Two Young Wide Receivers Get Major Opportunity With Cleveland Browns

With Amari Cooper being traded to the Buffalo Bills, several young Cleveland Browns wide receivers get an opportunity to prove their worth.

Aug 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) misses a pass as Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard (20) defends during the first quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

After an abysmal 1-5 start to the 2024 season, the Cleveland Browns have appeared to pull the plug and start a rebuild. The first indicator was trading veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday.

Although Cooper was a star for the team during the two seasons prior, he led the league in drops to start this year and has looked like a shell of his former self.

For the Buffalo Bills, giving up a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick for the chance of Cooper regaining some confidence and finding his true wide receiver No. 1 status is a win. For the Browns, this is also probably a good move to get some compensation for an aging receiver who likely wouldn't have been on the team two years from now.

Unless the league completely flips on its head immediately, this season is likely over for the Browns despite not even being halfway through the schedule. What the 2024 season could now look like is an opportunity to experiment and analyze what young talent is worth keeping for the future.

With Cooper gone and David Bell out for the year, that opens up two spots for added game reps. Ideally this means that Cedric Tillman and Jamari Thrash get extensive work the rest of the year.

Aug 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jamari Thrash (80) runs for yards after the catch against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Jerry Jeudy is a lock to serve as the No. 1 wide receiver and Elijah Moore will likely continue to play over 70 percent of the offensive reps. Moore's performances have been lackluster so far this season and with him becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025, the team may honestly not even pursue resigning him unless his play improves. It will be interesting to see where he ends up playing in 2025.

Like Moore, Tillman and Thrash have a lot to prove. Tillman has played in each of the first six games for Cleveland but only has three receptions for nine yards. Although his size at 6'3" and a few flashes as a blocker have made Tillman look appealing, his issues with route running and drops are a major concern.

While Tillman appears like a bust and wasted third-round pick at the moment, rookie Jamari Thrash is yet to see the field outside of the preseason. During the preseason, Thrash had some nice moments, tallying 10 receptions for 141 yards and one touchdown in three games.

Hopefully the Browns do decide to activate Thrash against the Cincinnati Bengals and beyond to see what they have with the fifth-round pick from Louisville.

With how disconnected Deshaun Watson and the receivers have been, it is hard to imagine that something drastically changes with the passing game. That being said, perhaps one of these two young receivers can show some promise given an extended opportunity.

If both flop, nearly the whole wide receiver room could very well get revamped headed into 2025.