The Browns kick off their 2024 preseason against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, set for 4:25 pm in Cleveland. Whilst most of the starters are not going to see playing time, it will give us an extensive look at some of the position battles that are currently happening in camp along with the depth players.
Winning doesn’t matter in the preseason, but player development does.
Here are some players and position groups that we should look out for Saturday.
QB Jameis Winston
Winston, a previous #1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and the titleholder of the 30 for 30 club will make his Browns debut in this Week One preseason game. I for one, am most excited to see him play after being a backup in New Orleans the last four years. This year he comes to Cleveland and could potentially play a vital role in the offense this year. Watson is still tending to his shoulder injury but expects to be fully ready Week One. It’ll be crucial to give Winston live game reps with the receivers to further develop chemistry, in case anything happens to Watson. Winston can whip the ball, has shown he can be accurate and is not afraid to take shots downfield, however, that’s what led him to his turnover troubles early in his career.
DT Michael Hall Jr.
The Browns didn’t brandish a 1st round pick this year but looks like they found a good rotational player in Michael Hall out of THE Ohio State University. He has looked good in camp and has drawn comparison to Aaron Donald from veteran Za’Darius Smith, who is also a new addition to the Browns line this season. While only accumulating two sacks last year in college, he was second in pass rush win rate % among DTs.
- The WR group positions 4-6
We understand who the top-three receivers will be on the depth chart this season, however, the most intriguing battle of the preseason will be to see who shines and solidifies the back end of this WR rotation.
Rookie WR Jamari Thrash was selected in the 5th round of this year’s draft and has made a connection with Jameis Winston in camp thus far. He has been turning heads in camp and around the league, but the real test will be in-game on Saturday. Thrash had a 1,000-yard receiving season his last year at Georgia State before transferring to Louisville. He didn’t reach 1,000 yds his senior season, however, Louisville was a very successful running team racking up over 2,000 rushing yards so safe to say that throwing wasn’t their priority. He ran a 4.47 40-time in the combine, so he has some speed to him.
Cedric Tillman, now a second-year pro, looks to claim that 4th WR spot. The former Tennessee Volunteer had a very successful 2021 college campaign before being drafted in the 3rd round of last year’s draft. Tillman didn’t start the season off with any targets and slowly got incorporated into the offense but never really came on. I look for him to taking a big step forward this year.
It’s clear that the Browns are searching for a playmaker as they have drafted a WR in each of the last five drafts and in the 3rd round of 2022, David Bell was drafted. There were expectations immediately placed on his shoulders, but the excitement seemed to have fallen after back-to-back disappointing seasons. Bell had a very productive career at Purdue and in just three seasons he managed to become the 5th all-time leading receiver in yards, 4th all-time in receptions and tied 5th all-time in receiving touchdowns in Program History. I look for Bell to continue to fight for playing time and show why he was selected in the 3rd round.
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