Cedric Tillman Reveals What He's Learned Ahead Of Year Two With Browns

The Cleveland Browns are expecting the 2023 third-round pick to take a leap this season

Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) catches a pass during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cedric Tillman knows his rookie season was just the first chapter of his career.

The Cleveland Browns 2023 third-round pick had a lot thrown at him in year one. Coming from Tennessee where his job was basically to run deep and get open now all of a sudden he had a lot of learning to do. Heading into his second season with the club Tillman has a better sense of life in the NFL. It's why the Browns believe he's poised to take a leap.

"Just trying to take it one day at a time," Tillman said of his approach to all the hype. "Obviously year two more comfortable than year one, so just learning on things from last year and just trying to be a better player for the organization.”

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Like any rookie, Tillman's first season in the league came with some ups and downs. He earned opportunities to play in 14 games last year and flashed his innate ball skills, on his way to 21 receptions and 221 yards. There were some forgettable moments though as well, like in a Week 15 matchup with the Bears where running the wrong route led to a Joe Flacco interception.

Understanding his responsibilities on every play is one of the biggest things Tillman is hyper-focused on this year.

"I think I had great effort out there [last year]," he said. "I tried everything. Felt like I caught the ball well. Obviously things I can work on, just making sure I know exactly what to do all the time and obviously everybody wants more separation, so we going to do that."

It's always valuable for young players to confide in the veterans around them. Fortunately for Tillman, he has some pretty good resources inside his own room between Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Communication is another point of emphasis for him.

"Just talking to the quarterbacks more, talking to the older guys and just getting those reps obviously helped," he said. "So just year two, just trying to do better.”

His efforts are already paying off. Through the first two weeks of camp, Tillman has earned plenty of first team reps and been a standout on offense. During Wednesday's practice both Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston connected with him on a long touchdown pass.

Watson ➡️ Tillman

Housecall. pic.twitter.com/TPWThzNAYg

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Those that matter are noticing the work Tillman is putting in to take his game to the next level.

"I feel like Cedric's really attacked the offseason," said Browns wide receiver coach Chad O'Shea. "He's done the same here in training camp. He's really worked so hard to again, learn the offense to be better. Fundamentally you can see a player in year two how he's improved, but he's improved because of how he's approached it and I can't say enough about his work ethic and what he's done to try to improve every day."

If Tillman continues to perform well during camp and the preseason it will be impossible to deny him even more snaps during the regular season. It may even be hard to keep him out of one of the top three spots on the wide receiver depth chart.