Browns' New Receiving Corps Ready for Showtime After Corey Coleman Trade

The Cleveland Browns threw shade at Corey Coleman after Jarvis Landry and Co. made the organization see the light.

The Browns hope Coleman's departure is addition by subtraction and will give other receivers more of an opportunity. Otherwise, why would the team trade its 2016 first-round pick for a 2020 seventh-round selection?

Inconsistency plagued his game. The coaching staff, meanwhile, grew tired of his approach, according to SI.com's Andy Benoit:

The Browns couldn't wait any longer for the talented, albeit underperforming, receiver to experience a breakthrough. So, general manager John Dorsey dumped Coleman to the Buffalo Bills—who have their own issues at wide receiver—for the NFL equivalent of a bag of balls.

"I think that is the urgency, period—we want to win," head coach Hue Jackson said, per the Browns Zone's Scott Petrak.

Cleveland's history of failed first-round picks borders on mythological. Not a single opening-round selection the team made before the 2017 draft is still with the club. Yet positives can be found after Coleman's removal.

Landry is now the alpha male in the offense. His offseason acquisition, alongside that of quarterback Tyrod Taylor, helped establish a new culture within a locker room after a 0-16 campaign. The Browns' recent trade may have caught some players off guard, but Landry said the unit can move on.

"Having Corey in the room, it helps us out, but at the same time, now that he's not here, we have to move past it," Landry said, per Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. "We have to move on. We can't dwell on losing a guy, so I don't see it having any effect on the team."

Instead, the team will lean heavily on Landry, who signed a five-year, $75.5 million contract this offseason. The 25-year-old had been the NFL's best slot receiver since he was drafted in 2014, notching a league-leading 267 slot receptions, according to Pro Football Focus.

And his role will expand with the Browns, per SI.com's Ben Baskin.

Last season, Landry became the first wide receiver in NFL history to record 100 or more receptions without eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards. Two arguments are often made about why this happened: Either Landry doesn't have enough straight-line speed to be a vertical threat, or the Miami Dolphins system limited his capabilities.

Cleveland must believe the latter is true, and last year's league leader with 112 receptions doesn't mince words. "I probably caught a thousand bubble screens," Landry stated. "I did all I could do with what I had."

Todd Haley's vertical-strike offense should help boost the receiver's 8.8 yards-per-catch average from last season. Plus, the staff won't pigeonhole him.

"I'm not just a slot receiver," Landry said.

The three-time Pro Bowler will play inside and outside the formation and currently lines up as team's starting Z receiver. His consistency is what Cleveland lacked for an extended period. Landry's NFL-record 400 receptions in his first four seasons are a testament to his route-running, Velcro-like hands and ability to create after the catch.

He's the ultimate security blanket with the ability to be much more.

"You know the demand is that much higher now," Landry said after the Coleman trade, per Cabot. "For other guys to step up, for other guys to get opportunities and earn their keep. In the first team meeting, Coach Hue said you've got to earn what you get, and so other guys have opportunities to do that now."

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Eventually, Josh Gordon will line up opposite Landry, but he's skipping camp for health and treatment reasons. Antonio Callaway has been a camp standout, and Jackson placed the rookie with the first-team offense as its X receiver, according to Cabot. 

The fourth-round pick, who didn't play football last season because of a season-long suspension, may have missed out on a significant opportunity, though. Callaway fell to the fourth round—Dorsey traded up to the 105th pick to select him—because of his off-field history.

In 2015 while he was at Florida, a female student said he sexually assaulted her. Over a year later, he and eight other Florida players were investigated for credit card fraud. Regarding the former, a Title IX hearing conducted by a Florida booster found him "not responsible" of assault. As for the latter, he reached an agreement to enter a pretrial intervention program. Of lesser concern, he was also cited with marijuana possession and flagged for a diluted sample at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Fox 8 Cleveland News reported Tuesday that Strongsville, Ohio, policed cited Callaway for possession of marijuana and driving under a suspended license. The baggage isn't going away, and the issues must be addressed.

His natural ability, though, has never been in question. The 21-year-old flashed first-round potential during his limited collegiate experience, and it's been on display during training camp. The 5'11", 200-pound target is quick in and out of his breaks, and defensive backs must also account for his 4.41-second 40-yard-dash speed.

Can he stay clean? If Callaway doesn't miss significant time this season, he is well on his way to being one of the Browns' top two or three receiving options.

"Regardless if you're a rookie or a 10-year player or whatever, you're expected to come here and perform, and that's what we want out of every single guy, so it's too late to think it's not," Landry said, per Cabot.

Tuesday's news wouldn't have changed Cleveland's approach, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Dorsey considered releasing the receiver if a trade couldn't be consummated.

Once Gordon joins training camp, the Browns will feature an exciting duo with plenty of potential behind them. Landry is the workaholic, a perfectionist who will drive the rest of the group. But Gordon is something entirely different.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

A fully committed and healthy Gordon is a difference-maker. Julio Jones and A.J. Green are the only receivers in the league with similar physical ability. At 6'3" and 225 pounds, Gordon led the league with 1,646 receiving yards during the 2013 campaign even though he said during a 2017 GQ interview he played every game with something in his system.

His raw ability is transcendent, and the Browns are being patient with the hope they'll be rewarded.

"I think we're the best receiving corps in the league, in my opinion, already," Gordon said during minicamp, per USA Today's Lorenzo Reyes. "Just based off of talent alone."

Others remain in the mix for Cleveland.

Rashard Higgins has been consistent throughout camp after recording 68 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 2017 season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff Janis adds another veteran presence and will be a key special teams contributor. Damion Ratley became one of the team's sixth-round picks thanks to an impressive physical profile (6'2", 200 lbs with 4.39-second speed and a 38-inch vertical).

The Browns could revisit the possibility of signing Dez Bryant as well.

What looks great on paper doesn't always translate to the field. More time is still needed for the picture to develop. Yet the Browns' receiving corps has a chance to evolve into something special, even without Coleman.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.