Since the ruling of Josh Gordon’s suspension was handed down, the Cleveland Browns receiving corps has been the topic of heavy conversation.
The common scenario that’s been thrown around is that the Browns would rely on the experience of seasoned veterans Miles Austin and Nate Burleson on the outside and let the young, shifty trio of Andrew Hawkins, Travis Benjamin and Taylor Gabriel contribute on the inside. Now, with the release of the oft-injured and rarely-productive Nate Burleson, Cleveland is left with only one viable wideout and a handful of smaller, shifter, interior receivers.
Of course, Cleveland’s main receiving option is still tight end Jordan Cameron. However, with Gordon being gone, Cameron will be facing more double and combo coverages than he faced last season. It still remains to be seen how well he’ll adapt to being the focal point of the passing offense. What is certain, however, is that someone is going to have to fill the void left by Gordon’s suspension.
The guy who’s best suited to fill that void is someone who’s rarely brought up in the conversation about Cleveland receivers, yet he’s also the guy who most closely resembles Gordon in terms of physicality and potential.
Charles Johnson, the second-year seventh-round draft pick, possesses the right combination of size, speed and work ethic needed in order to become a solid contributor on what appears to be an awfully anemic Browns offense.
It’s safe to say that Johnson has NFL size. Standing at 6’2″, Johnson is only one inch smaller than Josh Gordon and is tied with Austin as being the tallest active wide receiver on Cleveland’s roster. It’s also safe to say Johnson has NFL speed – the wideout was clocked at a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash, making him equally as speedy as both Hawkins and Benjamin.
Normally, when talking about a receiver with an unusual combination of size and speed, there’s always the “yeah, but…” paragraph that would go right about here. There’s gigantic, speedy physical freaks of nature who have failed to contribute because they couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t catch, couldn’t stay out of jail, couldn’t stay sober (cough, Gordon, cough), etc.
Johnson, however, doesn’t seem to have those problems.
While rehabbing an ACL injury discovered in his physical, Johnson developed a solid relationship with Brian Hoyer. When Hoyer was cleared to start training, it was Johnson who came in and received passes.
“He’s a hard worker,” Hoyer said. “He has size (and) speed for a big guy. I think he gets in and out of routes really well. The other day, I ran a route with him where he had a double move, and for a big guy, for him to get in and out of the break was impressive.”
His physical attributes are impressive enough on their own. But what really stands out are things that aren’t quantifiable.
“The easy things (to point to) are all the recognizables right away,” says Cleveland GM Ray Farmer, referring to Johnson’s 6’2″ stature and 4.3 speed. “Those are the easy pieces, but when you watch the tape you like his hands. You like the fact that he can run the routes, and right now it’s a young man that put a lot of work to recovering from an ACL injury. You can see that he’s big. He’s still fast and he can run routes and catch the football.”
Johnson could very well be a steal for the Browns. The measurables are there. The college production is there (in two seasons for Div. II Grand Valley State, Johnson had 128 receptions for 2,129 yards and 31 touchdowns). And, best of all, the guy seemingly does all the right things.
Johnson is raw, sure. Don’t forget, he’s a seventh-round draft pick. He was passed over by 32 teams six separate times before Green Bay chose him with the 216th pick (one pick before Cleveland selected DT Armonty Bryant, coincidentally). But he might have found himself in the right place at the right time.
Now he just has to prove himself.
Bereaveland 