A surprise update on RB Nick Chubb, and some depth chart news for the first-team defense.
Day 2 of Cleveland Browns training camp featured a surprise update on RB Nick Chubb, some more throwing from QB Deshaun Watson, and a brief look at the first-team defense.
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report – Day 2 (7/26/24)
1. Nick Chubb Opens More Eyes: With the devastating injury that RB Nick Chubb suffered last year, I didn’t think we’d hear about him doing this much by the second day of camp. We knew he had been doing some straight-line running, but he continued doing that today after practice, and was also seen doing some agility drills. The media was not allowed to film it, but they were in awe of it:
Just watched #Browns Nick Chubb running full sprints after practice, and cutting with tremendous agility. It was remarkable. We weren’t allowed to film it. Jimmy Haslam watched the whole thing, and looked very pleased.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) July 26, 2024
2. Ramping Up Soon: Two key players on the Browns are DE Myles Garrett and TE David Njoku, who recently ranked No. 1 and No. 7 in our DBN roster rankings. They have begun camp working out on the sidelines, but head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated that they are just ramping those two guys up and they will be available soon.
#Browns Myles Garrett and David Njoku still on the side to start practice, but Kevin Stefanski said they’ll be back soon pic.twitter.com/jOnP6x4Hlu
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) July 26, 2024
3. Drill of the Day: For the second day in a row, we look at a wide receiver positional drill. In this one, it appears the receivers are working on quick footwork:
#Browns WRs drilling footwork. Day 2 pic.twitter.com/ins2ytV8i1
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) July 26, 2024
4. Defense Gets Involved: We got our first look at 11-on-11 drills today, and that also means a look at who lines up with the first-team defense. According to Zac Jackson, with Dalvin Tomlinson having his knee scoped, veterans Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris were first up at defensive tackle. At linebacker, the three guys on the field were Jordan Hicks, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Tony Brown.
Hurst and Harris up first at defensive tackle. Hicks, JOK and Fields at linebacker, then Tony Brown in for Fields and first up at slot corner.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) July 26, 2024
5. First-Team Offense: Our Jared Mueller wrote a separate article earlier about the first-team offense, highlighting a basic completion between QB Deshaun Watson and WR Amari Cooper he also broke down the personnel in the formation, so check it out.
6. New Kickoff Return Rules: As we discussed earlier this offseason, there are radical kickoff changes in 2024, which you can read about here. Cleveland was working on the new kickoffs today. With injuries sidelining some returners, the players seeing return reps included RB Pierre Strong, RB D’Onta Foreman, WR James Proche, and WR Jaelon Darden, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com also noted that WR Ahmarean Brown and WR Jamari Thrash saw some reps there.
#Browns working on new kickoff rule return pic.twitter.com/NwMwLnbmW5
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) July 26, 2024
7. The Right Mentality: I try to evaluate QB Deshaun Watson with respect to how he’ll perform on the field, but I often note how it may sound “silly” that the distractions and criticisms from the past few years has impacted his play. I predicted that things may have calmed down finally heading into year three, and when asked after practice how is approach is different this year, he was blunt about it:
Watson asked how his approach is different this year.
“Really it’s just blocking out all the bullshit.”
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) July 26, 2024
8. The Quickness of JOK: I’ll let the video speak for itself…
so quick he’s through the drill before you can say Jeremiah Owusu-Kora…@j_owuu | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/b5x6Q3HHmD
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 26, 2024
9. Brownies: After practice, DE Myles Garrett talked about how the AFC is a slaughterhouse full of good teams. … RB Jerome Ford missed practice for the second straight day due to personal reasons, and it sounds like the reason is that he’s going to be a dad. … DT Quinton Jefferson was also in the rotation at defensive tackle. … RB Nyheim Hines was also working on the same field as Chubb after practice as he rehabs too. … UDFA rookie DB Chris Edmonds had the first interception of camp, snagging a deflected pass thrown by QB Tyler Huntley.
10. Next Up: The Browns’ next practice is Saturday, July 27. Stefanski will speak at 10:30 AM, and practice will start at 11:00 AM.