Since the Cleveland Browns made the interesting move to select two quarterbacks in the 2025 Draft, everyone has been talking about the team’s quarterback room. The unit currently consists of Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. To make things even more interesting, the starting job is wide open. That means it will be a quarterback competition this summer in Cleveland.
Unfortunately, there will be one thing working against all of the Browns’ quarterbacks: the team’s lack of established receivers. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz highlighted that in a recent piece, naming each team’s biggest post-draft roster hole. For Cleveland, the answer was easily wide receiver.
Wide receiver is still a major concern for the Browns
Schatz praised Jerry Jeudy’s ability as a No. 1 receiver, but detailed how steep the drop-off is after him, and how problematic the unit is, even after the team recently added Diontae Johnson.
"Jerry Jeudy is great and just fine as a No. 1 receiver. It's everything behind him that's the issue. The No. 2 receiver is Cedric Tillman, who had only 339 receiving yards in 11 games last season. The No. 3 option is veteran Diontae Johnson, who had a strange 2024 in which he played for three teams.Aaron Schatz (ESPN)
After that comes either veteran Michael Woods II, who had only seven receptions for 65 yards last season, or Jamari Thrash, who had three receptions for 22 yards as a rookie. Behind them are return man DeAndre Carter, fourth-year player David Bell and not much else."
The lack of receiver depth will be a challenge for all of the quarterbacks in training camp and for whoever earns the starting job. While QBs usually get all of the praise or blame, they need a competent supporting cast to get the job done, and it doesn’t seem like Cleveland has that at the wide receiver spot.
What the Browns do have, though, is a good, offensive-minded coach who's making it clear what he wants the team’s offensive identity to be. Cleveland drafted two running backs and a tight end because they’ll likely be a physical team that’s built around the run game. Receiver likely wasn’t an emphasis because Kevin Stefanski is planning to run a lot of 12 personnel.
That means the quarterbacks need to get comfortable handing the ball off and finding their tight ends after a play action. It may be a less common approach, as most teams are stacking their wide receiver rooms, but it’s still a way to win football games.