Draft pick with the biggest opportunity: LB Carson Schwesinger
Player who must look good in camp: LT Dawand Jones
Standout draft pick: TE Harold Fannin Jr.
Training camp darling: WR Gage Larvadain

Draft pick with the biggest opportunity: LB Carson Schwesinger, Player who must look good in camp: LT Dawand Jones, Standout draft pick: TE Harold Fannin Jr., Training camp darling: WR Gage Larvadain

Some big plays from wide receiver Gage Larvadain will catch fans' attention this summer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns have more questions coming into this training camp than they have had in recent years. This is a roster in transition after a failed all-in phase that produced one playoff appearance — a loss in the wild card round two seasons ago.

The four-man quarterback competition will be the hottest topic throughout camp, but there are other position battles taking place and other opportunities to be had across the roster.

This rookie class is an interesting one, whether or not running back Quinshon Judkins is around. There are young veterans finally getting an opportunity. In some ways, there’s a sense of relief that the burden of contention is off this team, at least for this season.

Here are a few categories and predictions to keep in mind this summer when you do take your eyes off the quarterback battle.

Draft pick with the biggest opportunity: LB Carson Schwesinger

The Browns’ linebacker group took a hit, albeit an expected one, when Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was officially ruled out for the season. This is a thin group and one that gets even thinner if Schwesinger doesn’t hit the ground running.

The UCLA product was a surprise pick at No. 33 overall, but it made sense considering how reliant this team stands to be on Jordan Hicks and Jerome Baker in the middle of the defense.

Hicks plays hard and produces but he’s also 33. This is a homecoming for Baker, the 28-year-old who spent last season with the Seahawks and Titans after six seasons in Miami. Neither are long-term solutions.

The Browns will move quickly with Schwesinger if he’s ready and it would help this defense immensely for him to be ready quickly.

Player who will have you convinced he is making a leap: WR Cedric Tillman

This came down to two young edge rushers, Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire, and Tillman. It’s just easier for pass catchers to shine over defensive linemen in a setting where quarterbacks can’t get hit and running backs aren’t getting tackled.

Plus, there’s a very clear opportunity ahead of Tillman. The No. 2 wide receiver spot opposite Jerry Jeudy is his to lose and he’ll get a ton of work and a ton of targets throughout camp.

Harold Fannin Jr. will be a bit part of the Browns' offense in 2025.

Will he turn those targets and potential camp and preseason success into regular season production? We’re not worrying about that in this post. Tillman should at least have a strong camp.

Player who must look good in camp: LT Dawand Jones

The Browns are clearing the way for Jones to take over as left tackle and hope they backed into a Jedrick Wills Jr. replacement when they took Jones in the fourth round in 2023. Jones struggled last season coming back from injury and then was lost for the season again when he broke his leg in New Orleans.

Dawand Jones is set to start at left tackle this season.

Much like Tillman, proving time for Jones will come in the regular season. He must show he can hold up against the league’s best edge rushers at left tackle and has to prove he can make it through a full season.

He looked like he was in good shape during the spring and ready for the challenge and he’ll be tested regularly throughout camp by Myles Garrett. The Browns are hoping he comes out of the summer looking ready to excel in this new challenge.

Standout draft pick: TE Harold Fannin Jr.

Judkins’ arrest and status with the team open this spot for Fannin, who may have occupied it anyway. Fannin had a strong spring, especially with fellow tight end David Njoku skipping a large chunk of the offseason program, and he should carry that momentum into the summer.

The goal for Njoku this summer is to stay healthy and get to Week 1, so that’s even more reason to be bullish on Fannin going into his first training camp. He’ll continue to get plenty of work.

As long as the quarterback play holds up, pass catchers are always the most likely to make a splash in this setting.

Training camp darling: WR Gage Larvadain

Mentor native and Kent State product Luke Floriea seems like the easy pick, but we’ll go to another former MAC player, Larvadain, who ran a 4.45 40-yard dash with a 1.52 10-yard split at South Carolina’s pro day. He was a favorite target of Shedeur Sanders’ during the offseason program.

Cedric Tillman should look good in practices this summer.

He’s not the biggest target at 5-foot-8 and 171 pounds, and his numbers dropped last season after arriving at South Carolina from Miami University, but he was one of 13 undrafted free agents the Browns signed this spring, so they obviously see something in him.