The Cleveland Browns have signed wide receiver Matt Landers, giving the unit an infusion of speed as OTAs kick off.
The Browns officially announced the signing on Tuesday, May 21. Landers comes in at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds with impressive speed. Landers ran a 4.37 40-yard dash, the third-fastest at the combine in 2023.
Despite his solid measurables, Landers went undrafted and spent part of his rookie season on the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers practice squads. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com labeled Landers a developmental prospect in his draft breakdown.
“Landers spent his first four seasons at Georgia, managing just 12 total catches before having a solid 2021 season at Toledo and then a stronger 2022 campaign at Arkansas,” Zierlein said. “He’s still unrefined as a receiver, but his size, athleticism and potential as a ball-winner are noteworthy. He has legitimate build-up speed deep and his long strides help him separate.”
Browns general manager Andrew Berry made it clear last offseason that speed is something the team values when evaluating wide receivers.
“Despite maybe how it’s looked at times, I love speed,” Berry said in 2023. “We love speed, and there’s probably no general manager or head coach that says they want to be slow on the perimeter necessarily, but when you have an opportunity to add a good player who can really stress the defense with his ability to run, that’s an opportunity that we’re always going to look to take advantage of.”
Browns Also Signed WR Jalen Camp
Landers isn’t the only fresh face in the Browns wide receiver room. The team also brought in Jalen Camp earlier this offseason.
Camp — who comes in at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds — was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round in 2021. He has appeared in five career games with one start, all with the Houston Texans. Last season, he spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers.
Camp was released by the Panthers on May 10 and signed by the Browns on May 15.
Like Landers, Camp has some upside with his athleticism. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds at his pro day and reached 39.5 inches on the vertical jump. Camp also bench-pressed 225 pounds 30 times — a number usually reserved for linemen.
Browns Have Built Up WR Unit Around Amari Cooper
It’s taken a few years, but the Browns have been able to add some strong depth to the wide receiver position. Amari Cooper arrived in 2022 via trade and has been the centerpiece of the passing game.
Cooper is coming off a Pro Bowl season. He carried the Browns’ offense last season despite catching passes from four different quarterbacks. Cooper racked up 1,250 yards on 72 catches.
The Browns also landed Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy through trades over the last two seasons.
Moore had a successful first year in Cleveland following an offseason trade. He set career-highs in receptions (59) and yards (640). The Browns traded for Jeudy in March and quickly signed him to an extension.
The Broncos selected Jeudy No. 15 overall in 2020. He has notched 3,053 yards on 211 catches with 11 touchdowns in his career.
