Browns Digest

Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Primed for Potential Breakout Season

The third-year wideout has shown promise with limited targets.
Gavin Dorsey|
Nov 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) is introduced before the game between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Nov 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) is introduced before the game between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Browns

Despite inconsistent quarterback play, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy played his best football with the Cleveland Browns in 2024. In his first season since being traded from the Denver Broncos, Jeudy hauled in a career-high 90 catches for 1,229 receiving yards en route to his first Pro Bowl selection. One of Jeudy's teammates could be poised to make a similar leap this fall.

Wideout Cedric Tillman compiled just three catches over the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, but caught fire once Jameis Winston took over at quarterback. From Week 7 to Week 11, Tillman broke out for 26 catches, 330 yards and three scores over a five-game stretch. His season ended early after suffering a concussion against the Steelers, but Tillman's stint flashed his potential to be a reliable pass-catcher.

Now entering his third season in the league, Tillman's development could provide a major boost to a Cleveland team that ranked last in scoring offense in 2024. The Athletic's Zac Jackson listed Tillman as the Browns' most likely breakout candidate in an article on Monday.

"Tillman’s surge in the back-middle of the 2024 season came out of nowhere," Jackson wrote. "A concussion forced him to miss the end of last season, but Cleveland did not draft a receiver and has Tillman’s role as an outside wideout almost in ink, regardless of who wins the quarterback job. Tillman’s size is an asset, and he can complement the speedy Jerry Jeudy in the intermediate and vertical passing games."

The Browns selected Tillman in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. The 6-foot-3 receiver has logged 50 catches, 563 yards and three scores in his young career, with the vast majority of his targets coming during the five-week stretch with Winston.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and assists in covering a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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