The Cleveland Browns’ veteran wide receivers have struggled this season.
But rookie Isaiah Bond has shown flashes of strong play through the first four weeks.
That’s why Jim Wyman of Pro Football Focus recently praised the first-year pass catcher.
“After a tumultuous offseason that saw the former Alabama and Texas product go undrafted, Isaiah Bond has had a lot to prove since joining the Browns midway through the preseason. He’s already seen a sizable role in the Browns’ offense, and Week 4 against the [Detroit] Lions was his top performance thus far. On Sunday, Bond caught three passes, two of them contested, for 58 yards and a 72.4 PFF receiving grade,” Wyman wrote.
The Browns had to wait until late in the offseason to sign Bond, who was facing a sexual assault charge that was not pursued by a grand jury.
He was free to sign with any team, and it was evident that Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry had his sights on him for a while.
The Browns chose to bring him along slowly and ease him into action after he missed training camp and most of the preseason.
But he’s been here since mid-August, and it seems that the team is getting him more involved.
Cedric Tillman was recently placed on injured reserve, and head coach Kevin Stefanski still doesn’t seem to trust Jamari Thrash.
That leaves the door open for Bond to take over as their WR2 going forward.
If top wideout Jerry Jeudy continues to struggle with drops and overall subpar play, Bond could have an even bigger workload at some point during the season.
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