4 things to watch during the Cleveland Browns 2023 OTAs
By Randy Gurzi
1. New Cleveland Browns wide receivers
All eyes during Tuesday's session seemed to be on Elijah Moore. The former New York Jets second-round pick was acquired in a trade as the Browns dropped down from No. 42 in the NFL Draft to No. 74 in order to make the move.
Moore, who had 538 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie for the Jets, was forgotten about in 2022. He finished with 446 yards and one touchdown and after adding Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman, he was shipped to Cleveland.
Despite his lack of usage in New York, hopes are high with his new club. He brings a whole new element to the receiving corps, as he's a much shiftier and more explosive player than Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Naturally, everyone was excited to see him get to work with Deshaun Watson, even if it's only in shorts.
In addition to Moore, the Browns also signed Marquise Goodwin — a former Olympic star. The two bring a whole new speed element to the offense, which is what they hoped Anthony Schwartz would have provided. So far, that hasn't been the case, so it will be worth seeing how comfortable these two look in the offense.
Another addition to the receiving corps is Cedric Tillman, a third-round pick from Tennessee. Tillman wasn't someone most of us saw landing in Cleveland since they shy away from older wideouts in the draft typically, but Watson apparently pushed for receivers with size.
Tillman has that at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds and is already getting comfortable with his new signal-caller.
Things are suddenly crowded at receiver with Cooper, DPJ, Moore, Goodwin, Tillman, Schwartz, David Bell, Jakeem Grant, Demetric Felton, and Mike Harley, Jr. all vying for spots.
Cleveland will have some tough decisions to make when they trim the roster and each of these wideouts can start proving they belong as early as this week.