CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns lost their wide receivers coach over the weekend when Adam Henry took a similar role with the Dallas Cowboys, but they reportedly wasted no time in filling that vacancy on Kevin Stefanski’s inaugural coaching staff.
According to NFL Network and NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport, the Browns have hired former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea to fill the roles of wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
“O’Shea got solid production out of a Miami team starved for talent and spent a decade in New England,” Rapoport wrote over the weekend after O’Shea met with team officials last Friday.
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Despite inconsistent production from the offense throughout the 2019 season, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. both surpassed the 1,000-yard mark and finished the year Nos. 1 and 2 on the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns among wide receivers.
Landry converted his 83 receptions into 1,174 yards, a 14.1 yards-per-reception average and a team-best six touchdowns, while Beckham Jr. gained 1,035 yards and scored four touchdowns on his 74 catches. Beckham Jr. averaged 14.0 yards per reception.
Landry earned Pro Bowl status for the fifth straight season and second consecutive year since joining the Browns through a trade with the Dolphins and signing a lucrative long-term contract extension during the 2018 offseason.
In addition to the wide receivers, O’Shea is expected to work with quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield saw a significant drop in production in year two, as his completion percentage and touchdowns went down and the interceptions went up by seven as he became the franchise’s first quarterback in 18 years to start all 16 games.
Mayfield completed 317 of his 534 attempts (59.4 percent) for 3,827 yards and 22 touchdowns against 21 interceptions in 2019 after completing 310 of his 486 throws (63.8 percent) with an NFL rookie-record 27 touchdowns against 14 picks during the 2018 season.