Josh Gordon 2

Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon would benefit from a veteran receiver to mentor him, says running back Willis McGahee.

(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio -- Willis McGahee, an 11-year NFL veteran, believes that Josh Gordon needs an experienced receiver to show him the ropes.

"Josh is a good kid," said McGahee on Thursday. "He just needs that other veteran receiver to show him to see how things go. Just throwing names out there like Andre (Johnson). If he had a guy like Andre (Pro Bowler, Houston), he would see how he works."

The Browns traded for six-year veteran receiver Davone Bess in the offseason, but he's indicated on several occasions that he thinks Gordon already has enough people in his ear.

But after being around the Gordon for a month now, McGahee's convinced the second-year pro will figure it out.

"Yeah, he's going to get it,'' said McGahee. "Everybody gets it. It just depends on when. I didn't get it until my fourth or fifth year. And I was like, 'all right, I gotta start eating right and gotta start doing this.' That's part of life. That's part of growing.

"He has the talent. You can see it in him. He's going to put it together in a minute."

McGahee, a first-round pick in 2003, admitted he felt he could get by on his natural ability.

"When you've got good athleticism and you can go out there and make it happen, you really don't worry about what other people are saying until you're like 'all right, I gotta work a little harder,''' he said. "I gotta do things different. I'm getting a little old up in there."

He said it's understandable if the Gordon trade rumors have been a distraction. The Browns have standing offers from two teams that include a high pick and a player, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"I would think it would bother him,'' said McGahee. "From what I've seen, I think he wants to be here. I'm hoping he wants to be here. When you hear you're about to get traded your spirits change a little bit, but the only thing I can tell him is that it's a business and anybody is expendable. Just got out and do your job. ... Don't let people see you all bent out of shape and things like that."

Does he think that was the case on Sunday, when Gordon seemed frustrated or distracted?

"I mean, he's a very quiet person,'' said McGahee. "But from what I've seen, he's been consistent in how he acts around me."

Despite McGahee's solid locker-room reputation and two-time Pro Bowler status, he said he's not the right mentor for Gordon, who's one failed drug test away from getting kicked out of the league for at least a year.

"The way I look at things, you respect the older guys but you respect the guy more at your position,'' he said. "I can't tell him how to go out there and run a route or what foot he's cutting off of. That's the coaches or what another receiver over there has to do. That's not my category. I can't help him. I can just tell him what I've seen."

Thursday, offensive coordinator Norv Turner cautioned against labeling Gordon a slacker.

"There's a lot of things going on and I wouldn't question Josh's effort,'' he said. "I think everyone wants Josh to be the Josh when he's at his best. I do, Josh does, everyone does. I've been with young receivers and I don't know that that's realistic.

"He's working hard, but I watch all this tape from all of these other guys and they don't catch every ball and when it's a contested ball, they don't jump over the top of a guy every time. I'm sure they want to and their coaches want them to.''

He stressed that Gordon (20 catches, 324 yards, 2 TDs) is making strides.

"I think Josh is making great progress and the young receivers that I've been around, it's in the third or fourth year when you start seeing all of those things happen,'' said Turner. "We're going into our third quarterback, that affects receivers. He's getting a lot of attention because people know he's a big-time threat. There's a lot of things involved and I'll say the same thing: I hate when someone sees the play and says it's a lack of effort.''

Gordon took heat in the Green Bay game for not fighting hard enough for a contested ball on fourth down with the game still close. It was knocked away by cornerback Davon House.

“To me on that play, he’s running free and he’s open and Brandon (Weeden) got hit right when he threw it and the ball didn’t have much on it,'' said Turner. "Those are hard balls to judge and hard balls to time. What really happened, as I perceive it, is Josh ... thought the ball had a little more on it and he jumped early. You throw off your timing. I thought he did the best he could on the play.”

Turner acknowledged that the trade rumors are bothering Gordon.

“I would hope not, but I’m realistic enough to know that, yeah, it does,'' he said. "He’s a young guy. He’s not very experienced. He wasn’t the go-to guy as a young player, so this is all a new thing for him, and I think when you add those things to him it can affect him, but we’re obviously doing our best to keep him focused and let him understand he’s our guy and we want him to be as good as he can get.”