Dawgs By Nature
There are a number of players who could end up getting on the field more often in week 11 and beyond
The Cleveland Browns have a record of 2-7 heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Saints, and the team will most likely begin to take a look at what they have on the bottom third of their roster regarding its long-term outlook.
In addition to giving more playing time to its depth pieces on the active roster, they could even begin to activate some of their more prospective practice squad options as well over the second half of the year.
Today we’re taking a look at seven specific players who, in addition to the obvious ones like Isaiah McGuire, could see the field more often going forward.
Thrash was drafted in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft but has only seen action in two regular season games so far.
Thrash’s positional and schematic versatility will make it hard for the team to keep him off the field going forward, as he’s already shown the ability to be productive at both “Z” and in the slot throughout the 2024 preseason.
Mitchell has all of the attributes that Cleveland looks for when it comes to slot/nickel corners. Anticipation, aggression, and tackling ability are Mitchell’s specialties and the Browns need to make sure he can handle a larger workload if need be.
He’s been working in with Greg Newsome at Nickel throughout the 2024 season but has only played 153 total snaps on defense in addition to 101 on special teams.
Watson was the team’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft and has been a stalwart on multiple special teams units for Bubba Ventrone.
He’s been limited to just 19 total snaps on defense so far, but when he’s been out there he’s looked pretty good. Jim Schwartz and Co. most likely want to see if Watson can be a legitimate depth option going forward behind the likes of Jordan Hicks and Mohamoud Diabate at MIKE and/or SAM.
Briggs was a favorite of Cleveland’s front office throughout the NFL Draft process and they were elated to be able to select him with their final pick in May.
He has exceptional upper body strength and knows how to use his hands properly at the point of attack. The Browns like Briggs’ overall skillset and believe that he can be a contributor at some point, so he might get called up from the practice squad a few times within the next couple of months.
Toney is a former first-round pick who’s been riddled with injuries over the first few seasons of his career.
He undoubtedly has the ability to be an explosive playmaker with the ball in...
