Cleveland Browns shake up wide receiver room ahead of Week 5

Throughout the four weeks of this NFL season, most of the focus on how to fix the Cleveland Browns has been on the quarterback position. One position that hasn’t gotten the focus that it probably needs is the receiver room in Cleveland.

The Browns recently announced that starting wide receiver Cedric Tillman, along with starting return man DeAndre Carter, will be put on injury reserve and miss a minimum of four games beginning this week.

This leaves the Browns' wide receiver room to be with Jerry Jeudy, undrafted free agent Isaiah Bond, preseason standouts Gage Larvadain and Jamari Thrash, and recently moved up signing Malachi Corley. While Jeudy had a career year in receiving yards and receptions last year, he has been highly criticized for drops throughout his career. In the past loss to the Lions, Jeudy took responsibility for a significant drop in that game.

With the recent rumblings that Dillon Gabriel may start the next game on Sunday against the Vikings, this sets up for an interesting dialogue going into the game. So far, the Browns' receiver room has struggled, according to the ESPN receiver score; Jeudy and Tillman rank 87th and 77th out of 93 receivers.

Gabriel has already shown that he has good chemistry with second-year pass catcher Jamari Thrash, as the pair connected for seven receptions for 85 yards in the preseason. Isaiah Bond has seen his targets steadily increase throughout the season, totaling 10 in the past two games, including a quietly excellent performance against the Lions, where he caught three passes for 58 yards and a long reception of 35 yards.

Larvadian, the rookie wide receiver out of South Carolina, could also make a name for himself when he sees more playing time. With the playing time Larvadain saw in the preseason, he racked up nine receptions for 93 yards and a rushing touchdown. Larvadain will also likely get the return duties now that Carter is on the IR.

Malachi Corley was a third-round pick, number 65 overall, for the New York Jets in 2024 out of Western Kentucky. The Jets promptly released Corley in August of this year after a disappointing rookie season and character concerns. But with a new setting and a new opportunity, Corley could showcase his talent, which had made him a 3,000-yard plus 29-touchdown receiver at Western Kentucky.

So, while the Browns will be without some of their key receivers, the talent will not be lacking.

With the possibility of a new quarterback starting, there could be a spark ignited by the rookies that radiates brightly throughout the season.