Cleveland Browns: 3 Studs and duds from Preseason Week 1
By Randy Gurzi
Stud: Rashard Higgins, David Njoku, Antonio Callaway
So on the very first ‘stud’ selection, the rules have been broken. The fact is that when looking at the players who were out there catching passes, it was hard to settle on just one stud. Early on, Jarvis Landry made some plays, but the first drive was capped off with a nice touchdown from David Njoku who was on the receiving end of Tyrod Taylor‘s first paydirt pass in an orange helmet.
More from Dawg Pound Daily
- How the Browns could maximize Nick Chubb in 2023
- Can Deshaun Watson get to Patrick Mahomes level for Cleveland Browns?
- 3 Cleveland Browns who should see an expanded role in 2023 and 1 who should not
- Is Marcus Davenport on the Browns radar in 2023?
- 5 Free agents from Super Bowl LVII Cleveland Browns should target
On that one, he just ran a simple seam route but found himself free for an easy score. His second score was another first — the first in the career of rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. That one was in the middle of traffic as Njoku flashed his big-play potential
He wasn’t alone in making nice catches. Rashard Higgins continued his nice rapport with Mayfield, including coming down with a perfectly timed back-shoulder fade. Higgins finished with four receptions for 66 yards, which proved his training camp hype could carry over into games.
The final stud in this group was rookie Antonio Callaway. After a rough week where many — myself included — were highly critical of the player’s off-field concerns, Callaway balled out. He showed why the team took a roll of the dice on him as he shook off a couple early drops to haul in 87 yards and a touchdown off three catches.