It didn’t take him long to realize how real and justified it is.
“There’s tremendous optimism certainly in the area. I think it’s a reason to be optimistic with the assemblage of young good looking talent and with the veteran players who are proven in this league and an outstanding young quarterback, who looks like his growth is ahead of the curve so there’s reason for great optimism.”
Warfield knows what a great team looks like.
The Hall of Fame receiver played on the undefeated Super Bowl champion 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Browns general manager John Dorsey has flipped the Browns’ roster in 20 months since taking over as GM from one that struggled to win a game to one capable of competing to win a Super Bowl.
“I’m impressed with what Mr. Dorsey has done in terms of acquisitions for this organization and certainly he has brought in a wealth of talent,” Warfield said. “These are players, particularly the veteran players that he’s brought in, who have proven what their capabilities are in this league. So, with the acquisitions and what they’ve done to rebuild this organization, there’s great reason for optimism this year, no question.”
Warfield, a Warren, Ohio native that starred at Ohio State, averaged 20.1 yards per catch and caught 85 touchdowns throughout his distinguished NFL career with the Browns and Dolphins.
He knows a thing or two about catching footballs and he’s excited to watch Cleveland’s new dynamic duo – Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, who were both acquired the last two offseasons via trades by Dorsey, do that this fall.
“Odell is outstanding,” Warfield said. “He’s proven in his brief career that he’s a topflight wide receiver in the league and a player who demands a lot of attention all of the time. He can make things happen in a big, big way.
“Combined with Landry, that gives you outstanding passing ability with a young passer, who’s proven that he can make plays, to get the ball to. They also have an outstanding young running back [Nick Chubb] so they’re well-balanced offensively.”
As practice was about to get underway Tuesday morning head coach Freddie Kitchens noticed Warfield and he walked over to shake his hand.
Kitchens has made welcoming Browns alumni and teaching his players about those that came before them and the history of the franchise a priority leading up to the most highly anticipated season in nearly three decades.
“It was very nice of Freddie to stop by,” Warfield said. “For members of the alumni to know that we’re welcome at any and all times means a lot. They’ve always been welcoming and want us to be a part of what they do.
“Although we can no longer wear the orange and brown, hopefully we can be supportive of those that do.”
That support isn’t limited to Warfield either.
The Browns also invited Norman Turner, Warfield’s grandson and a high school junior, to shadow the team’s photographer, Matt Starkey, during practice.
“He wants to pursue [sports photography],” Warfield said. “This is outstanding the Browns gave him this opportunity to get experience with a professional and to see exactly how the job is done.”
As with every camp practice these days, there were no shortage of highlights to shoot.
All eyes are on the Browns nationally – this time for all the right reasons – as the franchise returns to relevance and contention.
With expectation comes scrutiny and Warfield has first-hand knowledge of how to handle both.
“Stay focused, stay concentrated on what your job is. Do not allow distractions to come in,” Warfield said. “That was the theme of the 1972 season for the Miami Dolphins. Our objective was not to go undefeated, it was to be the very best team that we could, to lead us back to the Super Bowl because we were humiliated the year before against a very good Dallas Cowboy team. People were saying, not necessarily in Miami but around Pro Football, well they’re just another old AFL team. We took that as a challenge to make sure that we got back to the Super Bowl and that game to prove that we were the very best team in pro football. And along the way we were so focused that a wonderful thing happened. We won all of our games.”
No one expects the Browns to do that.
There will be bumps along the way but the recipe for success this season is simple in Warfield’s eyes.
“When you have players like Landry at wide receiver and Odell Beckham Jr., who are big play performers and you have Chubb running out of the backfield and of course an outstanding young passer in Baker Mayfield, if you can keep it at that 60-40 balance or somewhere in that neighborhood, the defense doesn’t know what you’re going to do and you can hit them with big plays at any time during the course of the ballgame,” Warfield said. “But if you’re only doing one thing – throwing the ball, 70-80 percent of the time, running it 90 percent of the time – they figure it out. If you have balance, you can hit them for good plays, big plays because they’re not expecting something to happen.”
Sound advice.
You can listen to the full interview below.