TAMPA, FL — With the 2022 NFL Draft roughly two weeks away in Las Vegas, the Cleveland Browns and their draft plans have changed thanks to the addition of Deshaun Watson.
Currently under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulted 22 women during his time with the Houston Texans, Watson has since been cleared by two Texas grand juries and in a recent development, reached agreement with prosecutors that no trials will occur during the entire 2022 season.
With those two potential roadblocks being out of the way for the time being, both Watson and the Browns can devote their full attention to the upcoming 2022-23 season.
With the recent addition of former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Josh Dobbs, and Baker Mayfield set to either be dealt or traded before or during the draft, Cleveland will need to attack positions of need in the draft carefully and with precision. With Jarvis Landry currently an unsigned free agent, Donovan People’s-Jones and Anthony Schwartz the only other notable WR’s on the roster, it wouldn’t shock many whom feel that Cleveland grabs a WR at No.44.
The question is whom?As tempting as it is to want to beef up the defensive line if current free-agent JaDaveon Clowney doesn’t return to the Browns, the need on offense is greater than the need on defense, due to the possible departure of Landry, and with this current draft being deep at WR, Cleveland cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to grab a quality playmaker for Watson.
One such player who could be a possible target for the Browns at No.44 is Penn State wideout Johan Dotson. A 6’1 178-pound playmaker, who ran a 4.43 in Indianapolis, Dotson caught 91 passes for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns. While other potential targets such as Alabama’s Jamieson Williams, Arkansas’ Treyon Burks slipping either due to injury or slow forty times, Cleveland could possibly end up with one of the top second-round gems on the board.
If the Browns do end up with the former Penn State standout, Cleveland could have a projected offense that has Watson at QB with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield, the aforementioned Dotson, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Amari Cooper at WR and David Njoku at TE.
With the draft right around the corner, and it being in Vegas, anything is possible, and don’t sleep on a team like Cleveland going on a heater.