Studs and duds from Browns loss to Green Bay in Preseason Week 1

On Saturday the Browns hosted Green Bay in the first week of the preseason losing 23-10. Even though the final score means nothing, there is still plenty to take away from this game. Below are the studs and duds from this matchup

Stud- Safety Brady Breeze

These NFL preseason games are filled with lesser-known players trying to make a name for themselves in this league. On the very first drive of the game, second-year player Ronnie Hickman pulled up with what appeared to be a leg injury. Breeze was the next man up and he played well in both coverage and against the run. He recorded 11 tackles, one sack, and didn't allow a single reception.

With Hickman out and fellow safety D'Anthony Bell still injured, Breeze has a legit chance to make a case to be on the final 53-man roster. Good News for him, the Browns will likely keep five safeties as they did last year. Both Hickman and Bell have no timetable for when they will return so Breeze will get more reps in practice and the game. The opportunity to be on the 53-man roster for now is his for the taking.

Dud- The Browns Offensive line

Understandably, the offense will not play to its highest potential without its starters out on the field, but there's no chance Browns offensive line coach Andy Dickerson was satisfied with his group's performance on Saturday. Cleveland finished with 56 total rushing yards (2.7 yards per carry) and allowed 3 sacks. There were also plenty of starters and contributors out on the field too: Center Ethan Pocic, guard Wyatt Teller, tackle Dawand Jones, and even third-round draft pick Zak Zinter.

Yes they are running a simple playbook, yes mistakes were made at skill positions, but since Kevin Stefanski took over, the Browns have been known for running the ball and protecting the QB well on a consistent basis. The team is definitely looking for an improvement with this group over the next two preseason games.

Stud- Kicker Cade York

Cade York might be the best example of how quickly someone's career in the NFL can change. After being drafted to Cleveland in 2022 he hit a 58-yard game-winning field goal to give the Browns their first season-opening win in 18 years. Weeks after that game, he started to struggle and ended up losing the kicking job to Dustin Hopkins the following year in camp.

That wasn't the end of the road for the young kicker as the Browns signed York back to the team in March as a backup. Well, York took full advantage on Saturday making both of his attempts, a pat and a 55-yard field goal. After seeing Hopkins go down with a hamstring injury last season, it was smart for Cleveland to have a backup kicker in-house they are familiar with.

In a league that sees injuries across all positions, you have to be prepared. If York continues to put these kicks through the uprights, he will be given an opportunity whether it's in Cleveland or somewhere else.

Dud: Cedric Tillman

When a player is still in their second year, it's hard to be critical as they're still going to experience growing pains, but the Browns need to see more of Cedric Tillman. He only caught one of his two targets for three yards, the other target bounced off his hands which would have been a catch of more than 20 yards downfield. To make matters worse later in the game he committed an offensive pass interference penalty which negated a 25-yard completion.

In the WR room behind the three starters: Amari Cooper, Jerry Juedy, and Elijah Moore, the opportunity for targets and playing time is up for grabs. David Bell has now been ruled out for a few weeks due to a quad injury, making things even more open.

Rookie Jamari Thrash played well and third-year man Michael Woods had a big catch in traffic and has started to turn some heads in camp this year. General manager Andrew Berry does have patience with his draft picks, but it's going to be hard to justify Tillman's snap count when others around him are producing more with fewer penalties.

Stud: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

This is the second preseason in a row we're talking about 2023 draft pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He first surprised many fans by even being medically cleared after dislocating his hip vs the Texans in December of last year.

Not only is he 100% healthy, he showed he's ready to compete again. He completed 14 of his 18 passes for 134 yards and posted a 97.7 passer rating. Thompson-Robinson was the only Quarterback out of the three that played to lead a touchdown drive vs Green Bay.

Coming into training camp it was unknown if DTR would even make the team, considering Cleveland signed Snoop Huntley, making it now four QBs in the position room. It's very unlikely they will keep all four on the final 53-man roster so it will be interesting to see if Thompson-Robinson can beat out Huntley for the last spot. It's very clear though he's going to make this competition interesting and won't go down without a fight.

More Browns coverage