Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns are looking to be serious contenders during the 2024 NFL season. While a lot of that will ride on what Watson is able to do himself, the group around him will also play a pivotal role.
The Browns were very aggressive this offseason, with one of the bigger moves being a trade with the Denver Broncos to acquire wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. With Amari Cooper already on the roster, the one-two punch of Cooper and Jeudy should be a lethal combination.
Behind Cooper and Jeudy, Cleveland is loaded with talent at the wide receiver position.
Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman are the two wideouts on the depth chart behind the top two options. Both players are young and ready to have breakout seasons in 2024.
Tillman, especially, has caught the eye of Watson. The starting quarterback spoke out about Tillman in a recent press conference.
“He’s been working, he’s been working really hard, and you can see it. He’s been improving, he’s knowing what he’s got to do on each and every rep, he can play different positions, he can run all the routes, he can catch the big boy balls if you toss it up to him. And he can catch the tough ones and the easy ones.”
Even though Tillman played a small role in 2023, Watson is expecting a big leap from his second-year wideout.
“So I think he’s going to be a great addition for this offense and he’s going to help us out.”
Speaking of the 2023 season, the 24-year-old wide receiver played in 14 games. He didn't have a large role, but he made the most of the opportunities he was given.
When everything was said and done, Tillman caught 21 passes for 224 yards in his rookie year.
If the Browns truly want to make some noise in the AFC, the offense will need to be top-notch. The defense will be fine, but the offense has been the concern for a couple of years now.
Assuming Watson is able to stay healthy and can get back anywhere close to where he was before being traded to Cleveland, the offense has elite potential. They have the quarterback, assuming Watson does make that step, and they have elite playmakers around him.
While Tillman may not have seen the field a ton last season, that seems likely to change in 2024. The young wide receiver is turning heads early on this year and hopefully he'll be able to do the same when the regular season arrives.
