Heading into 2025, the Browns' position group with the most uncertains is the receiver room. After trading away Amari Cooper midseason and losing Elijah Moore in free agency, Cleveland didn't draft any receivers and only made minor free agent signings (Diontae Johnson and DeAndre Carter).
Cleveland doesn't have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations this year, but they will need development from young receivers to get anywhere near where they want to go. Outside of Jerry Jeudy, third-year wideout Cedric Tillman is being penciled into a large role thanks to his solid showing in limited games last year. Bleacher Report's Moe Moton is among those high on Tillman, as he named the former Tennessee Volunteer as the team's most promising building block going into the new year.
Cedric Tillman named Browns' most promising buildling block
Moton brought up Tillman's three-game stretch post-Cooper as the biggest reason for optimism. He also talked about Tillman being locked into a starting role and believes his volume will lead to a nice overall jump.
"In Cleveland's first three games without Cooper, Tillman hauled in 21 of 32 targets for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Late in November, he suffered a concussion, and the team eventually placed him on injured reserve.Moe Moton
Despite Tillman's small sample size in an expanded role, the Browns have taken note of his intriguing upside. The Athletic's Zac Jackson wrote that the third-year receiver is "locked in as a starter."
As a top target in the Browns' aerial attack, Tillman could take a significant leap in production this year."
Over his first two NFL seasons, Tillman has played in 684 pass snaps and gone for 563 yards, which seems underwhelming on the surface. However, in his best three-game stretch prior to the concussion that cut his season short, he had 81, 99, and 75 yards with three touchdowns and saw at least nine targets in each of the contests. Most notably, he exploded for two touchdowns and the game-winner in the stunning Week 8 win over Baltimore.
Cleveland is likely to be a more run-heavy team this year, but successes in the run game could open up easier looks for Tillman and the rest of the receiving group. In that three-game stretch, Tillman showed what he's capable of as an outside, physical receiver which led to him being a third-round pick. Parlaying that into a full-season output would be massive for the Browns in 2025 and beyond.