Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (5/5/19)

Cleveland Browns:

• Darrin Hall gets busy in Browns running back room (ohio.com) - Former Austintown Fitch star Darrin Hall never did make it all the way out of James Conner’s shadow at Pitt, but his new coach seems to like him, and Hall seems intent on making it as a Brown.
• Browns rookies have dinner with team legends (cleveland.com) - John Dorsey is trying to awaken the sleeping giant that is the Cleveland Browns, and in the process, Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens are bringing some of the giants of yesteryear back to speak to the team. On Thursday night, the eve of rookie camp, Kitchens and Dorsey invited former Browns receiver Webster Slaughter, running backs Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner, quarterback Bernie Kosar, Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown and others to have dinner with the rookies and address them. Slaughter even stuck around to watch practice yesterday.

• Undrafted WR Dorian Baker grew up a Browns fan, happy to ‘be a dawg’ at rookie minicamp (clevelandbrowns.com) - The number wasn’t lost on Dorian Baker. Of all of the players on the field at the team’s rookie minicamp, Baker had the best sense of what it meant to wear No. 19, so it made sense that he was the one wearing it. Of course Baker -- who grew up in Cleveland Heights and starred at Cleveland Heights High before landing at the University of Kentucky -- knew it was the number worn by Bernie Kosar, the Browns legend who was among a number of alums who addressed the rookies Thursday as they arrived in Berea.

NFL:

• No excuses for Marcus Mariota in make-or-break season (ESPN) - This offseason has been about putting quarterback Marcus Mariota in position to succeed. There have been plenty of excuses for Mariota’s inability to firmly establish himself after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, with injuries certainly a factor. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons beyond Mariota’s control for his up-and-down career so far -- and why he’s better positioned heading into 2019.
• WRs D.K. Metcalf, Parris Campbell dazzle in debuts (NFL.com) - Albeit, it was the first day of rookie minicamp without any pads, but receivers D.K. Metcalf and Parris Campbell grabbed headlines and highlights with their showcase performances. On Friday, speed burner Campbell debuted for the Indianapolis Colts and the sans-shirt star that is Metcalf made his first mark on a Seattle Seahawks practice. The second-round sensations came away with rave reviews.
• Seattle sets themselves up for long-term, sustained success with 2019 NFL Draft class (PFF) - With only four picks over three days in the weeks prior to the draft, the Seattle Seahawks were slated to be one of have one of the most uneventful drafts of any franchise. Boy was that wrong.