The Browns were allergic to wide receivers under their previous regime, but they suddenly have what could become one of the NFL’s most dynamic groups at the position.
Rookie first-round draft pick Corey Coleman, 2013 All-Pro selection Josh Gordon and former quarterback Terrelle Pryor have the potential to be an electrifying trio.
“It’s hard not to imagine it. It brings a smile to your face,” Browns starting quarterback Robert Griffin III said. “But we have to make that a reality, and it’s just like potential. Everyone can have potential, but you have to actually make it happen.”
With Coleman and Gordon returning from injuries, the threesome is on track to make its preseason debut when the Browns face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third exhibition game for both teams beginning at 8 p.m. Friday at Raymond James Stadium.
The two teams will also practice together at the Bucs’ training facility Tuesday and Wednesday. Both sessions are scheduled to run from 9:55 a.m.-noon. Players will wear pads for Tuesday’s practice and shells for Wednesday’s tune-up.
So far, Pryor is the only one among the Browns’ three headliner receivers who has played this preseason.
“I’m looking forward to having them there, potentially having them all for a game and have them go out there and play with our offensive football team,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “It would be fun to watch all those guys and see the different pieces, but we have to get them there. I just want to make sure. I’m going to be cautious. I’m going to talk to our medical staff.
“Our whole goal was to make sure those guys are here for consecutive days so they can practice and be with the quarterbacks and the quarterbacks can get a feel for them, they [can] get a feel for the quarterbacks and feel for their teammates. It is important for them to be out there. We’ll know more as we go through the week.”
If Coleman, Gordon and Pryor can all make it to game day healthy, the Browns will finally see perhaps the most exciting part of their roster face an opponent.
“That’s a really, really solid receiving corps,” Browns two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden said. “You know, each one of them running under 4.3 [seconds in the 40-yard dash means they] can take you vertical. Those are really, really good deep threats.
“Teams don’t have two players like that, and we have three of them. So just being able to challenge people vertically, not being able to put an extra safety in the box because you need to have two safeties deep to make sure the corners don’t get beat, I think that just stretches out the field for us in ways that we haven’t had before.”
In theory, not only could it aid Griffin in the passing game, but it also could open up the rushing attack.
What a difference a year can make, right?
Former Browns General Manager Ray Farmer drafted 18 players the past two years. Only one of them was a receiver despite the position being a dire need for the Browns and those drafts being rich with receiving talent. Making the situation even more absurd, the receiver whom Farmer picked — Vince Mayle in the fourth round last year — didn’t even make the team.
But this year, the new regime drafted four receivers, including Coleman in the first round (15th overall). The NFL reinstated the oft-suspended Gordon on July 25. And Pryor — with three catches for 107 yards and a touchdown in two exhibition games — has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the offseason in his second summer at his new position.
Veteran Andrew Hawkins, who’s coming back from a hamstring injury, and rookie fifth-round pick Rashard Higgins are the favorites to round out a sneaky talented receiving corps.
Of course, some things need to fall into place for the Browns’ pass-catchers to make the leap they envision.
Coleman must rebound from the left hamstring injury he suffered Aug. 5, when he thoroughly dominated a live scrimmage at team headquarters by catching three passes of at least 35 yards and a touchdown.
Gordon must bounce back from the quadriceps injury with which he reported to training camp late last month. He also needs to lose weight gained last year during his banishment from the league and return from his four-game suspension to begin the regular season motivated and focused.
“He still looks the exact same, and it’s just crazy,” Haden said. “He looks a little bigger. I don’t know how that happened, but he’s still out there running around, looking the same, running his routes, floating. It still looks effortless.”
And Pryor must continue to progress in his transition from quarterback to receiver. It remains to be seen whether he can serve as a legitimate weapon for the Browns once their regular season begins Sept. 11.
“I’m all-in with Pryor. I’m completely sold. He’s been getting better and better,” Haden said. “I always tell him the improvement he’s had from last season of just trying it out to this season being a legitimate receiver that’s starting in the NFL, it’s incredible to show the work he’s put in with his route-running, hand placement.
“He was a quarterback so you know the offense probably came a little bit easier to him just being able to do that and now literally just making plays every single day. It goes without being said that he put that work in, and I think he deserves a lot of credit.”
With Griffin fitting the long ball into tight windows this summer, the possibilities for the receivers are especially intriguing.
“He throws one of the best deep balls I’ve seen,” Haden said. “He throws a very catchable ball. He’s running the offense really well, so I think he’s going to be a very good part of our offense, especially when we have Terrelle Pryor, J.G. and Corey, the way that they can get vertical and he throws those balls.”
If everything goes according to plan, the first genuine sneak peek should be on the horizon.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.