Mid-week thoughts

Remember during last summer's training camp how Browns fans were fed daily doses of how exciting the offense was going to be in the 2023 season now that Elijah Moore was finally in the Seal Brown and Orange?

There was nothing the wide receiver couldn't do. His versatility quotient jumped off the charts. You guys are going to love this guy, we were told. It was as though head coach Kevin Stefanski couldn't wait to choreograph the direction he believed Moore was headed.

He could line up just about anywhere in the various formations and have an impact. Catch the football? Check. Run sweeps? Check. Sudden quickness to make tacklers miss? Check. Talent bursting at the seams all wrapped up in one dynamic package? Check. He was genuinely excited about the new phase of his career.

We are now at roughly the midpoint of the season: Eight games in the books, nine left beginning with Sunday's trip down to Baltimore to face the Ravens, arguably the best team in the AFC. Time to check in on Moore's progress since training camp.

Before looking at the telltale figures, a hint: The silence with regard to that progress has been deafening out of Berea. A lot of head-scratching by Stefanski and his offensive staff wondering when Moore will get started and weaponize what has been an underperforming offense thus far.

In those eight games, Moore has touched the ball 37 times for 282 yards: 29 pass receptions (50 targets) for 270 yards and 12 first downs, a long of 33 yards; eight carries for 11 yards (in five games), and one first down, a long of 19 yards (in the season-opening victory). He has yet to score a touchdown.

The most surprising aspect of this is Moore's silence. One of the reasons he's now in Cleveland was his extreme displeasure with how infrequently the New York Jets targeted him after a nice rookie season in 2021. He wore out his welcome after a shouting match with his offensive coordinator at a practice.

Browns General Manager Andrew Berry tried to get him last season, but was rebuffed. He persisted and finally landed Moore about a month before the 2023 college draft, shipping the Browns' second-round selection for the wide receiver and the Jets' third-round pick.

That's when the Browns' PR machine was revved up. The Browns finally had a young, speedy wide receiver who could stretch the field and make dynamic plays with the football in his hands. We're still waiting.

It has become a failure no one saw coming with no apparent solution in sight. It's almost as though Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt are flummoxed as to how to get Moore going. They seemingly have tried everything.

That Moore hasn't run the ball at all in the last three games could be an indication Stefanski and Van Pelt  have given up on that aspect and are concentrating on what he does best: Catch the football. That's how he got to the NFL.

And now that Donovan Peoples-Jones has been traded and Marquise Goodwin has contributed less than zero to the cause, it's time to let Moore complement Amari Cooper, who has been spectacular but could use a little help to shake some of the frequent double teams he's seen recently

Deshaun Watson definitely needs help to revive a passing offense that seems to have fallen precipitously below expectations. Ramping up Moore's reps would not only add some electricity to this offense, it would help prevent a repeat of what happened to him with the Jets.

If he is as dangerous as Stefanski and his men believe, it is time to start him and make him one of the focal points on that side of the ball. He needs the chance to make plays. After all, isn't that why they got him?