What Do The Browns Think They Have In Donovan Peoples-Jones?

Donovan Peoples-Jones has become somewhat of an enigma after being drafted in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns.

After three seasons playing for the Wolverines, Donovan Peoples-Jones, who came into Ann Arbor as a five-star wide receiver, decided to forgo his senior season at Michigan and entered the NFL Draft. Peoples-Jones was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth-round with the 187th pick. Pete Smith, who is an Editor of SI Browns Digest, joined Michael Spath on Inside the Huddle to talk about what the Browns think of Peoples-Jones and how they can potentially use him this season and in years to come.

With both Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry currently recovering from injuries and being the only two Browns receivers to catch more than 12 passes a season ago, wide receiver seemed like a position the Browns needed to address in the draft.

“The Browns are one injury away from having guys you have never heard off on the field at receiver,” Smith said. “So if you look at a guy like Donovan Peoples-Jones he does have an opportunity from that standpoint to not only make the team but potentially make an impact.”

Smith did though display some concerns about his development at Michigan.

“With Donovan Peoples-Jones if you watch him throughout his career at Michigan to now, he really seems a lot like the player that arrived in Ann Arbor as a freshman in terms of his development,” Smith said. “You put the ball in his hands he can make things happen but in terms of being a polished receiver, running routes and doing those type of things, he still seems to be pretty raw.”

Smith also noticed that first year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis may have used Peoples-Jones in a different way this season than the Wolverines had used Peoples-Jones in his first two seasons at U-M.

“He can make some spectacular catches and do some things, but it's difficult to know what did or didn’t happen with that Michigan program that seemed like this past year stopped giving him some of those horse touches, as they had in previous years. He didn’t put up the numbers he did [his sophomore season this year].”

In his sophomore season, Peoples-Jones had 47 catches for 612 yards and eight touchdowns and also added three rushes for 37 yards, while last season Peoples-Jones had 34 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns and rushed the ball twice for negative seven yards.

Despite Peoples-Jones only having two catches of over 30 yards this season, Smith still sees the potential for the 6-2 wideout to stretch the field for the Browns.

“Peoples-Jones can get off the ball and get vertical unbelievably well,” Smith said. “He obviously can be a deep threat, and I think there was an issue with Michigan in the things that happened with Shea Patterson, as he was often under pressure to the point he bailed out of pockets and really couldn’t go deep. But when Peoples-Jones had opportunities he made some big plays.”

The former Michigan wideout will not only be used at wide receiver for the Browns, but he will also be used in the return game. At Michigan, Peoples-Jones returned 89 punts for 743 yards (an average of 8.3 yards a return).

“The Browns really like his potential in the return game and obviously he had a couple of touchdowns on punts for Michigan, and I think that maybe his best path forward initially,” Smith said.

While Peoples-Jones may be used in the return game more than as a receiver when he first arrives in Cleveland, the Browns still think he can turn into a solid NFL wide receiver if he develops his game properly.

“Now obviously they want him to be able to show some ability to become a receiver,” Smith said. “I think they are confident in their wide receiver coach Chad O'shea that they can develop him, so maybe he can become a better route runner.”

The Browns see a lot of potential in Peoples-Jones on the field, and they also really appreciate the way he handles himself off of it.

“The other thing the Browns really focused on was they really like the kid,” Smith said. “I think they really like who he is as a person, and they believe in that as much as anything else. So, you get him in the sixth-round. There's not a ton of investment there, but I think they really like him. They are hopeful that they can sort of get him to click in a way it didn’t happen when he was supposed to be that program changing recruit at Michigan.”