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The Cleveland Browns were never truly interested in signing DeAndre Hopkins and are confident in the receivers they have — particularly Elijah Moore.
The Browns reshaped their wide receiver room this offseason and Moore has been a popular pick to be a breakout candidate.
Moore was traded to the Browns on March 22 after an interesting two years as a member of the Jets. He had a strong rookie year, notching 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns in just 11 games. However, he couldn’t improve upon that a year ago, catching just 37 balls for 446 yards and one touchdown, clashing with the coaching staff and quarterback Zach Wilson.
The Browns are confident Moore can look more like the high-upside receiver he was as a rookie, which limited their interest in Hopkins.
“It just seems like a good fit such a good fit, in fact that they really didn’t have any intentions whatsoever of going out there and signing a DeAndre Hopkins,” Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said during an appearance on The Chico Bormann Show.
Elijah Moore Can be Dynamic in Cleveland
Cabot went a little more in-depth on what the expectations are for Moore for his first year in Cleveland, pointing out that some stability at the quarterback position unlocks a higher ceiling for the former second-round pick.
“Elijah Moore had five touchdown cast catches with the Jets in his rookie year two seasons ago. Imagine what he can do with a quarterback like Deshaun Watson,” Cabot said. “Elijah Moore has the quickness that twitchiness, the suddenness to really mesh with a player like Deshaun Watson. And I think that Deshaun is going to know exactly how and when to get him the ball.”
Moore will have some help, too. Amari Cooper is coming off a strong first year in Cleveland, going over 1,000 yards and tying his career-best mark in touchdowns with nine. The Browns also have Donovan Peoples-Jones, who is coming off a career year, and veteran speedster Marquise Goodwin.
Browns Were Once Favorite to Land DeAndre Hopkins
The Browns were once dubbed the favorite for Hopkins after a public pitch from quarterback Deshaun Watson — his former teammate with the Houston Texans.
“Me and D-Hop, we just naturally talk. We’ve been talking since the Houston days, and whenever he was in Arizona, we were always talking,” Watson said. “He’s always been a brother of mine since I was coming out of high school. Our connection, our relationship has always been great. And I know there’s a lot of things swirling around in the media about him possibly coming to Cleveland. For me, my answer to that is, of course we’d love to have him.”
Hopkins has made visits with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots, although a deal does not appear imminent at this time. He’d be a much more needed piece for both of those AFC squads as opposed to the Browns, where he would very much be a luxury for Watson and Co.
Hopkins played in just nine games last season with the Arizona Cardinals, notching 717 yards on 64 grabs with three touchdowns.
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