2016 draft pick Louis coming on strong, in line to be third receiver

Ricardo Louis

POSITION » Wide receiver HEIGHT, WEIGHT » 6-foot-2, 215 pounds BIRTHDATE » March 23, 1994 YEARS PRO » Second season COLLEGE » Auburn RANKING » 23rd of 25

LOUIS’ BACKGROUND » Often players drafted in the NFL come from successful college programs. Reality smacks that type of player in the face when he gets drafted by a team that perennially struggles, as the Browns have for nine straight years.

For better or worse, Louis says his freshman year at Auburn prepared him for the nightmare he went through as a rookie with the Browns last year. Auburn was 3-9 when Louis was a freshman in 2012 and 0-8 in the SEC. The Browns were 1-15 a year ago.

“It taught me how to handle adversity,” Louis told the Ledger-Enquirer in Auburn, Ala., speaking of his freshman college season.

“I was in many different situations freshman to senior year. It was a different situation every season – the quarterbacks, winning, losing, stuff like that – but that helped me find a way to overcome.”

Louis caught three passes as a freshman and then 28, 21 and 46 the next three years.

Louis was one of four wide receivers drafted by the Browns in 2016. Corey

Coleman, Rashard Higgins and Jordan Payton were the others.

Louis has a variety of interests off the field. He has worked with Boys and Girls Clubs in the past and has an interest in conducting youth camps for children ranging from elementary school through high school. He enjoys drawing and boxing. WHY LOUIS IS RANKED 23RD

» The Browns did not draft a wide receiver in 2017, which means one of the picks other than Coleman will have to make a big jump from his rookie year. A team without three capable receivers isn’t going far. Louis has the potential to take over that role.

2016 RECAP » Louis played in all 16 games last year and started three times. His role diminished when Coleman returned from a broken hand. Louis made all but two of his 18 catches in the first half of the season. He was definitely a team player, as he made eight special teams tackles, third most on the team, and he returned nine kickoffs for an average of 18.2 yards a return. WHY LOUIS IS IMPORTANT IN 2017 » Louis’ rookie season was a learning experience. Wide receivers coach Al Saunders sounds confident Louis will make a big jump his second year in the pros.

“He’s a talented young man,” Saunders said.” I’m thrilled he feels really comfortable in what he’s doing and am really excited when we get him to the preseason and take that transition and get into real physical football and play the game when things aren’t what you expect it to be.”

PREDICTION FOR 2017 » Louis will beat out Higgins and Payton to seize that role of being the third receiver. He showed in games he has the hands to catch the ball in traffic. A 30-catch season would be a success. Anything more is a bonus.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Browns wide receiver Ricardo Louis returns the kickoff against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cleveland in December.