The Cleveland Browns are in great shape with the top WR duo of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., two Pro Bowl standouts. While they’re coming off recent surgeries, the duo has the potential to be the best 1-2 punch in the NFL.
After that, the depth chart drops off dramatically at wide receiver. Rashard Higgins thrived in the role in 2018 but fell out of favor in 2019. Young Damion Ratley and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones could also fill the role. But in the grand scheme of the Browns new offense under head coach Kevin Stefanski, it’s not a big role.
Simply put, expect the No. 3 wide receiver role in Cleveland in 2020 to be no higher than 6th in passing targets for the Browns, based on coach Stefanski’s history.
The 2017 season was the first year where Minnesota ran the offense Stefanski is expected to implement in Cleveland. Pat Shurmur took over full-time as the team’s offensive coordinator after succeeding Norv Turner halfway through the 2016 season, and the switch away from the importance of depth at wide receiver was instantaneous.
In 2017, Laquon Treadwell was the Vikings’ No. 3 wideout. He got exactly 35 targets while playing all 16 games, catching 20 for 200 yards. Jarius Wright caught 18 of his 25 targets as the No. 4 wideout.
The next season saw more targets for Treadwell as the No. 3. Adam Theilen got 153, Stefon Diggs saw 149, TE Kyle Rudolph got 82 and then came Treadwell at 53. RB Dalvin Cook was on pace to get many more than Treadwell with 49 targets in just 11 games, too.
Stefanski had just one season as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator. His impact on the targets for the No. 3 WR was stark. After Diggs and Theilen, the next WR on the Vikings target list was 7th-round rookie Olabisi Johnson. He had 31 receptions on 45 targets with a low 9.5 yards per reception.
Bisi Johnson’s receiving chart from Pro Football Focus is pretty typical for how a No. 3 receiver gets used in what we expect of a Stefanski offense:
Johnson ranked sixth on the Vikings in targets, behind Diggs, RB Dalvin Cook, Theilen and TE Irv Smith. It gets a bit of an asterisk as well with Theilen missing six full games and parts of two others with injuries that afforded Johnson more looks. Almost a third of Johnson’s targets came in his first two games (Weeks 10 and 11) filling in for the injured Theilen as the No. 2 wideout. In games where he was the third receiver, he topped four targets just once, the Week 7 win over the Lions where Theilen left in the first quarter with an injury.
The Browns have two very good receiving tight ends in Austin Hooper and David Njoku, both of whom have enough versatility to play as a de facto 3rd wideout in the formation. Kareem Hunt proved a fantastic receiving weapon out of the backfield in 2019, and he’s recently been sitting in on the WR positional Zoom meetings. Nick Chubb isn’t known for his hands, but he’s hauled in 56 passes in two seasons, too.
While it’s overkill to say that the No. 3 wideout isn’t important for the Browns, it’s certainly not a meaty role. If Landry and Beckham stay healthy, don’t expect more than about 40 targets or 200 yards from Higgins or whoever wins the spot.