In the 2012 NFL Draft, it was rumored that the Cleveland Browns were interested in selecting a number of different receivers, namely Justin Blackmon or Kendall Wright with one of their two first round picks. Neither player is wearing brown this season and, to the surprise of many, the Browns’ receiver group looks largely the same as it did last season.
It is considered one of the team’s major positions of weakness, and that is why Cleveland is going to need a jolt of energy from second year player Greg Little, who had a very solid rookie year considering the circumstances surrounding the entire league.
The Browns obviously have high hopes for the former second round pick out of North Carolina. Little is a bigger receiver who is every bit as capable of being as good or better than a guy like Brandon Marshall, whom he might compare favorably to.
But not only do the Browns have high hopes for Little, they need him to have a big year. Their receivers are very questionable at this point in time, and they aren’t going to break the bank for any veteran free agents. Rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden will get a taste of what it was like to be Colt McCoy last season, constantly under pressure with not a lot of help on the outside.
That being said, I feel like Little is a very likely candidate to break out. The Browns’ offense isn’t going to be a monster passing offense I don’t think, but I feel like Little is due for a thousand yard season and potentially a very under-the-radar type of season. Toward the end of the 2011 campaign, we got to see what Little is capable of when the Browns played against Arizona and the rookie receiver had 131 yards on five receptions.
That is the type of performance the Browns selected him for, and that’s why so many scouts spoke so highly of him coming out of North Carolina.