Todd Monken’s first voluntary spring workout program as head coach of the Cleveland Browns included several unsolved positional mysteries. Two months later, most of those cases remain open.
The Shedeur Sanders-Deshaun Watson quarterback competition will extend into the start of training camp, which kicks off July 28. Cleveland’s overhauled offensive line still lacks a definitive right guard and center pairing. Other position battles, like No. 2 tight end, nickel corner, and punt returner, may not declare a winner until the Browns’ preseason slate arrives in August.
Come training camp, the terms “lock” and “bubble” are probably thrown around too loosely. But based on the seven open practices that Browns reporter Zac Jackson attended for The Athletic, he was comfortable enough to name five locks for Monken’s 2026 wide receiver group.
The first four have been pretty much set in stone. Veteran Jerry Jeudy will lead the group, along with 2026 draft picks KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. The fourth is Isaiah Bond, who was a late bloomer as an undrafted rookie last season and was widely considered one of the team’s most impressive skill-position players at OTAs and minicamp.
Cleveland’s fifth roster lock at wide receiver entering training camp, according to Jackson, isn’t former third-round draft pick Cedric Tillman. It’s veteran Tylan Wallace.
“Wallace, 27, has just 22 career receptions. But he caught a touchdown pass in each of the last two seasons, and he’s currently the only player on the Browns’ roster who’s previously played under Monken,” Jackson wrote. “Wallace will compete for one of Cleveland’s kickoff return jobs while likely backing up Concepcion on the punt return unit, and though he has extensive special teams experience, he played more wide receiver snaps than special teams snaps for Baltimore in 2024 and 2025.
While playing with Cleveland’s No. 2 offense, Wallace posted two big plays in the vertical passing game during the team’s June mandatory minicamp. So while his primary role might be as a backup and a tutor, he could also be in the wide receiver mix as the season progresses.”
Tylan Wallace could push Cedric Tillman, Malachi Corley, and more to the roster bubble this summer
While Wallace’s background with Monken is impossible to ignore, the free agent contract he signed with Cleveland this offseason felt more like a training camp invite than a guarantee to be on the initial 53-man roster. Wallace signed a one-year, $1.4 million deal, per Spotrac, and he received just $125,000 in guaranteed cash — less than some of the Browns’ undrafted rookie signings.
What may tether Wallace to the Browns’ roster is his experience, not only as a sixth-year vet, but as an extension of Monken in what will be an extremely young Browns wide receiver room this season.
Jackson notably used the word “tutor” in his take on Wallace. He also shared a quote from Browns receivers coach Christian Jones that helped hammer that point home further.
“Tylan has been great,” Jones said. “I’ve been leaning on him in the meetings and he’s been helping me. He’s just been doing a job of making plays — he knows what to do and does it full speed.”
Based on GM Andrew Berry’s tenure, the Browns will likely keep six wide receivers on their initial 53. Wallace’s grouping with Jeudy, Concepcion, Boston, and Bond could lead to an intense battle for one roster spot. Tillman, if he isn’t traded, has to be considered a frontrunner, with Malachi Corley, Jamari Thrash, Gage Larvadain, and Luke Floriea also firmly in the mix. Undrafted rookie Aaron Anderson also generated some buzz early in the spring and could pop once the pads come on this summer.
Call it one more unsolved mystery for the Browns entering what should be one of the team’s more intriguing training camps in recent memory.
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