The Cleveland Browns Took a Worthwhile Chance on Josh Gordon

By picking up quarterback Brandon Weeden and running back Trent Richardson in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns managed to dramatically improve an offense that was one of the NFL’s most ineffective last season.

How ineffective? The Browns ranked 29th in the league in scoring and 30th in total offense in 2011.

NFL.com's Marc Sessler has just reported that the Browns today added another intriguing young piece to the offensive puzzle, snatching up former Baylor receiver Josh Gordon in the second round of this year’s supplemental draft.

Before the start of last season, Gordon was being talked about by many onlookers, including myself, as one of the top junior receiver prospects available for the 2012 NFL draft. However, after he was booted from the Baylor football team during the offseason, he quickly fell off the college football map.

After sitting out the 2011 season and ultimately deciding not to play for Utah—the school to which he initially transferred—Gordon re-emerged a few weeks ago when he entered his name into this year’s supplemental draft. 

A tremendous physical specimen, Gordon piqued the interest of NFL scouts when he measured in at 6’3’’, 225 pounds and ran a 4.52 40-yard dash during his workout.

Gordon only has one season of production on his college resume—42 catches for 714 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore in 2010. Still, he displayed the type of promise during that campaign to suggest his potential as a legitimate weapon in Cleveland's passing game.

The former 3-star recruit out of Houston’s Lamar High School turned out to be a perfect fit for Art Briles’ offensive attack back in 2010, and he quickly became one of Robert Griffin III's most trusted targets.

We’ll never know what would have happened if Gordon hadn’t been booted from the team due to issues stemming from his marijuana use. But if he had remained with the Bears, he could have certainly been just as big a star this past season as Kendall Wright, who developed into a first-round pick with the help of his Heisman-winning quarterback.

While he may still be a largely unproven commodity at this point, Gordon possesses just as much potential and raw talent as any receiver selected in the 2012 NFL draft—and possibly any receiver that will be available in 2013.

Thus a second-round investment by the Browns is a worthwhile gamble.

Throwing to a receiver corps that now includes Gordon, Greg Little, Mohamed Massaquoi, Travis Benjamin and Josh Cribbs, new starting quarterback Brandon Weeden will have the firepower he needs to really light up opposing secondaries.

After making some poor choices, Gordon hopefully has learned from the detour his college career took. It should be interesting to see if the talented receiver is now ready to embrace his second chance and make the most of his rare physical skills.

If he does end up reaching his potential in the pros and making the most of his ability in the years to come, Gordon will make GM Tom Heckert look like a genius, and Cleveland fans will praise the Browns organization for finding a rare gem in the supplemental draft.