As free agency seems to have slowed to a crawl, the ramp-up to the NFL draft is upon us. “Draft season” is interesting as it starts with the Senior Bowl and Shrine Game before the NFL combine which is the biggest kickoff to the draft but then takes a back seat to the start of the new league year.
It has been one of the busiest, most explosive offseasons that most can remember with big trades, huge contracts and whole divisions being remade throughout it.
For the Cleveland Browns, their two biggest moves should improve their offense with the acquisitions of QB Deshaun Watson and WR Amari Cooper. Both trades cost the team draft picks including the thirteenth overall in the upcoming draft.
Despite the addition of Cooper at the position and no longer having their top pick, the Browns are bringing in two receivers, Treylon Burks and Christian Watson, for visits on Friday:
(And Burks' shaky 40 time could lead to a slide … not sure if he makes it all the way to 44, where Cleveland picks first, though.)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 6, 2022
As Breer notes, Burks was expected to go in the middle to late part of the first round before a poor 40-yard dash time. The 6’2″ Burks ran just a 4.55 at the combine but his versatility and size that could make him an interesting player for Cleveland right away.
Watson has garnered a lot of attention since the end of the college season. At 6’4″, Watson ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the combine. The North Dakota State prospect had his best year in 2021 with 800 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.
Turning 23 years old shortly after the draft, Watson is outside of some guardrails for early-round prospects.
With the team reportedly still interested in a return for Jarvis Landry, as Breer also notes above, it is obvious the team is not comfortable with their current receiver group. The team’s current 53-man roster shows some important holes which could make trading up for Burks more difficult despite his obvious talent and fit.
With two more weapons coming in for visits, perhaps the team continues to focus on the offense in the upcoming draft instead of addressing the needs on the defensive line.