![](\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/resizer\/v2\/BFHMKP2S2JA6DJQLRBV5DM6THM.JPG?auth=59a9bf9577701290a1c7e9b9eddedc24d39fa513562ebb76e3e9b0e7bb548a24&width=1280&smart=true&quality=90\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 We\u2019re five weeks into the season and this Browns receiving corps has yet to show any progression.<\/p>\n
If anything, things are in the abyss.<\/p>\n
Things looked interesting from the start.<\/p>\n
Cleveland didn\u2019t draft a wide receiver, which would\u2019ve made it six straight drafts had they done so.<\/p>\n
Jerry Jeudy is the top option, while Cedric Tillman and Isaiah Bond statistically have proven to be complementary receivers. Tillman is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 4, which will allow the next man up to fill that void, possibly 2024 fifth-round selection in Jamari Thrash.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the progression isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
For as much critique as the quarterbacks receive, the same should translate to the receivers for not making their job any easier.<\/p>\n
Do the Browns hold the league\u2019s least productive group through Week 5? Let\u2019s allow the numbers to determine that.<\/p>\n
Obviously, a receiver must create distance between himself and the opposing defender to make himself open for a target.<\/p>\n
Next Gen Stats doesn\u2019t separate, no pun intended, wide receivers and tight ends in their listing. They combine them.<\/p>\n
Among 113 eligible receivers and tight ends, Jeudy and Tillman tied for 102nd in separation yards created (2.1). In fact, Bond beats them in separation yards created (2.6), which ties him for 82nd.<\/p>\n
Cleveland does rank seventh in receptions (115) and third in targets (197). However, the problem is when their wide receivers do catch the ball, they don\u2019t get very far after the fact.<\/p>\n
As a team, they\u2019re tied for 24th in yards gained after the catch (4.5), per Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n Bond currently has the best YAC average (3.9) among Browns receivers, but among the whole team (including tight ends and running backs), Bond ranks sixth. That makes Jeudy seventh (2.1 YAC) and Tillman eighth (1.5).<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to move the offense up the field if yards can\u2019t be gained after the catch.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, the Browns are tied for 24th in 20-yard receptions (10). However, they\u2019re one of two teams in the NFL to hold no receptions of 40 or more yards downfield.<\/p>\n It translates to their individual totals as well on targets that travel 20 or more yards downfield.<\/p>\n Bond has caught two of his five deep targets, tying for 47th in deep-ball catch percentage (40.0%), per Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n Jeudy actually ties for 10th in deep-ball targets (eight), but because he\u2019s only caught three of them, his 37.5% catch percentage ties him for 53rd among qualifying receivers, per PFF.<\/p>\n Thrash and Tillman both were targeted once on a deep shot, but were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n Every attempt for a catch won\u2019t be a cake walk.<\/p>\n Some come with tight coverage, and it\u2019s on the wide receiver to still make the contested catch.<\/p>\n Statistically speaking, the Browns haven\u2019t done as well because of one player.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not Bond, who leads the team by catching three of his four contested targets. Or Tillman, who\u2019s caught half of his four contested targets.<\/p>\n It goes back to Cleveland\u2019s WR1 in Jeudy.<\/p>\n He ties for 33rd in contested targets (six), but only has one contested catch to his name, per PFF.<\/p>\n Cleveland ties for ninth in team dropped passes (nine), per Pro Football Reference. Of its nine drops, five of them belong to Jeudy, which ties him for first among all NFL receivers.<\/p>\n A couple of Jeudy\u2019s drops this season were pivotal.<\/p>\n Former Browns quarterback Joe Flacco had two second-half interceptions in the Week 1 one-point loss. Jeudy accounted for one of them, making contact with the ball, but he couldn\u2019t retain possession.<\/p>\n Cleveland then-trailed 20-10 in the Week 4 loss to Detroit, when Jeudy couldn\u2019t catch Flacco\u2019s deep shot. The very next play, Kalif Raymond\u2019s punt return became a Detroit touchdown and put the game out of reach.<\/p>\n Jeudy led the NFL in dropped passes in 2024 (13), giving him his first double-digit drop season since his 2020 rookie year total (10).<\/p>\n Drops are not a new issue for Jeudy nor this position group, even before Jeudy arrived in 2024. Last season, the Browns led the NFL in dropped passes (49). The year prior, they finished second (42).<\/p>\n Cleveland\u2019s receivers are not the NFL\u2019s least productive group, but they continue to make a strong case to be so.<\/p>\n Their lack of production becomes glaring, when it overlaps with Cleveland\u2019s inefficient offense that currently ties for the fewest points (14.6).<\/p>\n If the group wants to change the tide of their production, now would be the time.<\/p>\n And it starts with catching the ball.<\/p>\n The Browns’ wide receivers have had a slow start to the season. Let’s examine where they rank, and what’s led to that kind of start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\n\n![\"Browns](\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/resizer\/v2\/5NSMM6GUSVG2XBFQXRHHANGHGM.png?auth=ca67e318b840e79f8111736851cdf0cd627ec681a55569169ca0e0c9a5bd0e51&width=500&smart=true&quality=90)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Deep catching<\/b><\/h2>\n
Contested Catches<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n![\"Browns](\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/resizer\/v2\/NEYIAROOXFBOHFRCSXW2ZHHLOU.png?auth=7aed56afad0372c1b5f4591c500debfa43641803de77f17fff63d0cf1b12644a&width=500&smart=true&quality=90)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Drops<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n![\"Browns](\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/resizer\/v2\/OLXMETMFVRD4BJ5SEVKKIWUCRM.png?auth=399503f85a2a3d7d720eebfbccd15a9ff42fe66ed774e17757cd33ada2470d71&width=500&smart=true&quality=90)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"