Tuesday was an off day for the Browns players after five straight days of practices in the heat in Berea. The team gets back to the field on Wednesday and has a handful of practices in the next week, including the return of the Orange and Brown scrimmage at FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday night.
Here are eight things I’ll be watching during the second week of camp, which leads up to the team’s preseason opener on Thursday, Aug. 8th against the Washington Redskins. I’ll personally be at that game and three of the upcoming practice sessions to check on these, and other, Browns developments.
Sione Takitaki’s progress
The rookie LB has been the most physical presence of all the off-ball players on the defense, and it’s a dimension the Browns can use. I hope to see him in more coverage situations to test just how much defensive coordinator Steve Wilks can trust him to stay on the field in more situations. If he keeps it up, Takitaki will surely be the No. 3 LB and could push Christian Kirksey for reps next to Joe Schobert.
Who is the return man?
In Monday’s practice, Dontrell Hilliard was the first man up to get punt and kick return reps. The reserve running back looked the part, too. But he’s got challengers galore.
Antonio Callaway has more dynamic speed than Hilliard and he has flashed ability in camp, notably on punt returns. Undrafted rookie Damon Sheehy was a whiz at returns in college, but that was at the JUCO level. Reserve WR Blake Jackson has taken some reps as well and has a profile that befits a chance to be the next Josh Cribbs.
This battle will likely not get sorted out for some time, but players can remove themselves from the conversation with poor performances.
The safety dance
Back when he was signed as a free agent with some fanfare, Morgan Burnett was widely projected to be the starting strong safety. But in the first week of camp, it’s been another ex-Packer, Jermaine Whitehead, getting the bulk of the first-team reps playing next to Damarious Randall.
Burnett isn’t being left out, however. The Browns have frequently run three safeties as a base set, with Burnett as the third safety and Whitehead playing the old Briean Boddy-Calhoun role of nickel back.
Fourth-round rookie Sheldrick Redwine has also had some positive reps in practices, and he could interject himself into a role in the defense if he continues to develop his tackling and ball skills.
Battle for No. 3 TE
David Njoku is the clear starter. Demetrius Harris appears to be an upgrade as a receiver over Darren Fells as the tall blocking TE, and the veteran will be the No. 2. After that duo — which can play together in formations — there is a battle between Seth DeValve, Orson Charles and Pharaoh Brown for the table scraps of reps that will go to the No. 3 (and perhaps No. 4 if the team keeps four) TE.
Brown has looked impressive as a receiver and he’s got a massive catch radius. Charles is the best blocker and offers the ability to play some H-back or fullback. DeValve is somewhere between his teammates as both a blocker and a receiver and is the best athlete of the bunch.
Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard
The starting offensive tackles are imperative to the success of the offense. Both Robinson and Hubbard have played pretty well in the first five sessions, though there are enough losses in reps to keep the worry level raised.
At left tackle, Robinson winds up seeing a great deal of Myles Garrett in reps. That’s a stiff challenge for everyone, and Robinson has some clear wins. Monday’s practice saw Garrett largely dominate, and both first-string tackles really struggled when the defense introduced delayed rushes and second-level gimmick rushes and stunts. Watch them carefully in the Orange and Brown scrimmage, where the pressure of playing in front of a stadium full of fans ups the pressure to perform.
Can Genard Avery return?
The second-year linebacker has missed the last two practices after injuring his ankle. The team has given no indication of the severity or any timeline for his return.
Avery was in position to carve out a bigger role as a base OLB who can also slide up to rush end when the Browns go to their version of the NASCAR package. He’s really the only LB on the roster with the pass-rush chops to make that work. The Browns were also grooming him to get more off-ball LB work, something he struggled with as a rookie.
Which unheralded players step up?
There will be at least one player who makes a great play that leaves the fans in Berea asking one another, “who is that guy?” It’s one of the joys of covering training camp, seeing an undrafted rookie or a street free agent do something that makes you think, maybe there’s more here than expected.
My leading candidates for these Browns: CB Tavierre Thomas and DT Daniel Ekuale. Thomas has not looked in over his head when given second-team reps in coverage, and he’s handily the team’s best special teams player from last year. Ekuale gets a lot of buzz from the coaching staff and has shown some ability to play the run well on his way to the QB.
The Austin Corbett saga
Even with the right guard position up for grabs, Corbett still gets almost no reps with the starters. Kyle Kalis is clearly ahead of Corbett, and Eric Kush might be too at guard.
I was a big proponent for Corbett in the draft process in 2018, and I still believe in the youngster from Nevada. But he’s got to show something soon. He certainly did not in Monday’s practice, when he was routinely bested as the second-team center by the backups on the defensive line.
