WILL CLASS BE IN SESSION FOR GORDON, MAYFIELD?

By STEVE KING

In a recent post, I mentioned how starter Tyrod Taylor could be a great teacher and mentor at quarterback for rookie Baker Mayfield.

But there’s another Browns veteran newcomer in Jarvis Landry who could be do the same for a young player at wide receiver, Josh Gordon.

Landry, who was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in an offseason trade and then signed to a five-year contract extension, is, like Taylor, someone who has learned all the nuances of his position to be successful. He doesn’t have the size, speed, strength and skill-set to run downfield and made plays by catching long passes. Rather, he is lethal in the short passing game, a guy who will grab a short toss and then turn it into a big gainer with his ability to run after the catch.

Like Mayfield, who has the talent to make big plays downfield, Gordon is big, strong and fast and can catch deep balls.

But just as I’m not totally convinced yet that Mayfield will really, truly listen and take to heart what Taylor is telling him — I think he will, but I’m going to have to first wait and see before saying for sure – I can’t say 100 percent that Gordon will pay attention to Landry. Again, I’m pretty sure he will – I think he has matured enough to get to the point where he realizes just how much Landry’s words could help him – but I can’t be completely certain of it.

Gordon has relied almost entirely on raw talent to get to this early juncture of this career. He’s a “catcher” as opposed to a wide receiver. He needs to add to his resume all the little extras that Landry has. And if he can, then the sky is the limit for how good – how much of a game-changer – he could be.

But Josh Gordon would have to be humble, contrite and determined to do it – to shut up and listen, to put it bluntly. Will he?

We’ll see.