Why Browns Should Wait to Draft Receiver, the Player They Should Take
The Cleveland Browns' offense desperately needs a reliable, explosive wide receiver. Though it might be difficult to find a speedy pass-catcher in free agency, the 2023 NFL Draft is chock full of them. It could be tempting to select a player like Josh Downs or Jalin Hyatt if they fall to pick 42, but it would behoove them to hold off until their second pick rolls around. The available options on the defensive side of the ball will most likely outweigh the options on the offensive side, specifically at wide receiver.
The Browns' need of finding a valuable defensive piece outweighs the need for a wide receiver. This is the simple way of putting it.
Andrew Berry is "big" on the value aspect of each draft selection and doesn't like to draft based on positional needs alone. He is a big advocate of long term value to a team as well. A perfect example of this ideology occurred in the 2022 NFL Draft. When the Browns selected Martin Emerson Jr. in the 3rd round last year, the majority of Browns fans we stunned. Berry most likely had Emerson ranked higher than most guys still available, regardless of position. He found value in the fact that he was still on the board so he pulled the trigger and Emerson ended up being one of the most successful defensive backs on the team as a rookie.
The top options such as Quentin Johnston, Jordan Addison, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will undoubtedly be gone by then, but that's perfectly fine. The types of explosive receivers that this Cleveland offense needs will be available at 98. There is also a pretty sizeable talent gap between guys that might be available at 42 and 98 as well. There is much more value at wide receiver if they hold off until their second pick, as opposed to reaching and grabbing a receiver at 42.
There could end up being a lot of great choices here such as A.T. Perry from Wake Forest, Dontayvion Wicks from Virginia, or Tyler Scott from Cincinnati, but I believe the best option for this Deshaun Watson-led Browns offense would be Marvin Mims Jr.
Mims has immediate potential to be the type of player that Kevin Stefanski hoped Anthony Schwartz would develop into. Schwartz was supposed to be his speedy, explosive, gadget-type playmaker that he could use all over the field. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the Auburn track star is going to live up to the hype that he had coming out of college. Cleveland is also amongst a short list of teams that knowingly like to use stretch plays like Jet Sweeps to force the defense to cover 100 percent of the field. Mims would be the perfect type of player for Kevin Stefanski to utilize in this fashion as well, especially since he was used in the same way at Oklahoma.
Mims will most likely need to work on his route tree at the next level due to the fact that Oklahoma mostly utilized him as a vertical threat in 2021 and 2022. He has shown the ability to create space on different route NFL-like route combinations in college, but just simply wasn't asked to do it enough. He has smooth hips, excellent hands, and does a good job of attacking the football at it's highest point. OU motioned him around the formation in order to create mismatches against teams that lacked speed in the secondary, and that ended up being extremely effective as well.
He is an excellent tracker of the football on deep balls and is able to adjust his body to make great catches downfield. Marvin Mims Jr. had 34 receptions of 20+ yards in the past three seasons and 19 of them went for touchdowns. He could be Deshaun Watson's go-to deep threat for years to come.
A player like Mims not only has the ability to be an asset to the offense by making plays himself, but he could relieve a lot of congestion in the middle of the field. Opponents were very aware in 2022 that the Browns weren't able to throw the long ball to any reliable targets on a consistent basis due to a lack of speed and separation downfield. Therefore, opponents didn't need to respect the deep passing game. This made it difficult for guys like Cooper, People-Jones, and Njoku to find open space underneath without being purposefully schemed open.
Mims can line up in the slot or at "Z" and stretch the field vertically in order to help open up passing windows for these guys in the short to intermediate level of the defense, which immediately smooths out the game plan. It might not be the best idea to line him up at "X" on a consistent basis because it could be easy for press-man corners to jam him at the line due to his size, though he has shown that he can do it at the college level.
His most effective down-to-down alignment in the NFL will be in the slot due to the evolution of the nickel defenders in today's game. Over the last few seasons teams are beginning to use bigger bodied safety-type players in the slot in order to provide adequate run support to the front 6. Mims has the short-area quickness, burst, and pure speed to create immediate separation from these types of players in all three levels of the defense.
He can, however, be moved out to the boundary occasionally like he did at Oklahoma to be utilized as a dangerous vertical decoy, be motioned across the formation on stretch plays, and just to create mismatches on the outside. Mims was deadly running short slants and hitch routes in college. He was consistently given so much of a cushion in coverage that his slants and hitches turned into automatic 7-10 yard gains.
Kevin Stefanski would be getting an electric playmaker at pick 98 with Marvin Mims Jr. He is the type of guy that you can manufacture touches with, in the form of bubble/tunnel screens, end-arounds, and touch passes as well. The Browns offense would be so much more dynamic as a whole with a weapon like Mims in it.
