With the 36th selection the Brown’s took Ohio State’s Brian Robiskie, one of the most NFL ready receivers of the entire draft. With Donte Stallworth in court for killing a man that was a very smart move. Crabtree is obviously my top choice among rookie WRs, but Robiskie comes in at number 2. Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, and Hakeem Nicks are more talented, but none of them landed in as good of a situation.
Maclin has to compete with DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Reggie Wayne, Hank Baskett, and Jason Avant for looks (also Brent Celek, Cornelius Ingram, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy, for that matter. Harvin will be a factor in his offense, but he’s a bit of a wildcard. It may take the Vikes a while to figure out how to use him as he competes for looks with Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Bobby Wade, and Visanthe Shiancoe. Nicks could end up being a super sleeper if he earns significant time at flanker, but he’s got a long way to go to supplant Hixon.
Robiskie has already had a strong OTA and should be able to beat out Mike Furrey, David Patten, rookie Mohamed Massaqoui and return specialist Josh Cribbs as the WR2. He is a polished route runner with phenomenal hands. I’m sure everyone rooting for Browns football will like that after watching ButterFingers Braylon lead the league in drops last season. The Browns are the front runners for finishing dead last in the AFC North. If they are playing from behind as much as I think they will be then there will be plenty of receptions to go around. With Winslow gone, Steve Heiden and Robert Royal are the receiving options at TE. They aren’t nearly as lethal and will need to spend significant time blocking this season anyways. Robiskie will make for a great possession receiver right out of the gates. His involvement in the Red Zone (if the Browns ever make it there) is a bit of a mystery, but he should be snatched up earlier than his current ADP in PPR leagues.
Robiskie’s ADP as of June 30th is 163. The fantasy community isn’t taking him very seriously yet, but he is on radars. Grab him sometime in the late 12th, early 13th for a chance to beat your opponents with a rookie WRs while Harvin and Maclin rot on their benches.
Here is some more Robiskie and Brown WRs reading:
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2009/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_clev.html – Terry Pluto talks of Edwards and Robiskie as a 1-2 punch.
http://www.rototimes.com/nfl/player/7728 – RotoTimes profile page documents Robiskie’s offseason rise.