Cleveland Browns breakout candidate for Preseason Week 3 vs Philadelphia

The Cleveland Browns are in the City of Brotherly Love for a preseason showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles and many guys on both rosters are still fighting for roster spots.

For the Browns, wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. is taking full advantage of his opportunities and could break out further from the rest of the pack in the backend of the Browns' WR room.

Watkins has been impressive in Cleveland's first two preseason games, catching eight passes on 10 targets for 106 yards and a touchdown. He has led the team in receiving yards in both games, with 71 coming against the Washington Commanders last Friday night.

Four of the six passes he caught went for first downs, which will be pivotal for Deshaun Watson in the regular season and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the preseason.

Watkins Jr., the cousin of Sammy Watkins, was one of the studs in the loss to the Commanders but is proving Andrew Berry right after signing him back in July.

So, is it possible for Watkins to make the roster? Absolutely. In fact, at the start of this week, DPD's own Randy Gurzi predicted him to claim one of those final wide receiver spots.

Watkins is benefitting from the unfortunate injury (blood clots) to Marquise Goodwin, who was signed earlier this offseason for his Olympic-level speed as well as other injuries to the WR room. Sadly, that is the nature that is the NFL beast, but luckily for Watkins, he is making the most of it.

The former UAB and CFL wideout might not make a difference once September 10 hits, but making the roster would be an incredible story.

He will get to continue to pick the brain of Amari Cooper, who as we all know, is a seasoned NFL veteran. He will compete alongside Donovan Peoples-Jones and Elijah Moore while battling aginst Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., and Greg Newsome II.

Another stellar game against the Eagles could all but assure him of making the 53-man roster at the end of the summer ahead of the Week 1 clash with the Cincinnati Bengals.