With every NFL season, there’s always a position battle to watch during training camp of everyone’s favorite NFL teams.
This season with the Cleveland Browns is no exception as there is some starting spots up for grabs as they get ready to put the pads on out in Berea. While most of the spots are secured by returning players, several key positions are there for the taking as we inch closer to the 2025 season.
Left Tackle (Dawand Jones vs Cornelius Lucas)
The perception is that Dawand Jones is destined to take the left tackle position after Jedrick Wills left in free agency and that the third-year offensive lineman will just be handed that job.
In the words of the great Lee Corso: Not so fast my friend.
The Browns signed Lucas to a two-year deal during free agency after he spent five seasons with the Washington Commanders in which he started 38 games at both left and right tackle.
Jones has ended the last two seasons on injured reserve and there’s still concerns over not only his durability but his weight issues despite looking slimmer during OTAs and minicamp in the spring. The Browns are high on Jones and his long term abilities to be either of the offensive tackles but with Lucas behind him, he’ll have to put forth a strong training camp to protect whoever is at quarterback’s blind side.
Linebacker
This room is completely wide open with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out for the 2025 season as he continues to rehabilitate his neck injury, and with the sudden retirement of Jordan Hicks.
That leaves a room headlined by second-round pick Carson Schwesinger along with veterans Jerome Baker, Devin Bush, Mohamoud Diabate, and Winston Reid. Bush could face discipline from the NFL for his simple battery and harassment arrest during the offseason.
The pressure will be on Schwesinger, who the Browns selected 34th overall and is already wearing the green dot in the early portions of training camp, which means he’s the signal caller on the defensive side of the ball. Leaning on the veterans around him will help him transition to the NFL level but the talent is there for him to make an immediate impact in his rookie season.
WR2 (Cedric Tillman vs Diontae Johnson)
With Jerry Jeudy firmly secured as the team’s top wide receiver, all eyes go to who will be lining up opposite him on offense. Cedric Tillman showed some potential during a three game stretch in 2024 with 21 catches (32 targets) for 255 yards and three touchdowns in Weeks 7-9 before a concussion sidelined him the final six weeks of the season.
The Browns added Diontae Johnson to the receiver room during the offseason on a non-guaranteed contract and with good reason as he bounced around between three teams in 2024 and showed poor character in each stop along the way. His best football may be behind him but this also could be his last shot at an NFL roster spot if he isn’t a good solider for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns offense.
This will be an interesting battle to watch. It may be one no one is closely paying attention to but with a return to Kevin Stefanski’s offensive scheme, the second wide receiver’s role could be diminished in favor of focusing more on the tight ends in David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr.. However, in 2023, when Flacco took over, Elijah Moore had a solid run and was someone he targeted outside of Njoku and Amari Cooper. Tillman and Johnson will get a chance to showcase that they can be a reliable target for whomever the quarterback is.