NFL Supplemental Draft 2012: Cleveland Browns Must Land Josh Gordon

It's no secret that the Cleveland Browns need serious help at wide receiver.

Former Baylor standout Josh Gordon would give the struggling franchise a much-needed boost if GM Tom Heckert pulls the trigger on the "troubled" wide receiver in the supplemental draft.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, the team has shown interest and will attend Gordon's workout today.

Unfortunately, Gordon has to go this unconventional route to get a shot at the NFL because he was arrested in 2011 for marijuana possession. He was dismissed by Baylor Bears coach Art Briles before the season.

This past year, Gordon had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules, and he is foregoing the opportunity to play at Utah in 2012 for financial reasons.

Gordon is 6'4" and 220 pounds, and he apparently runs a sub-4.4 40-yard dash. The Browns hope that two undrafted free agents—Josh Cooper and Jordan Norwood—will provide stellar competition for the No. 3 receiver spot.

That sounds like a bit of a reach. Hard to believe that's what the wide receiver position has come down to in Believeland.

The Browns may have to give up as high as a second-round draft pick in the 2013 draft, according to omniscient NFL reporter Adam Schefter.

It was a lock that the team was going to select Kendall Wright in the first round of this year's draft anyway, until he went to the Tennessee Titans at No. 20

Wright also attended Baylor and was a teammate of Gordon's, therefore warranting a comparison on Schefter's Twitter account Monday:

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"Josh Gordon is bigger, faster, stronger than former Baylor teammate Kendall Wright. As far as supplemental drafts go, he is a rare talent."

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Even though Gordon has missed a full college season, the same was true in 2011, when the Browns grabbed their apparent No. 1 wide receiver of the future in Greg Little.

In 2010—his only full college season—Gordon had 42 catches for 714 yards (a 17-yard average) and seven touchdowns.

That's right. Gordon was even more explosive than Wright was at any time in his career at Baylor.

New Browns QB Brandon Weeden could use all the help he can get as a rookie who will turn 29 in September.

The quicker the Browns can give him viable targets to gel with, the better for the team's short-term and long-term success. If that warrants a second-round sacrifice in 2013, so be it.

As the Browns consider taking an expensive plunge on a risky player, remember: The franchise used two second-round picks in the 2009 draft on receivers.

Their names were Brian Robiskie and Mohammed Massaquoi. Robiskie is no longer with the team, and Massaquoi still hasn't blossomed into even a legitimate No. 2 receiver.

The Browns hope he will this year, but nothing has indicated that that will be the case.

Considering other scouts seem to agree with Schefter that Gordon is a superior prospect to first-round pick Wright, what do the Browns have to lose?

It's been documented that the Browns are on a five-year plan, but unless they're banking on another high draft pick in 2013 to grab a receiver early, Gordon makes a lot of sense.