If not for off-field trouble that left him off the University of Florida team last year and a positive drug test at the Scouting Combine, wide receiver Antonio Callaway may have been off the board long before the Browns were picking in the fourth round.
Callaway did have those issues, though, and that meant Cleveland was able to roll the dice on him during the final day in the draft. Callaway joined his new team at their rookie minicamp this weekend and said he’s “learned from mistakes day by day” as he grows from being what he called “young and immature.”
Callaway also said that he appreciates Browns General Manager John Dorsey taking the chance on him and vowed to make sure that the G.M. won’t regret it.
“This is just telling that he believes in me, that I can do the right things,” Callaway said, via Cleveland.com. “Just not going let him down. For somebody to put their job on the line, I can’t let him down.”
Callaway’s gotten some mentoring from Antonio Brown, who serves as a pretty good example of how little where you’re drafted matters if you can play the game well. That part’s been easier for Callaway than life away from the field and he has a big chance to shift the focus back to that side in the coming months.