Reliving Yesteryear: Cleveland Indians, Champs of 1920, Fighting? Really?
March 13, 2014Animated: Brandon Weeden’s career in Cleveland … in gifs
March 13, 2014Having reportedly lost out on Andrew Hawkins to fill the role of slot receiver, the Cleveland Browns appear to be setting their focus on New England’s Julian Edelman.
https://twitter.com/MikeGiardi/status/444095843902455808
Edelman, as you may recall, was one of the first wide receviers linked to the Browns upon the start of free agency. The team is in need of a possession receiver due to the roller coaster known as Davone Bess. Edelman is coming off a 105-catch season1, is a major asset in the punt return game and has a history with current Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Edelman, a Kent State product, recently turned down a three-year offer from the Patriots. What he would command in the open market from a lesser team remains to be seen. Things could get really interesting if the Browns ink Edelman to a lucrative, multi-year offer and then the Bengals decide to not match the offer sheet extended by the Browns. Here’s hoping the Browns newly formed front office has considered the potential of being stuck with two similarly skilled players.
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(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
- Just the third Patriots player in team history to catch over 100 passes. [↩]
31 Comments
bode must be attaching a noose to the beams in his apartment right about now…
I like Edelman, and I guess I don’t mind overpaying for him as long as he’s not getting a ludicrous amount of money. The Browns need a reliable possession receiver and a reliable returner in case of injury to Travis Benjamin.
Can he play OG?
Clearly. Just look at the man.
🙂 I’m okay. I just don’t see Edelman as anything special. Can he be our new JoeJ? maybe (caution: many thought that would be Davone Bess last offseason). that can be good enough, but there are plenty of WRs who have Julian’s skillset that would likely come cheaper.
Hoyer wants him though, so that might be good enough reason to attempt. And, he’s another local guy, which is always a plus.
He is a better DB than Buster Skrine.
So far, looks like the “white board” is dead on.
Or in case Benjamin does not return with full acceleration or cutting ability, because if the knee injury costs him even a half step he won’t be the same guy.
But like others, I wonder how much of Edelman’s production resulted from Brady and that system, and don’t think a competent GM should have to overpay for a returner/possession receiver. Grabbing a somewhat lesser guy in the mid-rounds of the draft or after the final camp cuts won’t significantly worsen the offense.
I’d start him over Cousins.
hey, Vereen may have been crossed off, but he’s not dead!
I think that actually says “Verner,” as in Alterraun Verner since Vereen doesn’t play for the “Titans.” And it’s crossed off because he went to TB.
I was a big fan of Edelman’s last season, keeping an eye on him since he was on one of my fantasy teams. I’m just curious if his production was a result of the guy throwing him the ball.
On a side note regarding the picture up top: I wonder if the referees flagged Edelman 15 yards for roughing the passer?
yes, I meant Verner. completely failed on the Major League crossing people off the list joke there.
And I completely failed to recognize the reference. Shame on me.
Could be that the Edelman talk from Berea (allegedly) is just an effort to get Cincy to decline matching the Browns’ offer to Hawkins.
IMO Benjamin the receiver still hasn’t materialized. I literally forget to include him when I list Browns wide outs.
http://img.pandawhale.com/98541-monkey-sigh-rimshot-gif-Imgur-7K6T.gif
neither has Lawyer Tillman…
http://cdn29.elitedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/original3.gif
Ok, I like Edelman more now 🙂
Here’s the thing… most slot guys production is a result of the QBs who are throwing them the ball. More than anyone else those routes depend on timing, not getting stared down (cough, cough Weeden) and getting throws that allow you to keep your momentum going forward. Hard to know if Edelman could succeed w/o Brady, but minus a competent QB throwing the ball it’ll be hard for any WR3 type to do well.
yes, exactly. that is why you shouldn’t overpay for a WR3. in the end, we need a slot guy though, so if we overpay with our extra cap $$$, then that is fine. it’s not like it’ll hurt us from extending others (as I assume front-loaded deals that leave us clear for those later).
Unrelated: Eric Metcalf once had a 104 reception season. And that was back when it still sort of meant something.
I agree… I’m not counting on it happening either. Benjamin would need a lot of things to go right in order to be anything more than an occasional deep threat. He would need to improve his route-running, add some physical strength to separate from DBs, and work on catching the ball away from his body. He really has a long way to go… that’s why in my mind he’s just a punt returner who will sometimes get loose on a deep route.
the Percy Harvin of his day (minus the hip injury)
To me, it depends on how often Kyle Shanahan is going to use a 3-WR set. If it’s the majority of the time, then I like the addition. If Edelman is putting up close to 100 catches, then I won’t really care if he’s a WR2 or a WR3.
Due Diligence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCNzLUPf6l0
This may me cry smile.
hmmm, okay, where does he live in the offseason?
Kudos to Farmer on the gamesmanship as reports from Cinci are now that they will not match us on Hawkins (which never made sense that they would considering he is behind AJ, Marvin, and Sanu there).
If we still sign Edelman, then we would have WR-depth for the first time in our reborn state (still would need a WR2 from the draft IMO). It would give us legitimate options if injuries hit (as they often do).
Just for poops and giggles, I saw this stat on Twitter from Nathan Zegura:
the last two years SLOT WRs in the Kyle Shanahan offense: 209 targets, 142 rec, 1,458 yards, 15 TDs
That might not seem like much, but when you look at the garbage that the Redskins have trotted out in the slot over those two years, it’s pretty impressive.