Looking ahead, the Cleveland Browns hope that the future looks much better than the present. The Browns have a number of young players who should get more snaps as the 2024 season winds down with nothing to play for. We’ve seen a couple of very good games from WR Cedric Tillman and two young defenders starting to break out.
How Dawand Jones looks at left tackle could really help change what Cleveland’s future decisions look like.
Tillman is an especially interesting story. In the 2023 NFL draft, Jaylin Hyatt was the more highly touted prospect coming out of the University of Tennessee. Hyatt had big play ability and electric speed that many were raving about.
For many, but not everyone, Tillman was more of an afterthought.
Hall of Fame WR Randy Moss was one of those who saw what Tillman could become:
While the transition to the pros has gotten easier for receivers in the last five to ten years, it can still be difficult. For Tillman, Cleveland’s rotating door at quarterback and a desire to compete instead of developing younger players were also impediments to his development.
Once Amari Cooper was traded away, Tillman had a chance to grow and could prove Moss’ prediction correct. Interestingly, the athletic comparison between Moss and Tillman goes the Browns receiver’s way:
To be clear, Moss did not participate in the NFL Combine but data was gathered from a number of sources dating back to his Pro Day in 1998.
Obviously, Moss is faster and quicker than Tillman but the explosive capabilities of the second-year Cleveland receiver are notable.
It is highly unlikely that Tillman ever comes anywhere close to the career that Moss had. It could also be difficult for the Browns youngster to have the “best” receiver title from the 2023 NFL draft class that included Zay Flower, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Josh Downs, Rashee Rice, Jayden Reed and Jordan Addison.
Last year’s class also had Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, good to very good pass catchers at tight end and running back.
