The Browns traded up from No. 114 to 105 with New England and selected troubled Florida receiver Antonio Antonio Calloway, who has a ton of baggage, but Browns general manager John Dorsey feels it is worth the risk.
“I’m very excited to get a guy of this caliber and his talent at the round we thought,” Dorsey said Saturday afternoon. “We thought based on things that have happened in the past and based on his ability, we thought that fourth round is probably right where you get a guy like this because you know you have certain resources in place that can help young men develop.”
Callaway failed a drug test at the NFL Combine, where he reportedly tested positive for marijuana but that is only the beginning of his off the field problems.
Callaway was suspended for 2016 spring practices at Florida following a sexual assault charge that he was eventually cleared from after a Title IX investigation. He also plead no contest to possession drug paraphernalia in July 2017 and he was suspended for the 2017 season for using a stolen credit card.
Callaway told Rappoport that Steelers receiver Antonio Brown had taken him under his wing this offseason.
"His message was, there's too much opportunity there for me to be messing up and I gotta change now that I'm a father," Callaway told Rapoport. "It ain't too much about athletics, just really about life and how you have to make good decisions."
The Browns investigated Callaway’s background extensively according to Dorsey.
"I feel very comfortable where we are as an organization,” Dorsey said. “We have done extensive, I mean extensive background work here. We've actually had go down to Gainesville. We've actually had people go to certain areas just to find out all about the specifics of the situation and we feel very good about where we are and where he is and where those things you were talking, what levels they're at. I feel very comfortable, we are, to make a move like this."
Since taking over as general manager Dorsey has talked about the importance of character and changing the culture, hence questions Saturday afternoon to him about why he felt this move was worth it.
“Character is important,” Dorsey, who had Callaway listed as the first or second-best receiver in the class, said. “I think it’s a case-by-case basis and you sit and meet individuals and then you begin to understand what they are as people. If you sit there and understand his situations and his life story, you can see a guy that strives to like, actually loves the game of football, but he likes structure, he likes routine and as long as you can … you can see that there’s a degree of humility with this person.
“So, you have to do your risk tolerance and say, OK, where are we here? And I thought this was the appropriate level to kind of make a move like this.”
Dorsey believes that receivers coach Adam Henry and the team’s player engagement department will be of tremendous help to Callaway and provide him with the tools necessary to turn his life around.
“Once you get him involved in that type of culture, good things can happen,” Dorsey said.
The Browns sent the Patriots Nos. 114 and 178 for the right to select Calloway. The Patriots subsequently dealt No. 114 to Detroit.
During the 2015 and 2016 seasons Callaway combined to total 89 catches for 1,399 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Gators. Callaway also had 653 punt return yards and 2 TDs on 54 returns and 176 kickoff return yards with 1 going for a touchdown on 6 kickoff returns.
“If you can get a nice quality punt returner, that changes the field position, and this guy is a playmaker who can change the field position in the punt game as well as the receiving part as well,” Dorsey said.