Heading into the offseason, receiver was considered a clear need for the Browns, with Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman as the only prior contributors on the roster. Cleveland didn't use any of their seven picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on a receiver, and instead signed Diontae Johnson following the departure of Elijah Moore. With the lack of big additions, there's plenty of opportunity for lesser-known names to step in and earn a role in a room without certain depth.
PFF's Ben Cooper named one undrafted free agent to watch for every team. For the Browns, Cooper brought up former Miami of Ohio and South Carolina receiver Gage Larvadian as the undrafted signing to watch.
Gage Larvadian named as UDFA to watch for Browns
Cooper wrote the following short passage explaining why he's keeping an eye on Larvadian for Cleveland:
"Cleveland’s wide receiver corps is in shaky shape on paper. There is a clear path to snaps for any rookie or unproven player, with Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman and Diontae Johnson headlining the unit."
"Larvadain flashed at three schools in his college career — Southeastern Louisiana, Miami (OH) and, most recently, South Carolina. His 2024 campaign with the Gamecocks yielded only a 58.6 PFF receiving grade and 223 receiving yards, but in his previous three seasons, he combined for 135 catches, 1,904 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns while improving his PFF receiving grade each year, topping out at 79.6 in 2023."
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Larvadian stands at five-foot-nine, 180 pounds, which is certainly on the smaller side when it comes to NFL receivers. In his final collegiate season with the Gamecocks, he aligned out wide for 300 snaps compared to his 151 snaps in the slot. Larvadian had steady hands over his final two years as he dropped just three total passes. His RAS testing was nothing to marvel at because of his size, as he graded at 5.92 out of 10 but showed promising speeds with scores in the 8.5 to 9 range.
A former no-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class out of Reserve, Louisiana, Larvadian had anything but a normal path to the NFL. He enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana and was a two-star athlete in his first year, playing 11 basketball games and 13 football games. Larvadian went away from football for his sophomore year and transferred to Miami of Ohio after putting up 731 yards in 2022. Following a solid season at Miami, Larvadian used his final year of eligibility at South Carolina.
With the current depth filled by Jamari Thrash, Michael Woods II, David Bell, and DeAndre Carter, there will be chances for undrafted free agents to earn a spot somewhere. Larvadian will look to impress the coaching staff with his speed this summer in hopes of getting a spot on the 53-man roster or practice squad.