The Cleveland Browns offensive coaching staff underwent a dramatic facelift this offseason. One offensive positional coach who survived the purge was wide receiver coach, and passing game coordinator, Chad O’Shea. Given the lack of young player development at the wide receiver position during his tenure, should O’Shea be on the hot seat in 2024?
In the Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski era, the drafting and development of wide receivers appears to be a blind spot for the organization. This regime has selected at least one wide receiver in each of their five drafts. Since 2020, the Browns have drafted: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, David Bell, Michael Woods II, Cedric Tillman, and Jamari Thrash.
While Berry has thrown volume at the wide receiver room in the draft, he has not used any first or second-round picks on the position. The biggest swing they have taken on a wide receiver in the draft so far came in 2023 when they selected Cedric Tillman with the 74th overall pick. When you consistently use mid to late-round picks on a position, you are inherently relying on your coaches to develop the players to help them realize their full potential.
Of the six wide receivers Berry has selected, only DPJ showed linear improvement year over year and provided legitimate production. O’Shea does deserve credit for getting Peoples-Jones up to speed quickly and gradually increasing his role. However, DPJ was dealt to the Detroit Lions last season after hitting a regression roadblock to start 2023.
Many people will point to Anthony Schwartz’s lack of development as an indictment on O’Shea. While it is true that Schwartz failed to take the necessary steps to be a viable weapon, it was hardly indicative of O’Shea’s coaching abilities. Schwartz had too many things to overcome that coaching alone could not fix. Chief among those reasons were an inability to track the football, and durability concerns.
Since being released by Cleveland, Schwartz was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad but has yet to be elevated to their 53-man roster. In hindsight, Berry took a chance by selecting the ex-track star in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, hoping his speed would allow him to develop into a vertical threat.
Bell, Woods, Tillman, and Thrash are all still incomplete evaluations at this point. The Browns need one of these young receivers to identify themselves as a viable weapon this season. Tillman appears to be the leader in the clubhouse going into training camp. The second-year player brings something to the table that the other three do not – size and physicality. However, the questions surrounding Tillman have little to do with his physical abilities.
Tillman was thrust into playing significant snaps last season after Peoples-Jones was dealt to the Lions. The decision to move on from DPJ served two purposes: they felt that Tillman had shown enough to be ready for a larger role in the offense, and it allowed them to get an asset for a player who was no longer in their future plans.
Unfortunately, the rookie struggled to be on the same page as his quarterback on multiple occasions. If Tillman doesn’t take a step mentally, those struggles will only be amplified this season with an offense that looks to increase their use of option routes.
Of the four young receivers, David Bell has the lowest ceiling but also the highest floor. Unlike Tillman, an offense that leans heavily on option routes should suit Bell’s skillset. While Bell may not keep cornerbacks up at night, his ability to be where he is supposed to be and move the chains could carve a role out for the third-year receiver.
Michael Woods II is an intriguing player, but he faces an uphill battle to make the roster, let alone become a viable part of this offense. Woods certainly looks the part of an NFL receiver. He possesses inside/outside versatility and is tough enough to work over the middle of the field. Unfortunately for Woods, he is coming off a ruptured Achilles injury and a suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Without a stellar training camp, it seems unlikely that Woods will be able to break the log jam with the other young receivers.
Jamari Thrash is a mystery at this point. Thrash possesses significant upside as a separator, and a vertical threat, but until he displays that on the field it is all theoretical. The Browns drafted Thrash in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but for every Puka Nacua, hundreds of receivers flame out of the league before their rookie contracts expire. Thrash needs to get off to a fast start in training camp and earn the faith of the coaching staff if he wants to see the field and make an impact as a rookie.
It will be up to O’Shea to nurture the development of these young receivers and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in the league. For a player like Tillman, those lessons could come in the meeting room, but for a rookie like Thrash, those lessons might come on the practice field.
But the fact that through four years the Browns have not yet produced a homegrown talent currently on the roster at receiver is telling. With wide receiver contracts escalating at the rate that they are, it is imperative that one of these young receivers identify themselves as a legitimate weapon in the passing game. If that fails to happen, what is more likely, that the Browns draft O’Shea a seventh wide receiver to work with, or that they change the voice in the room?
Given all of the offensive coaching changes that Stefanski made after last season, it is clear that he is not going to accept mediocrity just for the sake of continuity. If O’Shea is unable to help these young wide receivers reach their full potential, Stefanski will be forced to find someone who can.
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