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BEREA — Braylon Edwards has become the face of the Browns. Tune into a national talk show, and if there's a Cleveland player featured, chances are the fourth-year receiver from the University of Michigan is the guy.

On an HBO special recently, Edwards even took part in a panel discussion on sports and the media. ESPN producers seem to have him on speed-dial. Hard to believe this is the same player who as recently as 2006 fussed with teammates on the sideline, questioned his role in the offense and generally made life difficult for those around him.

"I think he has made strides in his maturity, and that showed up last year," head coach Romeo Crennel said. "I think he concentrated on being the best football player that he could be."

If anyone can be said to have "starred" in a minicamp, Edwards was that player this week, turning defensive backs inside out and making the difficult look routine, much like last season when he made the Pro Bowl by catching 80 passes for 1,289 yards and an incredible 16 touchdowns. The yardage and TDs set single-season franchise records.

What can he do for an encore? Well, putting those skills on display in the playoffs would be something. The Browns are hungry for that after falling one win short last season.

"Whatever has to happen for us to be a successful team has to happen," Edwards said. "We have to put aside personal goals. I'm all about winning games and getting to the playoffs. We got good at a lot of things last year. Now the big thing is to turn those good things great, turn the OK things good and keep the bar high."

The Browns were eighth in the NFL in total offense, but Edwards sees room for improvement.

"We scored a lot of points, but we had a lot of bonehead plays, too," he said. "We were coming from behind, or we'd put up a lot of points early and fall back at the end. We need to start, maintain and finish games. That's the biggest thing we can do."

Gone are the days of teams taking the Browns lightly, and that makes Edwards smile.

"It never felt good knowing that no one took us seriously," he said. "This is the NFL and there's 'any given Sunday' and all, but let's be real. People took us as a homecoming game. So now, for people to be leery of what we can do, it makes us feel good."

And what about the change in him? Just a case of maturity?

"I was young and frustrated and things happened," Edwards said. "But now, I'm with the team, the team's with me and we're moving forward. I believe they can get me the ball. I believe they want me to get the ball, as opposed to before, when I didn't know what was going on."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or

smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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