This isn’t really groundbreaking, but it’s tough to be excited about the Browns passing attack. With Miles Austin and Andrew Hawkins as starting wide receivers, why would you be hopeful?
But what needs to be stressed with regards to Cleveland is that the new coaching regime is sure to run the football as much as humanly possible. The team signed Ben Tate over the offseason, and drafted Terrance West in May. With improvements defensively – including head coach Mike Pettine’s background – there’s plenty of reasons to believe the Browns will be one of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL this year.
And as a result, volume just may not be there for some of the team’s pass-catchers. That includes Jordan Cameron, too.
Though he should still be considered a top-five tight end entering the season, an assumption that no Josh Gordon leads to more volume for Jordan Cameron may not be the proper one to make. Cameron already ranked third in the league in tight end targets a season ago, and that’s with the team running more passing plays than any other squad in the NFL. Gordon’s targets are gone, sure, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cleveland drop back to pass 200 fewer times in 2014 than they did in 2013. If that’s the case, the entire Browns’ passing game will suffer.