Browns receiver Cedric Tillman is heading into a make-or-break season.
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Browns receiver Cedric Tillman is heading into a make-or-break season.
The Cleveland Browns’ receiver room looks almost identical to the one that walked off the field at the end of last season — and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Cleveland has yet to add a wide receiver in free agency, leaving Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond and Cedric Tillman as the top options heading into the offseason.
Jeudy is still expected to lead the group as Cleveland’s top receiving threat, while Bond has room to build off an encouraging rookie season. However, Tillman has some work to do if he wants to stick around.
A third-round pick (No. 74 overall) in 2023, Tillman has the size and physical profile — 6-foot-3, 215 pounds — to develop into a legitimate No. 2 receiver. The flashes have shown up at times, but the consistency and availability needed to match that potential haven’t followed.
Browns Reporter Delivers Blunt Assessment of Tillman
Tillman caught 21 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns across 13 games last season. A hamstring injury knocked him out after Week 4 and landed him on injured reserve until November. He returned late in the year but never found a consistent role, finishing with just five catches over the final seven games.
The season before followed a similar script. Tillman showed promise in 2024, hauling in 29 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games before a concussion in Week 12 ended his season early.
Ashley Bastock of cleveland.com didn’t mince words when assessing Tillman’s standing heading into next season.
“You have to look at what Ced Tillman has been for you the last two or three years, not what you think he could have been for you if he’s healthy, because he wasn’t healthy. And that’s the reality,” Bastock said on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast. “They have to live in reality and not based on their own projections because I think that’s when they are the most susceptible to making roster-building errors.”
Tillman has totaled 71 receptions across three seasons. For a third-round pick now entering a contract year, that production leaves plenty to be desired.
Browns Missing ‘Wow’ Factor
General manager Andrew Berry addressed Cleveland’s receiver situation publicly but stopped short of sounding alarmed.
“I think we can add all across the offense to be honest,” Berry said. “We’re really pleased with some of the younger players we have. Jerry is gonna be a big part of it, and we’re pleased with Isaiah’s rookie year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t add to the arsenal. Malachi, he carved out a nice role. But we probably look at it more like global weapons and global pass catchers and Harold [Fannin Jr.] would be a part of that, obviously. [Quinshon Judkins] is a weapon for us. You want to look at it as the overall infrastructure as opposed to one position.”
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot isn’t convinced the current group clears the bar.
“I think you have to have another ‘Wow’ type of guy there. You’ve got a wow in Harold Fannin, you’ve got a wow in Jerry Jeudy when he’s right,” Cabot said. “But I think you need at least one more of those kind of guys that can go out there and make that incredibly tough catch, that can win the contested catch, that is just a surefire, 100% can’t miss guy most of the time.”
Tillman has the physical tools to be that kind of player. The problem is he hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to prove it. He’s entering the final year of his four-year, $5.6 million rookie deal.
Cleveland holds the No. 6 and No. 24 overall picks in the NFL Draft, and using one of those selections on a wide receiver is firmly on the table.