With Jarvis Landry Out, Young Receivers Must Take Advantage of Opportunity

With Jarvis Landry now on injured reserve due to a sprained MCL, younger receivers will be presented with an opportunity to make the case they should be an entrenched part of the Cleveland Browns offense.

As soon as it became clear Jarvis Landry would be out after the first possession of the game against the Houston Texans, the immediate question facing the Browns became who steps up in his absence, especially since no one has exactly set the world on fire at that position through two games.

The injury is being called a sprained MCL and Landry has been called week to week. For the time being, the Browns have to operate as if he won't be there in terms of their gameplanning. Odell Beckham is reportedly going to be back against the Chicago Bears, which would provide a massive lift for the team.

The Browns have a number of receiver talents with varying levels of promise, but at least through two games, they've done little to suggest they are ready to get an increased workload.

Rashard Higgins, the team's best receiver in 2020 by every measure of efficiency, was limited against the Kansas City Chiefs. He caught both of his targets against the Houston Texans, for 27 yards and a pair of first downs. While those numbers aren't exciting, he is still the most veteran option on the team with proven production as well as Mayfield's trust. He stands out as the receiver who can most adeptly fill the void left by Landry.

Anthony Schwartz had an impressive debut against the Chiefs, catching three passes for 69 yards, including a 44-yard play down the sideline that would've scored had he kept his balance. He also has run a reverse in each game, which has produced a first down. One of them was the result of a facemask penalty.

The only pass thrown Schwartz's way against the Texans, he stopped on the route, resulting in an interception. If the interception wasn't bad enough, Baker Mayfield made the tackle, which resulted in hurting his left shoulder. 

Schwartz isn't only a rookie, but he's a particularly raw one who barely practiced. The fact that he did as well as he did in his debut was remarkable, but the game against the Texans felt more typical of what one could expect. He needs to keep growing and improving at the position, because he can be a major threat even if it's in a limited capacity.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, through two games, has been disappointing to put it kindly. Despite being on the field for 93 offensive plays and running 50 routes, the most of any skill player on the team, he has just two catches. One for four yards against the Chiefs and one against the Texans, which would've been for a solid gain of 14 if he didn't fumble the ball, which was recovered by the defense.

Jones has been the player tabbed with expectations to take a big step forward on offense this year. That could still happen, but the first two weeks are games he will likely want to forget. His combination of size, strength and speed stands out in this receiver room.

Outside of Landry and Higgins having similar physical characteristics, the Browns are a collection of players with wide ranging skill sets. Jones is the biggest receiver on the team while still offering speed. Schwartz is an absolute burner. If Demetric Felton is thrown into that group, it gets even more diverse. Felton is smaller, but he's extremely agile and slippery.

The sheer number of different skill sets should create some opportunities as it has for Schwartz in week one and Felton in week two. The Browns can get by on that because they have so much talent at tight end as well as running back. The receiver position then becomes more of an accent than a featured part of the offense. 

That's not how the Browns want to operate. If Landry is out, these younger receivers will have their opportunity to show they can be counted on from game to game and become a consistent part of the gameplan.

If Odell Beckham is indeed back, he becomes a game changer and other receivers benefit from his presence because he demands extra attention from the defense. That should make it easier for these other receivers to contribute. Maybe that helps in terms of the confidence of these first and second year players, but the goal is for them to contribute of their own accord.

Combining that with an offensive staff headlined by head coach Kevin Stefanski and a precise quarterback in Baker Mayfield, the Browns have consistently shown their ability to create favorable matchups for players and capitalize on them. It's difficult to find a better situation for a wide receiver to thrive than this offense in Cleveland. Now it's a matter of going out and doing it.

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