Why the Browns picking Cedric Tillman was a mistake

Cedric Tillman fills a need for the Cleveland Browns and is a very talented wide receiver. That much cannot be debated.

Sure, we can say wideout isn't their primary need, but we have seen over the past two seasons how important it is to build depth at the position — who can forget the loss to the New York Jets in 2020 when nearly every wideout was forced to miss the game. That means it's a need, and they were always going to take a receiver in this draft.

Tillman's skill cannot be argued, however. He went off in 2021 with 64 receptions for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's also a huge target at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds.

Why the Cleveland Browns shouldn't have taken Cedric Tillman

Cleveland needed wideouts due to depth concerns in recent years and it's hard to feel as though Tillman will fix that issue. Instead, he might very well add to it.

As good as he was in 2021, Tillman managed to play in 12 games that season. In his other four seasons, he managed to play in 12 games total. He was there for one in 2018, three in 2019, two in 2020, and six in 2022.

Cleveland has made a history of ignoring such concerns and have seen their weekly injury report double their opponents on the regular.

Perhaps Tillman turns the corner and plays every game. Perhaps the injury concerns are behind him. If so, he will be a steal and I will gladly print an apology. But with their history of injuries, this felt like an unnecessary risk — especially considering there were other talented players even with the Giants snatching Jalin Hyatt one pick prior.