CLEVELAND, Ohio — We’re five weeks into the season and this Browns receiving corps has yet to show any progression.
If anything, things are in the abyss.
Because ahead of Week 6, Cleveland currently ranks 30th in both yards per reception (8.9) and touchdowns (five), and is tied for 24th in 20-yard receptions (10).
Things looked interesting from the start.
Cleveland didn’t draft a wide receiver, which would’ve made it six straight drafts had they done so.
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.
Nonetheless, the progression isn’t there.
For as much critique as the quarterbacks receive, the same should translate to the receivers for not making their job any easier.
Do the Browns hold the league’s least productive group through Week 5? Let’s allow the numbers to determine that.
Separation
Obviously, a receiver must create distance between himself and the opposing defender to make himself open for a target.
Next Gen Stats doesn’t separate, no pun intended, wide receivers and tight ends in their listing. They combine them.
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.
Yards after catch
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’t get very far after the fact.
As a team, they’re tied for 24th in yards gained after the catch (4.5), per Pro Football Reference.
Browns pass catchers YAC, per Pro Football Reference
The average yards after the catch for individual Browns players, per Pro Football Reference.Pro Football Reference
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).
It’s hard to move the offense up the field if yards can’t be gained after the catch.
Deep catching
As mentioned earlier, the Browns are tied for 24th in 20-yard receptions (10). However, they’re one of two teams in the NFL to hold no receptions of 40 or more yards downfield.
It translates to their individual totals as well on targets that travel 20 or more yards downfield.
Bond has caught two of his five deep targets, tying for 47th in deep-ball catch percentage (40.0%), per Pro Football Focus.
Jeudy actually ties for 10th in deep-ball targets (eight), but because he’s only caught three of them, his 37.5% catch percentage ties him for 53rd among qualifying receivers, per PFF.
Thrash and Tillman both were targeted once on a deep shot, but were unsuccessful.
Contested Catches
Every attempt for a catch won’t be a cake walk.
Some come with tight coverage, and it’s on the wide receiver to still make the contested catch.
Statistically speaking, the Browns haven’t done as well because of one player.
CTC for Browns receivers, via Pro Football Focus
The contested target and catch totals from the Browns receivers, per Pro Football Focus.Pro Football Focus
It’s not Bond, who leads the team by catching three of his four contested targets. Or Tillman, who’s caught half of his four contested targets.
It goes back to Cleveland’s WR1 in Jeudy.
He ties for 33rd in contested targets (six), but only has one contested catch to his name, per PFF.
Drops
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.
A couple of Jeudy’s drops this season were pivotal.
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’t retain possession.
Cleveland then-trailed 20-10 in the Week 4 loss to Detroit, when Jeudy couldn’t catch Flacco’s deep shot. The very next play, Kalif Raymond’s punt return became a Detroit touchdown and put the game out of reach.
NFL team drops, per Pro Football Reference
The rankings for NFL team drop totals, per Pro Football Reference.Pro Football Reference
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).
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).
Conclusion
Cleveland’s receivers are not the NFL’s least productive group, but they continue to make a strong case to be so.
Their lack of production becomes glaring, when it overlaps with Cleveland’s inefficient offense that currently ties for the fewest points (14.6).
If the group wants to change the tide of their production, now would be the time.
And it starts with catching the ball.
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