BEREA, Ohio -- It hasn’t been a great run recently for the Cleveland Browns' 2014 first-round draft picks.
Johnny Manziel started two games, struggled much more than any backup even should and said Tuesday he didn’t take the transition from college to pros seriously enough.
Justin Gilbert watched in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week as Pierre Desir and Jordan Poyer took his playing time, then had to read as safety Donte Whitner said Gilbert had to “stop being a kid.”
Whitner said there was no reaction from Gilbert on the remarks.
“Because it’s the truth,” Whitner said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that. He understands that and we’re going to move forward. We need him to be that fourth or fifth guy in the secondary and go out and make plays that we can rely on.”
Mike Pettine didn’t hide from the remarks, or the assessments.
But when asked what it said about the first-rounders, he responded pointedly as well.
“What do you mean, ‘What does it say?’” Pettine said. “Are we ready to write both these players off as busts because they didn’t produce as rookies? I’m nowhere near that point. That’s a knee-jerk.”
Which is accurate.
But it’s not knee-jerk to say that both have been disappointing, especially late in the season -- Gilbert far more so than Manziel. A quarterback has a tough transition to the NFL, and rookies typically struggle early.
Manziel may have struggled more than expected, but he promised (again) on Tuesday to be more dedicated next season. Next season is a phrase Browns fans are accustomed to hearing, but Manziel’s words indicate he knows there is work to do.
Pettine said it was equal parts alarming and encouraging with what Manziel said.
The words about Gilbert are troubling, though. Both Whitner and Karlos Dansby said it’s up to Gilbert to grow up and become a professional. He had one two-week stretch of training camp when he played well, but other than that his season has been a disappointment.
The reason veterans are so pointed?
They are veterans. They know what it takes to succeed, to win, and they didn’t see it. Every year that a 7-4 start disintegrates makes them another year older, and brings in two or three younger guys to take their place.
“You can’t teach toughness,” Whitner said. “But you can teach a guy how to be focused and how to go about his job and be a pro.”
The Browns have said several times that few rookies step in immediately at cornerback. But while they say that K’Waun Williams, an undrafted rookie, stepped in and contributed, another rookie, Desir, originally was slated to spend the season learning. Gilbert’s struggles, though, forced the Browns to put Desir on the field and he responded well.
Pettine said over and over that he’s confident the Browns will “see a better Justin Gilbert” in 2015.
“It’s not his ability, but it’s a lot of the little things,” Pettine said. “It’s how he prepares each week. It’s just a lot of stuff that’s internal, and our guys see it. … If he didn’t have the potential to kind of live up to the hype, live up to the where we took him then I think our guys wouldn’t really deal with him.”
The problem is that 2014 became a wasted season -- which is never good when a team takes a guy in the top 10.