One young Browns player on offense and defense that need to step up

We are under a week away from the Cleveland Browns training camp opening, which means we are nearing the beginning of the 2024 NFL season. The offseason will begin to speed up as the temperatures rise, which means young players will get an opportunity to earn a roster spot.

The Browns, like most teams around the league, have a ton of veterans on the team, mixed with young players either looking to retain a roster spot, or go take one. That is just the nature of the beast when you have to trim rosters down from 90 to 53 over the course of six weeks.

This is a good problem for the Browns, or any team for that matter, to have. There are high expectations for this team this year and it all starts in camp. On both sides of the ball, there is a young player that will need to step up , or they could wind up looking for new threads to don.

Defense: Siaki Ika, Defensive Tackle

It doesn't quite seem fair to put a player who was drafted last year into a discussion of this nature, but that is the case for defensive tackle Siaki Ika. Andrew Berry drafted Ika in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to help clog the middle of the defensive line and stop the run.

Ika certainly fits the bill to do that, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing a whopping 335 pounds. In 2023, he saw the field in four games and was not all that impressive. Berry has done a good job of addressing positional weaknesses and this offseason was no different when he continued to bolster the defensive line.

The Browns re-signed Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst, signed Quinton Jefferson, and drafted a pair of rookies in Michael Hall Jr. (third round) and Jowon Briggs (seventh round). This puts Ika on the roster bubble ahead of camp.

If Ika can step up during camp, he could be safe for at least one more season, but as of right now, it does not look good for the second-year player.

Offense: David Bell, Wide Receiver

Entering the offseason, it was almost a lock that David Bell would be on the Browns' 53-man roster come September, but now, that might not be the case. Berry yet again pulled off a wheel-and-deal maneuver that sent a 2024 fifth and sixth-round pick to Denver in exchange for wideout Jerry Jeudy.

This trade caught some off-guard, but it is one that on paper looks like a home run of a deal. The Browns gave Jeudy a three-year, $58 million extension, which makes Bell a candidate for the chopping block.

Bell was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, with the hope being that he could fill the void left by Jarvis Landry. Bell had a similar skillset, but was younger and quicker than Landry was at the end of his tenure in The Land.

Cole McDaniel of Sports Illustrated thinks the Browns need to utilize Bell more in 2024, but it is not a foregone conclusion that he will make the team. Along with Jeudy, Deshaun Watson will have Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, and Cedric Tillman to throw to, along with rookie Jamari Thrash. Bell could be the odd man out in that room, so he will need to step up and retain his roster spot.

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