Off-season thoughts (Vol. XXVII)

Today, we look at the Browns' wide receivers room as of this date and look at what two high-level members of the organization see and then break it down. 

First up, it's head coach and de facto offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who couldn't hide his glee after watching his wideouts play pitch and catch for the first time during a Phase II workout a couple of days ago in Berea.

"I feel better even watching them throw finally," he gushed to a local radio station. "I think we have some different traits. Obviously Amari Cooper, his career speaks for itself. . . . And then seeing how the quarterback rhythms up with Amari. What you want ultimately is that route between the two of them where it's a gimme, it's a nine out of 10, we're going to take it."

Stefanski then turned his attention to the younger receivers. "I  like having the youth in there," he said. "I like having the competitive group in there. . . . It's a really, really smart group. 

"You break the huddle and with Amari and Donovan (Peoples-Jones) and Schwartzy (Anthony Schwartz) adding a young guy like David Bell who is really a smart, young player, it's a group that has a ton of good traits and you can move them around the formation."

Then there's Chief Strategy Office Paul DePodesta, responding to a question after the National Football League college draft last Saturday night. This is what he had to say in the form of an assessment.

"We feel like the room can sort of do everything," he began. "We have some speed. We have some great route runners. We have guys who are tough after the catch. We have guys who have contested-catch ability. In terms of building our concepts within our scheme. there's an awful lot we can do with these guys."

Well at least they're on the same page. Not certain it's the right page, though.

The concern here is they seem to have donned blinders and don't see the warts with this group. It's a room that needs to be improved dramatically for Deshaun Watson, who saw eminently better and more productive talent in his four seasons with the Houston Texans. 

Watching quarterbacks and receivers work with their timing is nice . . . when you're not in uniform. What solid conclusions can be reached watching them against zero defensive effort? Too early for that, you say? Of course it is. It's also too early for a coach to get that excited.

As for the talent in the room, hopefully DePodesta's generous observations are not shared by many in the Ivory Tower. It's clearly the wrong message.

Agree to a certain extent the room has speed. Anthony Schwartz is a world-class sprinter. But can he catch a football? That's kind of important. Getting open and making yourself available is, too. Schwartz had trouble doing both in his rookie season. He's a track phenom first, a football player second. Other than that, stretching the field will be difficult this season.

It's an indictment that Bell, a raw rookie, most likely will be WR2 behind the well established Cooper because he is better now than Peoples-Jones, a third-year pro whose sophomore season was disappointing even though he led the club in receiving yardage (a measly 597 yards).

Some great route runners, DePodesta bragged. Outside of Cooper and Bell. who would that be? DPJ? Nah. Schwartz? In his dreams maybe. Ja'Marcus Bradley? Practice squad material. Draftee Michael Woods II? Not yet. If (when?) GM Andrew Berry brings a veteran or two on board, I'll reassess.

I'll give the CSO the notion the room, for the most part, has players who are tough after the catch with the ability to win 50-50 balls. But that's it. Catching the football consistently helps. There are those in this group that lack that consistency. It is clear DePodesta sees something entirely different than what these veteran eyes see.

This situation carries a warning label titled "To Be Continued."