Young Browns players worth watching as training camp returns home (2024)

After seven practices at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia to open training camp, the Cleveland Browns are back in Northeast Ohio and are slated for sessions at their Berea facility on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The Browns are not yet making a full turn from the installation and orientation stage into the full refinement and evaluation phase of camp, but on Saturday they’ll play their first preseason game.

After off days in camp, the coaches meet to re-assess the depth chart and number of reps available for young players. With some injury issues creeping up following the team’s introduction to full pads, some players are in line for more reps because they’ve earned them — and others will come just because everybody gets a turn.

Though Browns coach Kevin Stefanski hasn’t committed to any plan for the preseason when it comes to starters, the first game is always mostly for the team’s younger players. So these next three sessions ahead of Thursday’s tune-up practice and Saturday’s preseason opener are important. The Browns have only had one full-speed practice in full pads, so they’ll have at least one more coming soon.

“I think what happens a lot in practices and definitely when you get to the (preseason) games, I think you see guys make plays,” Stefanski said. “It’s a playmaking league, and I know throughout those three games there’s gonna be some guys that really flash. And sometimes that flash leads them to a spot on our roster, sometimes it leads to a spot on another roster. So those games are when really the entire team — excuse me, the entire NFL, the entire league — tunes in to see how everybody’s doing. But I’m really excited about a bunch of our young guys.”

Stefanski said he planned to “hash out a plan” with the coaching staff when divvying up preseason playing time. Based on what we saw at the Greenbrier and some injury issues, here are some players I’m anxious to see more of back in Berea — and players who could use the week ahead to make a real push toward earning a roster spot.

Kahlef Hailassie and Myles Harden, CBs

The early impressions have been strong. Both of these guys can play.

Cleveland claimed Hailassie late last August after playing against him in the preseason, and he played in nine games. At 6-foot-1, he’s an outside cornerback who’s been busy in man coverage during team drills. The Browns always had future development in mind when adding Hailassie, who was an undrafted rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs last summer, and it appears he’s positioning himself to make the team.

Harden is a seventh-round rookie who’s listed at 5-foot-11. He’s viewed as a slot cornerback option, and the team likes his aggressiveness and instincts. With Greg Newsome II (hamstring) sidelined indefinitely, second-year man Cameron Mitchell is the top slot cornerback for now. Harden hopes to keep himself in the battle to be next in line.

The Browns finding Mitchell in the fifth round last year and then adding Hailassie in late August proves two things: The folks in charge can recognize cornerback talent, and they know the importance of building depth there.

For Harden to make the 53-man roster, he might have to pass veteran cornerbacks (and proven special teams players) Justin Hardee Sr. and Tony Brown II for an immediate role, whether that’s backup slot corner or priority kick cover man. Though it’s too early to know what his path may be — and whether Newsome will be ready to start the season — Harden could use the next few weeks to make the Browns believe they don’t want to lose him on this year’s post-cut waiver wire. Harden did not carry himself like a rookie during his busy final few practices at the Greenbrier.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB

There are many reasons the Browns added two veteran quarterbacks in the offseason, and Thompson-Robinson finishing his rookie year injured was one of them. It’s fair to think Cleveland will keep either Thompson-Robinson or Tyler Huntley as its No. 3 quarterback behind Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston.

He’s still guaranteed nothing and will need to perform well in the preseason, but Thompson-Robinson impressed during the Greenbrier practices by throwing the ball with accuracy and confidence. And though opportunities were limited before Watson got a planned day off on Friday, Thompson-Robinson made at least one standout throw each day that featured competitive drills.

“I do think he’s (confident),” Stefanski said. “And that kind of goes back to Dorian last year. We’ve talked a lot about the growth he had in Year 1, and you expect similar growth in Year 2. And he’s really doing a nice job.”

Matt Landers and Michael Woods II, WRs

Woods played a little as a rookie in 2022 but missed last year due to a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in an offseason workout. It was obvious in the spring that Woods has the size and speed to potentially crack a rotation, and though he’s been a little up and down in camp, he’s consistently getting open and earning targets from all of Cleveland’s quarterbacks. He worked his way up to getting some reps with the starters and could be getting more after Elijah Moore left Friday’s practice to be evaluated for a concussion.

Jerry Jeudy has been working in individual drills and is expected to be in full-team drills this week. But Jeudy should mostly be in the slot, and both Woods and Landers are primarily outside receivers. Woods and Landers figure to get plenty of preseason game reps, too.

Landers has been the top deep-ball target of the offseason. Winston hit him for the first really big pass play of camp. On the final day at the Greenbrier, Thompson-Robinson hit Landers on a deep sideline route that the quarterback knew was good for six points as soon as he released it. Landers was a May addition who bounced around practice squads last year. He’s a long shot to make the active roster, but his long strides could bring him more notice over the coming days and weeks.

Matt Landers been making a statement! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/bOedBmtkYY

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 2, 2024

Mike Hall Jr., Siaki Ika and Jowon Briggs, DTs

The Browns have only had two sessions in full pads. During the Greenbrier practices, the one-on-one lineman drills generally took place away from the media viewing area. So there’s a basic part of just wanting to see more of these players, and then there’s a part that involves real opportunities.

The Browns’ best defensive tackle, Dalvin Tomlinson, won’t play in camp or the preseason as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery. Veteran Shelby Harris suffered an undisclosed injury at the Greenbrier and returned to Cleveland.

Presumably, they were always going to use the preseason to evaluate the progress of the younger defensive tackles. Hall is going to make the team as a second-round pick, but it would seem that neither Ika nor Briggs is guaranteed anything — and that these next 2-3 weeks are going to be big for their respective futures.

Hall is a pass rusher first. From a body type and base responsibility standpoint, Ika and Briggs are more like Tomlinson and could end up getting extra August reps because Tomlinson isn’t participating. Ika played sparingly as a rookie and then saw the team draft two defensive tackles and add veteran Quinton Jefferson.

The practice battles should be competitive because Cleveland has uncertainty when it comes to its backup interior offensive line spots, too, and it’s trending toward the three preseason games providing full opportunities for Hall, Ika and Briggs to impress the folks in charge.

Nathaniel Watson, LB; Aidan Robbins, RB

Camp is about opportunity. Established linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Tony Fields II sat out the last two Greenbrier practices, moving everybody else up at least one spot in the rotation. Nathaniel Watson is a sixth-round rookie whose most direct path to winning a job is on special teams, but more linebacker opportunities can’t hurt.

Robbins is an undrafted rookie power back. The Browns were already shorthanded at running back before D’Onta Foreman’s head injury, so even with an expected roster addition coming, Robbins is in line for more reps.

The team is almost certain to keep a young running back on the practice squad regardless of when Nick Chubb and Nyheim Hines come back from knee injuries. The next two weeks are big ones for Robbins if he wants to become the one who sticks.

(Photo of Dorian Thompson-Robinson: Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Zac Jackson is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Cleveland Browns. He is also the host of the "A to Z" podcast alongside Andre Knott. Previously, Zac covered the Browns for Fox Sports Ohio and worked for Pro Football Talk. Follow Zac on Twitter @AkronJackson