Written by Thomas Moore

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Former Baylor wide receiver Josh Gordon worked out for NFL teams on Tuesday in preparation for Thursday’s Supplemental Draft and by all accounts was impressive.

The question now becomes, how impressed were the Browns?

Cleveland was one of 21 teams that had representatives at the workout at the Houston Texans’ practice facility. Gordon posted a 40-yard dash time somewhere between 4.52 and 4.55 seconds, depending on who you ask, registered a 36-inch vertical leap, and reportedly caught every pass thrown to him during the workout. His numbers are comparable to Michael Floyd and Kendall Wright, wide receivers who were both selected in the first round of April’s NFL Draft.

The one drawback was Gordon reportedly pulled his left quadriceps muscle while running the 40-yard dash.

“(Gordon) is a talented athlete,” a league source told CBSSports.com. “You could see that on the tape. But this workout helped. There is no question he has the physical skills to play at this level.”

In 2010 as a sophomore at Baylor, Gordon played in 13 games, totaling 42 receptions for 714 yards and seven touchdowns, which tied Wright for the team lead. Gordon added six more catches in Baylor’s bowl game that season. Had he stayed at Baylor, who knows what his numbers would have looked like catching passes from Robert Griffin III the past two seasons. Especially in a receiving group with Wright and Terrance Williams, who could be a first-round pick in 2013.

So should the Browns be interested in Gordon?

At almost 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, Gordon would look nice opposite Greg Little, who is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. That could create some nice matchup problems for opposing defensive backs.

There’s just the issue of Gordon’s past at Baylor.

In October of 2010, Gordon and teammate Willie Jefferson were arrested after falling asleep in a car at a Taco Bell. There was marijuana in the car and Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team. Gordon was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession; the charge was later dropped.

In July of 2011, Gordon was suspended from the team indefinitely for an unspecified rule violation.

“It was due to a failed marijuana test,” Gordon told The Houston Chronicle. “It was against school policy, of course, and I was (suspended) in the summer. I’ve definitely put that part of my life behind me. I don’t plan to ever go back there. It was a difficult time, but I learned from it and I’ve moved on.”

After being suspended Gordon transferred to Utah where he had to sit out last season. Rather than stay for his senior year, he decided to enter the Supplemental Draft.

The time away from the field helped Gordon realize what he was missing.

“Leaving Baylor was the hardest thing,” he told The Houston Chronicle. “Everything I thought I had, everything in front of me, just went down the drain. I didn’t want to stop chasing my dream, so I transferred, sat out the season and worked as hard as I could to start from scratch.

“It was just so hard. I’d get up in the morning, turn on ESPN, and there they (Bears) were, some of my best friends doing such great things. They did exactly what we believed we were capable of doing when I was there. Not being a part of it was just the hardest thing of all.”

So should the Browns be interested in Gordon?

The team did take a chance on Little last year after he was suspended from the team at North Carolina, so if the Browns believe Gordon has learned from his mistakes they may be willing to take a gamble on him. Adding someone as talented as Gordon would certainly help rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden’s transition to the NFL that much easier.

General manager Tom Heckert also drafted Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard despite some questions about their character and, so far, all three players have been fine.

Gordon is expected to go anywhere from the second round to the fourth round on Thursday. In the Supplemental Draft, teams submit bids based on the round of the pick they’re willing to surrender in next year’s draft.

There is speculation that a team from the NFC East is interested in Gordon with a third-round pick, with the Dallas Cowboys being the potential team. The Redskins are always a possibility, even after trading away No. 1 picks in 2013 and 2014 in the deal for quarterback RG3.

But the Browns are ahead of both the Cowboys and Redskins in the pecking order, so if they want Gordon and submit a bid in the same round as either team, Gordon will be wearing Orange and Brown.

So should the Browns be interested in Gordon?

We like the fact that Gordon has something to prove on the NFL level. And while we don’t want to make light of drug use, it was marijuana, which for some reason the NFL flips out over while it’s not as big of a deal in the NBA.

“They want to know what kind of character guy I am,” Gordon said. “They want to know if I can be trusted. They want to know if I’m going to be a guy that always has off-the-field issues. I want to make it clear I’m not going to be that guy. I know how much heartache it caused my family, how much strain it put on me and my family. I don’t plan to ever go back there again.

“The supplemental draft isn’t the way you want to go into the NFL when you’re growing up, but considering my circumstances, I’ve got to attack it with a full head of steam and do the best I can.”

So should the Browns be interested in Gordon?

The team needs all the help it can get at the wide receiver position. And if the Browns can get someone as talented as Gordon – and he plays up to that talent – then the team is that much closer to being able to compete in the AFC North, aka the NFL’s Group of Death.

If the Browns are convinced that Gordon’s problems at Baylor were just youthful mistakes and that they have the support structure in place to make sure he doesn’t mess up again, it’s easy to see the team taking a chance on him – especially if they can get him for a third-round pick.

The Browns haven’t selected a player in the Supplemental Draft since 1985 – when they selected Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar.

And we all know how well that worked out for the team.