Browns defensive back Jason McCourty compared Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen to a basketball player, and coach Hue Jackson called him one of the NFL's best route runners.
Needless to say, Allen is very much on the Browns' radar.
"His moves and the way he is able to move makes him a very, very tough challenge just to be able to cover one-on-one," McCourty said. "He is just making plays all over the field. I mean his last two games have been as good as any receiver in the league this year."
Allen has 23 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games. Overall, he's fifth in the league with 927 yards.
He wasn't on the field when Cleveland last faced the Chargers, as his 2016 season was short-circuited by a knee injury.
"When you watch him move, his ankles – I hate to say it that way – but his ankles are like he can stop and move and go in another direction really quickly and stay at full speed," Jackson said. "He is a good player, really is."
-- Jackson said Thursday he was still mulling his decision about who would serve as DeShone Kizer's backup Sunday against the Chargers.
Jackson is deciding between Cody Kessler, who has been the backup quarterback since Week 7, and Kevin Hogan, who began the year as Cleveland's No. 2 option. Both have been summoned to duty at multiple points this season because of injuries or ineffectiveness by Kizer.
Kessler appeared for three plays last week in Cincinnati while Kizer was evaluated for a potential concussion. He went 0-for-1 and was sacked for the sixth time this season.
"He has been in some tough situations. He really has," Jackson said. "Obviously, he wants to get the ball out of his hands. He hasn't been able to do that. He has to improve in that area, there is no question about that."
Hogan gave the Browns a spark in two of his relief appearances early in the season but struggled in a start Week 6 against the Texans. He remains a viable option as Jackson makes his decision based on "the system, what we are trying to accomplish this week" against the Chargers.
"Both of those guys have different strengths and things that they do well," Jackson said. "If our gameplan is trying to do certain things and I think the one fits a little bit better than the other, then we will do it that way."
-- Jackson said he'd give the players some free time Friday to explore Los Angeles but stressed the overall focus would center on being appropriately ready for Sunday's game.
"I think it is really important when you take a trip like this is not to go put them in a hotel and treat them like they are inmates or something like that," Jackson said. "I don't think that is right. I want to be able to trust our guys. I was able to do that when we went to London, but I think they know and I make it crystal clear what I expect and how it is going to be.
"I want them to feel free that they can do that and have a normal Friday night for themselves, but there is bed check and there is a next morning wake-up call. There are meetings and those things that you have to be ready for. That is my expectation for our team."
