3 Cleveland Browns players to watch in Preseason Week 1

Browns player to watch No. 1: Demetric Felton, RB/WR

Is Demetric Felton a running back or a wide receiver? That’s a great question that could go either way throughout training camp, depending on how things play out.

One domino that could fall is whether or not Kareem Hunt is still on the roster heading into Week 1 of the regular season. Hunt requested a trade as he is seeking a new deal, but at this time, the Browns won’t acquiesce to that request. That doesn’t mean that they will or won’t down the road, but it is something to watch in terms of where Felton fits on this roster.

The 2021 sixth-round pick out of UCLA was drafted as a running back but has been used as a wideout during training camp at times. If he remains a running back and Hunt stays on the roster, he will likely be the odd man out of the running back room as Nick Chubb, Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson, and rookie Jerome Ford are all ahead of him on the depth chart.

The 24-year-old has played in 16 professional games and showed flashes of his dynamic play, but not enough to move him up the depth chart. He rushed only seven times for just 24 yards but caught 18 of his 21 targets for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 32 punts for 227 yards, an average of 7.1 yards per return, and nine kickoff returns for 172 yards, an average of 19.1 yards per return.

The addition of wide receiver and return specialist Jakeem Grant throws another wrench into the question of where Felton fits on this roster. Grant will likely be used as a slot receiver; a place Felton could also occupy. Grant will handle the majority of the returns, making it that much harder for Felton to find his place.

Another thing to consider is how many wide receivers the Browns will carry into the season. If the number is seven, I like Felton’s chance’s a lot more, as Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, rookie David Bell, and Grant occupy the spots ahead of him. Add in undrafted free agent rookie Mike Harley Jr. and that amounts to six, should Harley Jr. make the roster.

Felton is an interesting training camp and preseason study for the coaches to evaluate and the fans to speculate on. It is hard to envision Berry giving up on one of his late-round project players so early, but this is the NFL where anything can happen.