One of the biggest positions with questions on the roster going into the 2022 season was the Cleveland Browns wide receiver room. Outside of Amari Cooper, there wasn’t much-proven talent on the roster. On top of that people questioned if Amari Cooper was even a number one in the NFL anymore.
Plenty of questions were answered while others didn’t give much of a reason to think they can perform consistently at this level. The team will likely need to add more speed this offseason but fans should be feeling better about the group after last season as they overachieved in 2022.
Here is a look at how the wide receivers performed last season.
Amari Cooper
In 2022 Amari Cooper was able to quiet some critics that questioned if he was a true number-one option in the NFL. Cooper set a finish with 1,160 yards receiving and nine touchdowns with the Browns. With Cooper as his best option, Jacoby Brissett had statistically his best season as a pro starting the first 11 games.
Watching the games it is easy to see that Copper is one of the league’s best route runners and knows how to create separation without elite speed. From time to time had some drop issues on easy passes but provided some wow moments as well.
Grade: A
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Since being a sixth-round pick during the 2020 NFL draft out of Michigan Donovan Peoples-Jones has improved each season. Coming into 2022 he needed to take a major step forward as the team’s preseason number two option behind Amari Cooper. Peoples-Jones showed that he was up to the challenge finishing with 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns.
He continues to not create a ton of separation but is able to use his size and strong hands to do great in contested catch opportunities. Peoples-Jones will need to create more yards after the catch in the future but as a number two, you can live with that. On top of that, he stepped into the punt return role and returned a punt for a touchdown showing he can solidify that role as well.
Grade: B
David Bell
The Browns drafted two wide receivers in the 2022 NFL draft and the first one was David Bell out of Purdue. Bell had a ton of production in college but poorly during the draft process and fell to the end of the third round. During his rookie season, he would get 32 targets catching 24 passes for 214 yards and no touchdowns.
It was a slow start to his rookie season and he struggled to consistently get open while dropping two passes. Expectations were high for the player but considering he was a late-day two pick he performed reasonably. He understands the position well and should take a step forward in 2023.
Grade: C
Anthony Schwartz
The Browns needed second-year player Anthony Schwartz to step up and use his speed as a weapon. Early on the team tried to get him the ball but he was inconsistent in getting open and had two drops in ten targets. He was able to be productive in the jet sweep game, even scoring a touchdown, but as a wide receiver, he didn’t perform.
Finishing with four catches for 51 yards it seems likely the team won’t expect much from him next season. It wouldn’t be crazy to see the team release Schwartz in roster cutdowns if he doesn’t have a great camp and preseason.
Grade: D
Michael Woods II
Rookie Michael Woods II turned a ton of heads in off-season workouts and the start of training camp. He showed good acceleration and route running to create separation despite not having elite traits. Woods does a great job to use his large frame to block defensive backs from the football.
But Woods suffered an injury in camp that cost him most of the preseason and the injury lingered during the regular season. Woods would only see 10 targets catching five for 45 yards and no touchdowns. He was inconsistent in limited playing time but showed some aspects of his game that could be valuable going forward.
Grade: C
