Dawgs By Nature
Analyzing WR Josh Palmer as a potential do-it-all receiver for Cleveland
The Cleveland Browns are heading into the offseason with a few important goals, and one of them is to continue adding reliability and playmakers to the wide receiver room.
This year’s free agent class is surprisingly full of depth-level wide receiver talent who could fit what the Browns are looking for in terms of raising the “floor” of the position group.
One of the most intriguing prospects for the team based on multiple attributes is Josh Palmer, who’s been a fairly valuable pass-catcher for Los Angeles over the past four seasons. Much like Jerry Jeudy, Palmer can effectively play both in the slot and out wide at the NFL level as well.
Name
Josh Palmer
Position
Wide Receiver
Height/Weight
6’1”, 210 Lbs.
Stats
2024: 15 games - 7 starts: 39 recs., 584 rec. yards, 15.0 Y/R, 1 TD
Career: 58 games - 29 starts: 182 recs., 2287 rec. yards, 12.6 Y/R, 10 TD
Final year of his 4-year, $5,032,438 rookie contract
Josh Palmer has been a poster boy for reliability and efficiency during his time with the Chargers, having a career drop rate of only 5%. He hasn’t been the most electric playmaker for Justin Herbert but he’s been a key cog in their offense alongside Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey in 2024.
He would immediately be a top-three player at wide receiver for Cleveland who could fill multiple roles depending on how the team feels about Jamari Thrash and/or whatever rookie they decide to bring in. He has a very similar play style to Jerry Jeudy and could rotate around based on different personnel and sub-packages
Jamari Thrash. As of right now, Cleveland’s top two players at the position are Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. If the team signs Palmer next month, it would mean that there would be fewer snaps available for guys like Thrash unless he has a dominant summer and preseason.
Based on how the team feels about Thrash, Michael Woods II, and David Bell, signing Palmer may not sway them in their draft plans. There’s still a good chance that they’d select a wide receiver within the first 4 rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Medium - High.
Projected APY: $5,695,000
Who are some of your favorite free-agent wide receivers besides Josh Palmer? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.
