3 standouts (and 2 duds) in Browns preseason finale against Chiefs

The 2023 preseason is finally coming to an end and the Cleveland Browns wrapped things up with a showdown in Kansas City against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Cleveland started out with a huge 22-3 lead but when the starters went to the bench, the reserves had a hard time holding off the home team. Before long, they were trailing 30-29 but took the lead back when Cade York hit a 40-yarder in the fourth.

That wasn't enough though as the Chiefs were victorious 33-32 thanks to a Harrison Butker kick from 44 yards. York had a chance to steal the win back but whiffed from 43 yards out — although the kick might have been deflected.

With that recap out of the way, here's a look at three players who were standouts as well as two who were duds in the final game of the preseason.

Browns stud: Cedric Tillman, WR

Cedric Tillman was the Browns top pick this offseason and he put together a great camp and preseason ahead of his rookie campaign. He was responsible for three first downs in his debut against the Jets and continued to step up every time he was targeted since then.

Against the Chiefs, Tillman was targeted three times but only had one pass that was catchable — and he hauled that one in despite being in tight traffic. This reception was for a 23-yard gain and was on third-and-13.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Tillman gives his quarterback a big-bodied target and had some great moments at Tennessee. Following a season where he battled an ankle injury, he fell to pick No. 74 and could end up developing into a starter for Cleveland.

In the short term, he's likely going to be the fourth wide receiver for the Browns but it's going to be hard to keep him off the field even with the talent they have ahead of him.

Browns dud: Jordan Wilkins, RB

This was not the game Jordan Wilkins was hoping for. The former fifth-round pick from Ole Miss spent the past five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts — with a one-game appearance with the Tennessee Titans last year. He has 208 rushing attempts for 1,009 yards and four touchdowns but was looking for a job late in camp this season.

He eventually signed with the Browns but had hardly even played with the team before Saturday. But in the finale, he was given a great opportunity to prove he should be on the 53-man roster.

Wilkins was on the field with the starting offense and even got the first touch of the game. Lined up in the backfield next to Deshaun Watson, Wilkins took a direct snap and ran it for five yards. But from there, things went in the wrong direction.

Just two plays after his five-yard gain, Wilkins and Watson bobbled a hand-off exchange and saw the ball hit the turf. Kansas City was able to recover it, ending a promising drive. A couple of drives later, there was another fumble, but the Browns were able to recover it.

Watson was credited with the two fumbles but his reaction to the second makes it seem as though he was blaming Wilkins. It also didn't happen with any other back, which is telling.

Wilkins never got another attempt — but he did have a two-point conversion in between the two fumbles. But that wasn't enough to make up for the two mishandles.

Browns stud: Amari Cooper, WR

The starters were out there for a huge portion of the first half and that included Amari Cooper. The veteran wideout hardly ever plays in the preseason but head coach Kevin Stefanski got him a few reps, which should help him prepare for their Week 1 showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals in two weeks.

Just like Cedric Tillman, Cooper didn't get a lot of targets but he made the most of them. Three passes were thrown toward Cooper and while two of them were out of his reach, there was a perfect pass that landed right in his arms for a 53-yard gain.

While this went down as his only reception, it wasn't the only time he impacted the game. During their second touchdown drive of the day, Watson was under pressure and wanted to go deep for Cooper.

The wide receiver was open for a brief second, as he got past two defensive backs, but Watson couldn't get the pass off due to pressure in his face. By the time he was free, he couldn't get it to Cooper since the defenders had caught up. Watson was sacked and it looked to be a two-yard loss.

That wasn't the case, however, as there was a flag thrown for holding. When Cooper got past Chamarri Conner, the Chiefs defensive back grabbed his jersey, which is how he was able to keep him from running free toward the end zone.

Browns dud: Kellen Mond, QB

The Browns have been so thrilled with rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson that they decided to trade Josh Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals ahead of their game with Kansas City. Dobbs has a chance to play with the Cards this season but for Cleveland, this was all about how much faith they have in DTR.

Having said that, if they end up relying on a third quarterback, they might not have as much confidence.

Kellen Mond, who was added on waivers in 2022, entered the game with a 29-23 lead, and on just his second pass attempt, he helped the Chiefs take the lead.

Mond dropped back to pass on third-and-11 and tried to hit Jalen Wayne downfield but was picked off by Dicaprio Bootle. While it's never fun seeing the Browns throw a pick, it was actually pretty entertaining to see the reaction from Patrick Mahomes, who was being interviewed during the play.

Mond settled down after this and overall, played well in the preseason. There were some issues, including the aforementioned pick, but this front office liked him enough to keep him around throughout the 2022 season. They even elected to keep him once they traded Dobbs, even though it had appeared he was on the way out at first.

He's likely to stick around as the QB3 but this wasn't his best performance.

Browns stud: Juan Thornhill, S

One of the biggest moves the Browns made this offseason was signing former Kansas City safety Juan Thornhill.

A second-round pick out of Virginia, Thornhill had 234 tackles with 20 pass defenses, eight interceptions, and a defensive touchdown in his first four seasons in the NFL.

His ability to play deep coverage was what made him an ideal fit with Cleveland, especially after the issues they had in 2022 with covering the long ball. He's also been a vocal leader, speaking up recently about how the Browns can grow from their final preseason games which happened to be against the Eagles and Chiefs.

On Saturday, he backed that up with his play.

Thornhill was out there with the starters and had three tackles as well as a pick-six. On the Chiefs' second drive of the game, Thornhill stepped in front of a Steve Buechele pass intended for Justyn Ross and took it to the house for a 25-yard touchdown.

From there, the defense continued to control the game. Fellow safety Rodney McLeod also had a pick on the very next drive — catching a pass that bounced in the air when Martin Emerson lit up Cornell Powell. There was even another pick-six, this time from rookie Caleb Biggers who took a Blaine Gabbert pass in from 27 yards out.