Donovan Peoples-Jones is entering the final year of his rookie deal and exactly how the Browns handle is future is not yet known. There is a case to be made for Cleveland to work out an extension before this season starts, but waiting may be their best path forward.
When it comes to Donovan Peoples-Jones, he is a fine receiver occasionally drifting into good, but never great. That is where the concerns begin about any preliminary extension talks about the 24-year old former sixth-round pick. More often than not these type of players hit a production ceiling early in their career and are unable to surpass it no matter what they do. With Peoples-Jones finishing 2022 with 61 receptions for 839 yards and three touchdowns, that may very well be the ceiling of his production output.
Teams should be wary about a player with certain knocks against their skill set suddenly doubling their career production in receptions and yards. This applies to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Prior to last year, DPJ had just 48 receptions and 901 yards to his name. Removing a lackluster former first overall quarterback selection from the mix and inserting journeyman Jacoby Brissett as their starter for most of the season helped his numbers jump. But these numbers did not increase due to Peoples-Jones being a number one receiver. That role belonged to Amari Cooper who was able to draw his fair share of attention away from Peoples-Jones. This is where things tend to get tricky.
Cleveland has made roster moves that are not a coincidence
The Browns have drafted wide receivers in the middle rounds in back-to-back years in David Bell and Cedric Tillman. Cleveland also went out and acquired Elijah Moore from the Jets to add someone with a decent amount of NFL experience to their wide receiver group. While some have attributed these decisions as acquisitions for the post-Cooper era, they may have been missing the even bigger picture.
That picture? A post-Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones era.
Here is the reality. When it comes to what Donovan Peoples-Jones is as a receiver, no one can say with 100% certainty that he is anything more than a complimentary option in the passing game. Cooper is the clearcut number one receiver for the Browns. Moore was brought in to work in the slot. Marquise Goodwin was acquired for his speed. These are three areas that Peoples-Jones does not necessarily excel in on a regular basis, if at all. And all of this is before even mentioning David Njoku, who still has to legitimately prove himself as anything more than a very athletic average tight end.
There is a possibility that a full year with Deshaun Watson at quarterback helps Donovan Peoples-Jones take that next step and prove he is more than a secondary/tertiary option in the passing game. But until that happens there is no reason to rush into an extension at this point in time. There are just too many unknowns with Peoples-Jones (and others) that making another substantial financial commitment is unwise at this time. If the current regime is still here when the season is over, they can evaluate their “clever financial maneuvers” up to this point to see if a contract extension is something they can work into their long term plans. That is Peoples-Jones plays at a level that is extension worthy, which is far from a guarantee.
