NFL Rumors: Supplemental Draft Pick Josh Gordon to Start for Cleveland Browns?
You know you’re lacking in weapons when the word coming out of training camp is that a supplemental draft pick could start at wide receiver for you in his rookie season. Such could be the case for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who got kicked off the Baylor Bears squad, spent a year watching from the sidelines at Utah and decided to forgo his college career to make it in the pros.
There was a lot of buzz surrounding Gordon and the amount of teams interested in signing him, but the Browns ended up pulling the trigger and forfeiting a 2013 second round pick for him.
Given all the chatter coming out of Browns training camp, from both coaches and players, it looks like Gordon could have a real opportunity to start along side second-year pro Greg Little.
“I’ve been down this road before,” said wide receivers coach Mike Wilson. “I coached Tim Brown with the Raiders. I had Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in Arizona three years. I played with Jerry Rice. Talent is talent. He has unlimited potential. It will come out in due time. He’s not going to master it in one day. Right now he’s just getting over a slight [quad] injury and we’re being cautious with him. Once his body’s well, then we’ll really hone in on it. Big body, nice hands, very smooth athlete, catches the ball well. Watching his cut-up tape from college, he’s a playmaker. He has the ability to stretch the field vertically. He uses his hands to catch. This was really a bonus for us.”
Gordon went up against No. 1 corner Joe Haden for much of practice. Color Haden impressed.
“He’s big and he’s strong,” Haden said. “Now it’s about him learning to run all his routes the same and to come out of breaks strong. He has no problem getting off the line on press coverage. I think the only thing is making all of his routes look the same. Making his comebacks look like his fades or his digs, or come out of his breaks fast. He’s definitely looking good for only his second day out here.”
There is definitely a ton of excitement surrounding Gordon and it feels like the sky is the limit where his potential is concerned. If he can put his past behind him and focus on becoming the best player he can be, the Browns may have gotten a steal.
Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.
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