… look at it from Eric Mangini's perspective. He ... has Braylon Edwards, Syndric Steptoe and Donte Stallworth as his only contributing options from 2008 in which the Browns ranked 31st in total passing offense. Since Mangini's arrival, Stallworth has gotten himself in quite a legal mess. The more it drags on, the more it looks like Stallworth will not be on the team next season. Let's be honest, even if Stallworth was on the team he wasn't going to be in this team's future plans.
So Mangini has two receivers: One is a former seventh-round pick (Steptoe) and has no business being anywhere, but the practice field. The other is a "me-first" player that has a tendency to drop too many easy balls (Edwards). Mangini wants his players to understand how he operates and he is changing the culture of this team. To do that, Mangini signed free agent David Patten. Mangini doesn't plan for Patten to be a huge part of this offense, but he is a capable body that knows what Mangini expects from his players.
The addition of Patten still leaves Mangini without intermediate weapons. Patten is a speed guy and is good for stretching the field. Edwards is best going deep because he tends to let up when he is sent over the middle. In order to get those intermediate weapons, the first step was trading with the Jets last Saturday at the NFL Draft.
The Browns received two defensive starters and suddenly, the Browns did not have to worry about making defense a priority in the draft. Instead, Mangini had the luxury of getting the two best receivers to fit into his game plan.
… none of the receivers who went before Robiskie and Massaquoi fit into the Browns' new system. Mangini was looking for big possession receivers and that was exactly what he got. He understands that when you are playing in Cleveland the name if the game has to be ball control. Run the ball to chew up the clock and get first downs with intermediate passing.
Brady Quinn can run the offense, but not without an intermediate outlet. We all know Quinn is not going to be throwing the ball 40 times a game and stretching the field, that isn't the type of player he is. What Quinn can do is manage the game and make plays from 30 yards and in. Robiskie and Massaquoi are going to be those options. When the Browns do want to take a shot deep, they have Patten and Edwards to keep the defense honest.
... Robiskie, he is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, very reliable with a strong football background and superior work ethic. When the Ohio State offense was altered with freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Robiskie never complained. Robiskie is a stand up guy who makes plays when asked.
At the combine, Robiskie ran a 4.59 40-yard dash, but what a lot of people don't know is that he was the only player drafted on the first day that was in the top 10 in vertical jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle. All of those tend to be better indicators of actual football movement than a 40-yard straight sprint.
The Browns are not going to be an air-it-out team and break records in the passing game, but more importantly they don't want to. This will be a solid receiving corps that does their job and makes plays when they need to.