Robert’s Rant: Despite Taking WR Corey Coleman, Browns Fans Far From Happy

After finally trading back twice in the first round from No.2 to No.8 and finally at No.15 and selecting former Baylor wideout Corey Coleman, fans of the Cleveland Browns are far from happy.

Going into the draft, one of the BIGGEST needs—other than QB—was wide receiver. And for months, the buildup here in the Cleveland area was that besides finally identifying QB No.26, finding a playmaker at the WR position who could stretch the field and be a legit home run threat every time he touched the ball, was key.

As I woke up today to see fellow Dawgs all over social media howling, complaining, venting and being outwardly angry at the selection of Coleman, you’d swear that the Cuyahoga River was on fire again.

I mean there is nothing like quite like seeing your Facebook feed blowing up by whiny Browns fans complaining over the team FINALLY drafting a WR in the first round.

Perhaps some are still feeling a bit burned by the antics of former first-rounder Braylon “Scissorhands” Edwards, and that school up north that he attended, but when it comes to taking a WR in the first round, the Browns—most notably former GM Ray Farmer—treated the position like it was a SEC/TTUN-made virus.

After scouring thru the many Browns Facebook fan pages I belong to, below is some of the paraphrased comments I saw in regards to the Coleman pick

“He’s too short”
“He can’t run routes”
“We didn’t trade up for a QB”
“We didn’t take an Olineman”
“We didn’t take Treadwell/Doctson”

To answer those, the Dawgfather will educate y’all RIGHT now!

Coleman is a solid 5’11, 194-pound dynamo who ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash with a vertical of 40.5’ and scored 20 TD’s. In today’s NFL, you need smaller, quicker and explosive playmakers like New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr., whom he has similar measurable.

In case you are wondering who the BEST all-around player in the NFL is today? It would be none other than Antonio Brown of the Steelers!

You know how tall he is? 5’10! You know what round he was picked in?

The sixth! 195th overall out of Central Michigan. You’re welcome!

It BOGGLES my mind how fellow Browns fans look for the negative in everything. Whether it is draft day, game day or quarterback controversies, as sorry and vanilla as the Browns have been to stomach, if there is one think that keeps fans coming back is the drama of complaining and whining about it every day.

The point is that the Browns finally gets a playmaker that will put Cleveland’s sorry excuse of a franchise in the same neighborhood of having a Brown/Beckham-like type of player, but a portion of the Dawg Pound is collective crying over not reaching for a mediocre QB such as Jared Goff or Carson Wentz, or the ultimate homer wet dream of Joey Bosa or Ezekiel Elliott?

Get the you-know-what out of here!

Yes, Coleman is raw, but can be coached up by one of the best WR coaches today in the Browns’ own Al Saunders. Yes, we didn’t take a QB, but Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, Stanford’s Kevin Hogan–and yes, the ULTIMATE homer dream fantasy—in Buckeyes title hero Cardale Jones are still on the board.

In all honestly, if Cleveland doesn’t take Cook at No.32 today, then don’t be shocked if the Browns take a flyer on Hogan out of Stanford in the third round as a developmental project, due to the Stanford connection of Browns current associate head coach—and former Cardinal offensive coordinator—Pep Hamilton.

This draft is DEEP for both OL and DL, why REACH for a lineman when an equally good one can be had in later rounds? It is this type of elementary school board-scratching and collective moaning from such a vocal and passionate fan base as Cleveland’s that makes you shake your head in feeling a sense of embarrassment.

Cleveland sports fans and their complaining put Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets fans to shame on most days. Seriously.

Name me the amount of games that the much ballyhooed offensive line “Big Three” of Joe Thomas, Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz actually won for the Browns.

I’ll wait.

While we are on this topic, I say something that few in Cleveland will actually say openly.

Thomas is overrated, past his prime and should have been traded to Denver last year, or to a OL-hungry team this year. It annoys me to see the amount of fan love for a left tackle who has visually lost a step and isn’t getting any younger, yet he is propped up as if he is Canton-bound?

Only in Cleveland.

Truth be told, I wanted Josh Doctson over Laquon Treadwell to be honest, but the Browns have lacked a vertical home run threat for so long that when Coleman—the best player available on their draft board at No.15 was sitting there—you had to take him! For once it is refreshing to see that we have a competent front office in Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta who actually have a clue in getting players, and isn’t afraid of outside reaction.

What Coleman lacks in ideal height for some, he makes up for in big plays, and for once it is nice to see the Browns on the winning side in a draft-day trade down for a change. This front office didn’t try to get too cute and outsmart everyone in taking some average or mediocre prospect for once, they actually landed the top prospect at his position in Coleman in the entire draft, and still landed extra picks to really refresh their otherwise depleted roster.

And if you still don’t like it, light the Cuyahoga on fire again or go root for Pittsburgh!

#DawgfatherOut