Uneven Wide Receiver Testing at Combine Doesn't Make Browns Decision Easier

The wide receivers, one of the positions where the Cleveland Browns are weakest, took the field on Thursday at the NFL Combine, going through various athletic tests and drills. Of those that worked out, it showed the class has a good amount of talent even if some the individual performances were uneven.

A good encapsulation of the day was the performance of Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave. He started out the day with a poor vertical jump of 32" and had a solid but unspectacular broad jump of 124 inches. However, he finished the day with a 4.39 official 40-yard dash, which put most any concerns to rest. He felt so good about the 40 that he only ran it once.

It'll be interesting to see if he chooses to redo his vertical at Ohio State's Pro Day, which is scheduled for March 23rd.

Combine testing works in a couple of different ways. First, it's fact finding mission as teams try to figure out who players are medically, in person and then through testing. While testing isn't the most precise of sciences, it helps in creating an athletic profile. Olave's vertical still isn't good, but his 4.39 speed is excellent and might help some teams overlook it. Olave is still in the conversation to be a first round pick and perhaps going as early as 13th pick, but there are definitely questions for him to answer, areas of concerns for him to try to address.

His teammate Garrett Wilson, meanwhile, had a better day, but not a great one. The fact he showed up to test at 183 pounds is one of the concerns. Wilson ran an official 4.38, which was faster than expected, running faster than Olave. Wilson himself said Olave was faster. Wilson also had a vertical jump of 36" and a broad jump of 123 inches, which are both fine. It was a little surprising Wilson didn't jump higher with how much leaping ability he shows in games. His shuttle time of 4.36 isn't great, another area that comes off odd with what he does in games.

Wilson may do his 3-cone at Pro Day. Given his body control on tape, the biggest selling point of his game overall, it seems like the drill that Wilson might perform the best.

Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks had a poor testing day. At 6'2" 225 pounds, he ran an official 4.55 40. That's not where he wants to be and he just didn't look good coming out of his stance. His vertical of 33" is something else he should do again at Pro Day. 122" on the broad jump at his weight is adequate while his 3-cone of 7.28 isn't great. To be fair, it wasn't expected to be, but it only further highlights how disappointing some of the other results were.

For a player that was expected to test well with his athleticism part of the draw for him as a prospect, Burks was a disappointment. At this time, it's difficult to imagine the Browns would use the 13th pick on him. They may have GPS data that tells a different story and they have ignored individual testing at times, but Andrew Berry in his time with the Browns, both as general manager and advising Sashi Brown, they took premium athletes in the first round. It's difficult, at least right now, to make the case that Burks is in that group.

USC's Drake London did not test. He called himself 85 percent recovered from the broken ankle that ended his season. Whether he's going to test at Pro Day or be able to test at all remains to be seen.

Jameson Williams is recovering from an ACL injury in the national championship. He's ahead of schedule, feels good about how quickly he will be able to return.

Those are the players that stand out for the Browns at 13th pick at receiver. For players more likely to be in the conversation on day 2 and 3 of the draft, it is a mixed bag.

Players like Jahan Dotson of Penn State, Khalil Shakir of Boise State and Skyy Moore of Western Michigan all put up excellent 40 times. Dotson's 3-cone of 7.28, Moore's 3-cone of 7.13 and 4.32 shuttle and Shakir's 7.28 3-cone are all underwhelming.

Kentucky's Wen'Dale Robinson measured in a full three inches shorter than his program height, which is ridiculous. He went from being listed at 5'11" to 5'8".

Christian Watson from North Dakota State physically resembles former Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, but might be older than the Browns would want. Alec Pierce of Cincinnati was one of the most impressive players on the day in testing, but his production in college leaves a lot to be desired.

Despite uneven testing, there is definitely talent in this receiver class. It's not a given that the Browns will take one of these players at 13th pick and the combine, Those that were able to test, may have only muddied the decision for the Browns. Nevertheless, they are going to need to add help from this class and likely more than one player.