Hue Jackson: Browns still must address WR position

The Cleveland Browns have started to address the position that throws the ball.

They can't forget about the guys who catch it.

New coach Hue Jackson understands that.

"[Wide receiver is] an area that we need to address obviously," Jackson said last week at the NFL owners meetings.

The position will gain some clarity when the league and the Browns make a decision on Josh Gordon, who was suspended all of last season by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy. The league first has to decide if he will be reinstated from his suspension, then the team has to decide if it will take a guy back who has immense talent, but who has been suspended for 27 of the past 32 games.

The Browns' approach has been consistent: They have to see what frame of mind Gordon is in. The team's new leadership will sit down with him for a long discussion. Until he is reinstated, and until that talk takes place, there is no decision to be made.

"There's nothing that I know about him other than he's talented," Jackson said. "I've watched him play, competed against him. Until he's reinstated by the league there's nothing to talk about."

The other main players at the position are Brian Hartline, Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel.

"We have some very talented guys right now," Jackson said. "They're slight in stature, but they're tough, and I'm looking forward to working with them and see if there's more that we can gain from them."

The Terrelle Pryor experiment also will continue, though Jackson seemed more open to using Pryor at different positions.

"I've known him as a quarterback, and I think he's always had ability to play quarterback in the National Football League," Jackson said. "He's demonstrated the ability to play receiver, so to me he's a weapon. He's somebody that we can do a lot of different things with and we'll see where he fits here pretty soon."

Given how much time he missed in last year's training camp, Pryor remains a long-term work in progress.

With Jackson in charge, the days of using so many small receivers may be over.

"I've gone on record before saying I like to have bigger, faster guys play the position," he said.

The team did not sign a free-agent receiver, though reports said they did make contact with Marvin Jones, who was paid $40 million by Detroit.

Arguably the best receiver in the draft is Laquon Treadwell of Mississippi, but few analysts peg him as worthy of the second overall pick and fewer expect him to last until the 32nd pick.

Other options who may or may not be available at No. 32 include Will Fuller of Notre Dame, Josh Doctson of TCU and Corey Coleman of Baylor. The talent drops off after the top four, though Michael Thomas of Ohio State may be a good addition in the middle rounds.

The Browns in some ways are paying the price for not taking a receiver who stuck in either of the past two drafts. The only one they took -- Vince Mayle -- did not make the 53-man roster.

"It's an area that we need to get better," Jackson said. "And we will."