The best receiver for the Cleveland Browns in 2018 was a guy who was on the practice squad last year, but what does that mean?

Baker Mayfield has been nothing short of a revelation for the Cleveland Browns, so the question is about his weapons. Entering the season, the Browns went from having Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry and Corey Coleman as their starting three wideouts with David Njoku entering his sophomore year at tight end. Four months later, Gordon is out of the league again after a dozen games with the New England Patriots, Coleman is a giant and Landry is the top receiver in Cleveland with Njoku improving but inconsistent.

There are three questions that need to be answered for the Browns headed into the offseason. How good are what the Browns currently have? How good specifically is Jarvis Landry? And then, how badly do the Browns need receiver help?

In order to answer that, it gets into the details and advanced stats to see who has been playing well and specifically who fits Baker Mayfield. He seems capable of producing with anyone around him, but that’s not good enough for a team that intends to be a contender.

Catches vs. Targets

Darren Fells – 90.9% (10 of 11)

Dontrell Hilliard – 90% (9 of 10)

Duke Johnson – 79.3% (46 of 58)

Rashard Higgins – 74.4% (35 of 47)

Seth DeValve – 71.4% (5 of 7)

Nick Chubb – 69.2% (18 of 26)

David Njoku – 65.4% (53 of 81)

Damian Ratley – 65% (13 of 20)

Breshad Perriman – 61.9% (13 of 21)

Derrick Willies – 60% (3 of 5)

Jarvis Landry – 54.2% (76 of 140)

Antonio Callaway – 54.1% (39 of 72)

This stat can be a little misleading. First, running backs have an inherent advantage in that so many of their receptions tend to be wide open behind the line of scrimmage that are more an extension of the running game. And throwaways are included as someone has to be targeted, so that can be skewed a bit too.

Nevertheless, it paints a picture about who is most likely to catch the ball when targeted. Darren Fells, the playmaker, is pretty automatic. He’s never the first option and tends to only get the ball when he’s open, but he’s vastly outperformed expectations in the passing game this year.

After eliminating the tiny sample size guys, Rashard Higgins is the best of the bunch. When the ball goes his way, he’s the best chance to catch it. David Njoku is solid, but could get better if he eliminates drops.

Meanwhile, Antonio Callaway and Jarvis Landry are pretty bad. Callaway is a rookie, but he’s struggled with drops, needs to learn how to run routes among other issues. Jarvis Landry, on the other hand, that’s just bad. The question with those low percentage catch rate is whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze.

Yards per Reception

Breshad Perriman – 22.7 (13 receptions)

Derrick Willies – 20.3 (3 receptions)

Seth Devalve – 14.8 (5 receptions)

Rashard Higgins – 13.9 (35 receptions)

Antonio Callaway – 13 (39 receptions)

Dontrell Hilliard – 11.7 (9 receptions)

Jarvis Landry – 11.5 (76 receptions)

Darren Fells – 11.4 (10 receptions)

Damian Ratley – 11.1 (13 receptions)

David Njoku – 10.9 (53 receptions)

Duke Johnson – 9.3 (46 receptions)

Nick Chubb – 8.5 (18 receptions)

This stat isn’t terribly informative and largely makes players look better than they are. Nevertheless, it’s included, because if it wasn’t, people would wonder why it isn’t, perhaps suggesting it was done so deliberately to hide something.

None of this is terribly surprising. When Breshad Perriman catches the ball, he’s typically down the field, so his average is quite high. Running backs tend to have lower averages as is the nature of the position, though Dontrell Hilliard’s number stands out.

Of the players with a reasonable number of targets, Rashard Higgins is the best followed by Antonio Callaway and Jarvis Landry with David Njoku bringing up the rear. This number can provide some context when constrated against more indicative advanced stats like yards per target.

Yards per Target

Breshad Perriman – 14.04 (21 targets)

Derrick Willies – 12.2 (5 targets)

Seth DeValve – 10.57 (7 targets)

Dontrell Hilliard – 10.5 (10 targets)

Darren Fells – 10.36 (11 targets)

Rashard Higgins – 10.34 (47 targets)

Duke Johnson – 7.34 (58 targets)

Damian Ratley – 7.2 (20 targets

David Njoku – 7.12 (81 targets)

Antonio Callaway – 7.04 (72 targets)

Jarvis Landry – 6.24 (140 targets)

Nick Chubb – 5.88 (26 targets)

Yards per target is as brass tacks as it gets for player production. There were this many attempts to get a player the ball and they did this much per attempt. It’s more indicative than yards per reception because it accounts for the amount of energy used to get the production.

There’s a few things to take away from here. Clearly, there’s some tiny sample sizes that don’t really mean a whole lot like Derrick Willies. That was all in one game. Dontrell Hilliard is interesting as a player, should get his chance to make the team next year and then Seth DeValve continues to be a mystery.

On to the more important things like Breshad Perriman, which obviously pops here. In addition to negotiating a contract to bring him back, the Browns need to use this offseason to really figure out how good he is. During the season, installing gameplans and stragetizing for the opponent makes it difficult to really train and evaluate.

He’s making the most of an opportunity right now and has made some plays, but now it becomes time to figure out if this was a nice run or who he really is. This season is reminiscent of Andre Davis had years ago when he made a bunch of plays in games and then fell off the face of the earth. Hopefully Perriman has more staying power.

In terms of players who have gotten a substantial number of targets, it’s difficult to ignore Rashard Higgins. Higgins and Baker Mayfield have an incredible chemistry and nothing about Higgins from a physical standpoint is all that great. He just understands what he’s supposed to do and finding a way to get in position where Mayfield can get him the ball.

David Njoku and Antonio Callaway need to improve their efficiency. There’s no question that drops are a factor here. Both have moments of brilliance but need to improve consistency. That alone would produce a difference. They are young and developing, but that’s the next step for both.

Even if you love Jarvis Landry, this number is a problem. There is no way to justify 140 targets when this is the result. There are undoubtedly throwaways labeled as targets, but taking all of those out of the equation doesn’t fix the problem.

Duke Johnson still doesn’t get the ball enough. Especially when considering how many of his receptions are out of the backfield, 7.34 yards per target is ridiculously good. His last couple weeks have been an uptick here, but it’s another year where he doesn’t get the ball as much as he should.

First Down Percentage

Breshad Perriman – 84.6% (11 of 13)

Rashard Higgins – 68.5% (24 of 35)

Derrick Willies – 66.6% (2 of 3)

Darren Fells – 60% (6 of 10)

Seth DeValve – 60% (3 of 5)

Antonio Callaway – 58.9% (23 of 39)

Duke Johnson – 54.4% (25 of 46)

Jarvis Landry – 51.3% (39 of 76)

David Njoku – 47.1% (25 of 53)

Dontrell Hilliard – 44.4% (4 of 9)

Damian Ratley -38.4% – (5 of 13)

Nick Chubb – 27.7% (5 of 18)

Breshad Perriman has made almost nothing but big plays, so it’s not a surprise that he rates so highly here. Nevertheless, this is another example of why he needs to be figured out in a full offseason with Mayfield to determine just how much of the passing game should flow through him.

Rashard Higgins is the one that’s going to keep popping up. He just has a knack for making plays and Mayfield seems to trust him as much as any receiver on this team.

Considering the degree of difficulty, Duke’s numbers are pretty impressive. There are a number of examples where he’s getting the ball and having to figure a way to get to the first down marker and he does it. He’s got incredible elusiveness and basically makes one defender miss every time he gets the ball.

Meanwhile, David Njoku and Jarvis Landry need to be better here. Drops are a factor here, but good players just do much better in this category.

Explosive Play Percentage

Seth DeValve – 40% (2 out of 5)

Derrick Willies – 33% (1 out of 3)

Rashard Higgins – 25.7% (9 out of 35)

Breshad Perriman – 23% (3 out of 13)

Damian Ratley – 23% (3 out of 13)

Dontrell Hilliard – 22.2% (2 out of 9)

Jarvis Landry – 15.8% (12 out of 76)

Antonio Callaway – 15.3% (6 out of 39)

David Njoku – 15% (8 out of 53)

Nick Chubb – 11.1% (2 out of 18)

Darren Fells – 10% (1 out of 10)

Duke Johnson – 8.6% (4 out of 46)

Small sample sizes again are at the top and Seth DeValve continues to be an enigma. If there is a statistic to celebrate when it comes to Landry, it’s this one. Only in 2016 did Landry have more or a higher percentage of explosive plays.

Breshad Perriman isn’t a huge surprise here. David Njoku and Antonio Callaway are okay, but could be much better. This is an area where Duke Johnson is at a natural disadvantage coming out of the backfield, but it’s a pleasant surprise with what Nick Chubb has done in the screen game.

Once again, Rashard Higgins shines here. For a guy who was no guarantee to make the final roster coming out of camp, he has made the most of his opportunity and continues to look like Mayfield’s best target in terms of efficiency.

Average Yards after Catch

Derrick Willies – 10.66 – (32 yards on 3 receptions)

Nick Chubb – 8.88 (160 yards on 18 receptions)

Dontrell Hilliard – 8.66 (78 yards on 9 receptions)

Duke Johnson – 7.47 (344 yards on 46 receptions)

Antonio Callaway – 5.79 (226 yards on 39 receptions)

David Njoku – 4.56 (242 yards on 53 receptions)

Darren Fells – 4.5 (45 yards on 10 receptions)

Breshad Perriman – 4 (52 yards on 13 receptions)

Damian Ratley – 3.9 (51 yards on 13 receptions)

Seth DeValve – 3.4 (17 yards on 5 receptions)

Jarvis Landry – 3.2 (250 yards on 76 receptions)

Rashard Higgins – 2.14 (75 yards on 35 receptions)

Understanding what guys are capable after the catch is useful, but with Mayfield as a quarterback, it has increased importance. He’s such an accurate quarterback with great timing that he naturally sets up teammates to make plays after the catch, so finding guys who excel in that area is critical.

This is another area where running backs have an obvious advantage, but this also illustrates how difficult the Browns backfield is to take down. Nick Chubb can win with power as well as elusiveness and Duke is tremendously gifted in making opponents miss. Hilliard is a pleasant surprise too.

This is an area where Antonio Callaway shows a ton of potential and the slant from Mayfield to Callaway is becoming a nice staple in the offense. Njoku has the athleticism to thrive here. Breshad Perriman is largely a deep threat, but he was tremendous after the catch in college, so if he can add that with his size and strength, it’s one more problem for defenses.

Clearly, this is a weakness for Rashard Higgins. So long as he can catch the ball at a high rate and move the chains at the clip he is, it’s not a big deal. Jarvis Landry does neither of those things and isn’t good here, which points to a poor fit in this offense.

Conclusions

First – The Browns largely have more prospects than they have players. Rashard Higgins has had a breakout year for him, but it’s one good year. Breshad Perriman has been a terrific splash, but it’s 13 receptions.

Second – The numbers aren’t as great for David Njoku as they should be. He’s 22, he’s improving as a receiver and as a blocker over the course of the year and hopefully his third season is where he really hits his stride. Nevertheless, he needs to be more consistent and start putting it together to where he’s more of a threat.

Third – The Browns have a possession receiver. It’s Higgins. When it comes to catching the ball and moving the chains, he’s the best at both on this team. This is another reason they need him to be able to repeat this season next year.

Fourth – The Browns have an impressive set of running backs that continue to shine in terms of their value. Alas, it’s another year where Duke Johnson didn’t get the ball enough and the reasoning is inexplicable. Give him the ball, he makes the plays.

Finally – The larger point here is that the Browns don’t have enough at receiver. Their best receiver this year has been Rashard Higgins. No one would’ve bet on that one coming into the year, which is a credit to him, but it shows how much Baker Mayfield is really carrying this offense. No one stands out as a true threat that could go somewhere else and be a great player.

That doesn’t mean the Browns need to spend a first round pick or throw a mint at someone in free agency, but it does show the front office needs to keep adding talent and seeing who can compete and win out for the betterment of the team. It’s great when a guy like Derrick Willies can come in and have a big couple quarters, but they need more that can be consistently relied upon.

That also doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to come in the form of a wide receiver. If it’s tight ends that carry the offense consistently, so be it. They just need more weapons that can grow and improve with Mayfield, so when the Browns are in the playoffs on third-and-7 in the fourth quarter, someone else besides Mayfield can step up and make a play in the passing game.