, groin-related sports hernia in 2019 ”” and worst of all, an ACL tear in 2020.
  • Eventually, a body can only take so much and still perform as it once did. If the Browns get the right offer, it might be hard for the new regime not to sell high on this extensive injury history.

Cases AGAINST Trading OBJ

• Trade Stock At Lowest
  • A GM never wants to trade a player at their lowest value, and OBJ could be at his lowest right now (recovering from a torn ACL in the midst of a financial crisis/pandemic).
  • They must at least recoup a first round pick for OBJ, and that’s still a good deal less than what they originally paid for him. If the return is too low, the smarter move might be to bet on Beckham’s recovery.
• Browns Should Bet On Talent
  • Whether or not they get the right offer, many still believe that OBJ’s talent and attributes are too rare and dynamic to trade away. There aren’t too many receivers in the NFL that have Beckham’s mix of size, athleticism and speed, not to mention his hands and route running ability (two acquired skills).
  • Beckham has totaled 1,000-plus receiving yards in every season but two (2017 and 2020, due to injury), and 1,300-plus yards three out of the five 1,000 yard campaigns.
  • Odell had a yards after catch (YAC) per reception of 4.4 yards in 2019. For comparison, DeAndre Hopkins had a 4.58 YAC per reception in 2020, and only the top receiving weapons in football like Davante Adams and Travis Kelce topped 5.0 YAC per reception last season.
  • OBJ has had a consistent yards per catch that has hovered around his 14.0 career average every season, with a 15.1 yards per reception career-high in 2015.
• Cleveland is Better with Beckham
  • One of the main reasons the Browns fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason was a lack of receiving weapons (and more specifically, no clear No. 1 wide-out).
  • Rashard Higgins filled the role admirably in 2020 after Beckham’s injury, but this offense is so much more potent with OBJ in the lineup. Think about it; Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant/David Njoku, Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins AND Odell Beckham Jr. That arsenal would be a challenge for any opposing defense, and OBJ’s unique skillset throws a wrench into a coordinator’s game prep and strategy.
• Wide Receiver is a Need Area for Cleveland
  • 2020 proved that the Browns are shallow at wide receiver, and they have yet to add to that WR room this offseason. At this point, there aren’t many WRs left in free agency (and none nearly as influential as OBJ).
  • Cleveland could try and replace Beckham through the draft, but it would also be hard to find a talent like him at their current draft position (unless they received a lower first rounder back in return ”” unlikely).
  • This roster is one of the more complete ones in football, but their biggest “need” might actually become wide receiver if they trade Beckham. It wouldn’t be wise to create a hole like that, without the proper solution in place to fix it.

The Verdict

Based on the current landscape of the NFL, this probably isn’t the best time to trade Odell. Unless a surprise bidder emerges, Cleveland would likely get short-changed at his current value. The smarter bet is to ride out OBJ for another year and hope that he has a bounce-back campaign. There should be much more of a market for the wide receiver in 2022, so long as Beckham stays healthy.

The post Pros and Cons For The Browns to Trade OBJ Away appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Euan Leith

Higgins was a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Colorado State. After playing out his four-year rookie deal, the 26-year old re-signed with the Cleveland Browns for the 2020 season as a bet on himself type of deal.

These things have a funny way of working out, and the chips fell in Higgins’ favor. His teammate, Odell Beckham Jr., suffered a season-ending injury in Week 7, and it opened the door for the receiver to post a career year. He started the final five games of the season and showed exactly what he could do when he gets his chance.

That 16-game pace shown above would blow away Higgins’ career highs in every category. Now, he’s got some recent tape to show the other 31 teams in the league exactly what he can do on the gridiron. So let’s see what teams could be in a market for a player of Higgins’ caliber.

Baltimore Ravens

Higgins joining another AFC North team is high on my list of possibilities. The current wide receivers on the Ravens roster caught 34 touchdowns from Lamar Jackson over the last two seasons, which only equals 53.1 percent of the team’s passing touchdowns. Baltimore isn’t turning into a college spread offense any time soon, but that number needs to trend in an upwards direction.

In a recent mailbag on baltimoreravens.com, Ryan Mink & Garrett Downing answered the fan’s question about the team’s passing offense.

I’m confident the Ravens will add a wideout or two this offseason. They could do it via free agency (there will be Tier-2 wide receivers released under a tightening salary cap)

Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

Is Higgins a Tier-2 wide receiver? Maybe not, but he’s definitely towards the top of the next tier. The 26-year old only made $910,000 in 2020, and if a team like the Ravens came along and offered a fair deal, it would be tough to pass on a chance to play with an electric playmaker like Lamar Jackson.

Tennessee Titans

Ryan Tannehill showed the NFL world that 2019 was not a fluke and had another elite season at the quarterback position. It allowed stud receiver A.J. Brown to have an incredible season, but it also provided a career-best season for Corey Davis.

Davis will likely leave in free agency with a lot of teams looking for receiver help. With the Titans up against the cap before cuts and contract restructuring, they should be in the market for a Davis replacement at an affordable cost. Higgins can be a perfect running mate for Brown and Tannehill in 2021.

He doesn’t have the electric speed or playmaking abilities, but he uses the opportunities thrown his way to produce great results. The sixth-year receiver has caught at least 71 percent of his passes in two of the last three seasons. His sure-handedness would be a welcome sight in Nashville.

Cleveland Browns

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. After re-signing with Cleveland and coming through for the squad when OBJ went down, there’s a chance loyalty comes into play for the free agent.

Higgins returned to the Browns in 2020 under a new Head Coach, and it worked out for both sides. Cleveland won’t be able to snag him for the veteran minimum again, but preliminary contract negotiations were reported in early December. Nothing came of those talks, but that doesn’t mean the teams don’t want to reunite for the foreseeable future.

Higgins is extremely popular in the locker room and with the fan base. He is a constant for the franchise as they continue to build around Baker Mayfield at quarterback. A reunion isn’t the exciting option in free agency, but sometimes it makes sense for both sides.

The post 3 Potential Landing Spots For Rashard Higgins: A Return to Cleveland? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.