3 Backup Tight End Options Browns Could Pursue Prior To 2024 Season

If the Browns look to add some depth to their tight end room here are some names that could fit

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Irv Smith Jr. (81) catches a touchdown pass in the first quarter during a Week 9 NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cleveland Browns enter the 2024 season with one of the deepest rosters in football. That doesn't mean there aren't a few areas that could use some upgrades though.

Tight end is one of the positions that still seems to be lacking some depth behind top target David Njoku, who has proven to be top 10 at the position over the last few years. Jordan Akins has some familiarity with QB Deshaun Watson but had the least productive season of his career at the age of 31 in 2023. Behind him, free agent addition Giovanni Ricci comes in as a hybrid player with limited experience as a tight end.

The month ahead will reveal a lot about the Browns depth at tight end. Should they decide to pursue some addition depth at the position, here are some names they could consider.

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1) Mo Alie-Cox

With young tight end Jelani Woods sitting atop a crowded Colts tight end depth chart along with Kylen Granson, Alie-Cox isn't really in line for much playing time in 2024 at the moment. Cleveland could be a perfect fit for him to find a more advantageous role as the potential top backup to Njoku.

The six-year veteran caught only 13 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns in a suppressed role last season. And yet, he still averaged over 12 yards per reception. He's always proven to be a productive yards after the catch guy as well, similarly to Njoku. That may prove to be extremely useful in this blended Kevin Stefanski-Ken Dorsey system. If how Stefanski has used tight ends in the past is any indication Allie-Cox would fit quite nicely in many of a lot of the Browns concepts.

2) Irv Smith Jr.

Irv Smith Jr. is another name to keep an eye on if the Browns end up pursuing upgrades for their tight end room, most notably because he played with Stefanski in Minnesota. The two crossed paths in 2019, during Stefanski's second stint as the team's offensive coordinator. Smith Jr. was a rookie at the time but put up a productive season regardless with 36 catches for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

One year later, even though Stefanski had left for his current gig in Cleveland, the second-round pick wound up recording an even better season, hauling in 30 passes for 365 yards and five scores. He spent the 2023 season with Cleveland's division rival Cincinnati and caught 18 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He finds himself with Kansas City at the moment but is the third or fourth guy on their depth chart for the start of camp. A reunion with Stefanski could bode well for him.

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3) Robert Tonyan

This one feels more far-fetched, mostly because there's no direct connection between Tonyan and either Stefanski or Dorsey. That said, Tonyan had the most productive seasons of his career playing in Matt LaFleur's adaptation of the the west coast offense – the same style of offense Stefanski runs. Now, it's still unclear just how different the Browns offense will look with Dorsey's influence added in. But at it's core there is bound to stell be plenty of concepts that utilized tight ends.

Tonyan spent the 2023 campaign in Chicago where he caught just 11 passes for 112 yards under former Packers QB coach Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator. He's not so far removed though from a 53 reception, 470-yard, two touchdown campaign in his last year with Green Bay in 2022. Playing with Aaron Rodgers certainly helped that cause, but there's something to be said for some of the off-script success Rodgers produces and the fact that Watson thrives in a similar style. Currently, Tonyan finds himself in a crowded Vikings tight end room and could find more playing time here in Cleveland.