It's still befuddling

Color me baffled as to why so many people, including some savvy National Football League draft gurus, liked the Browns' third-round selection in the college draft a few days ago.

With so many other options on the board, General Manager Andrew Berry went for speed. In this case, breathtaking speed. Record-like speed. Don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-him speed.

There is fast, faster and fastest. And then there is Anthony Schwartz, one of the planet's fastest human beings. He has run a 10.07 100-meter dash. The world record, Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds, was set in 2009.

With speed like that in a track uniform, the former sprint star might be better off training for this summer's Olympic Games and winning medals for the United States in Tokyo instead of trying to win a spot on the Browns roster this summer. He is a track standout who can play football.

Schwartz was that puzzling -- at least to this curmudgeon -- choice by Berry. Puzzling because of the GM's obvious need for someone who can stretch the field. Schwartz certainly can do that, but his pedigree is somewhat suspect.

I am not quarreling with the pick. My main beef is when Schwartz was taken off the board. Third round is for players expected to be significant contributors. His qualifications do not come even close to warrant such a lofty selection. He is not the 91st best player in the lottery.

Other than speed, there is nothing in the ramp-up process to the draft that elicits anything more than a nod and if he's there in the fifth or sixth round, get him.

Yes, he was a starter at Auburn, a school noted more for sending successful running backs (Bo Jackson, Joe Cribbs, Brandon Jacobs, James Brooks) to the NFL than receivers. It is not exactly a wide receiver factory. Sammie Coates, Frank Sanders and currently Darius Slayton of the New York Giants are the most notable former Tigers who have played well in the NFL.

It's always best, though, to steer clear of Auburn wideouts. The Browns tried with Ricardo Louis a few years ago. That went south in a hurry. Louis lasted two seasons, catching 45 passes for 562 yards and zero touchdowns. The Browns cashiered him after the 2017 season. No one else picked him up.

Now it's Schwartz's turn. It will be interesting, perhaps even fascinating, this summer at training camp to watch how head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt work the speedster into the playbook. 

Schwartz is a one-trick pony. He can run a straight line and get to point B from point A much quicker than any defensive back. But with today's much more sophisticated defenses, it is rare you see successful quick-strike bombs. 

He might be able to run the route tree, but the only branch the Browns got him for was the fly route. It certainly wasn't the 18-yard out. 

Speed was the main reason Schwartz scored more career touchdowns (7) running the football than catching it (6). Five of those seven scores arrived in his freshman season, when he picked up 211 yards on 27 carries. He tailed off to just two running scores as a sophomore and bottomed out at zero last season.

That's probably because the Auburn offensive staff realized the gimmick plays installed for Schwartz weren't working anymore because opponents were prepared for them. He lost six yards on only four carries.

It would appear gadget plays -- sweeps, reverses, etc.  -- is arguably the reason he is now employed by the Browns. It sure doesn't appear he will get many game reps. Not with the likes of Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr., KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan People-Jones available, not to mention the tight ends and running backs. (Quick reminder, he was a third-round pick.) 

When Schwartz is on the field, it won't be as a decoy. It will be for one reason, and one reason only. Somehow, the football will wind up in his hands. And opposing defenses will know it.

Next time Berry needs a wide receiver, he hopefully has learned his lesson this season and avoids Auburn at all costs at least until the latter rounds. It has been proven they generally do not translate well to the NFL at all.