Tag: Alex Wright

Browns Wire Roundtable: Which young player has the biggest opportunity to step up in training camp?

Tune in for this edition of Browns Wire Roundtable!

Welcome back to another season of Cleveland Browns football! As the team is now entering the third day of practices down in Greenbriar, West Virginia, we are just about a week away from seeing the Browns take the field in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game against the New York Jets. So why not celebrate with a Browns Wire staff roundtable discussing young players like Elijah Moore and Greg Newsome II?

In this roundtable, the topic is: which young player has the biggest opportunity to step up in training camp? We are defining a young player here as a team member entering their third season or more youthful.

Who has the Browns Wire staff pinpointed? Let’s dive in.

3 Browns players with the most to gain in training camp

Which players have the most to gain in the coming weeks of training camp?

Training camp practices kick off this week and the return of Cleveland Browns football is officially here. The team will head to The Greenbrier in West Virginia to start camp as they open a week earlier due to playing in the Hall of Fame game against the Jets on August third.

The Browns have added a ton of talent especially on the defensive line and in the wide receiver rooms. There are questions surrounding the defensive tackle room specifically with the preseason and training camp being perfect times for players to prove themselves.

Let’s take a look at the three players that I believe have the most to gain during training camp.

Pre-training camp Browns mailbag: realistic season outcomes and predictions

What are realistic goals for Watson, the defensive line, and are more moves coming?

Training camp is just around the corner kicking off next weekend on the 22nd as the team heads for West Virginia to kick off camp. The long offseason is nearly behind us as Cleveland Browns football is in the air. It’s time to turn the page on the additions of the offseason and start focusing on what this team will look like in 2023.

Most, like myself, believe that Deshaun Watson will have some kind of bounce back but what could that look like? Is Andrew Berry done adding talent or is more coming? Let’s take a look at these questions and more in this pre-training camp Browns mailbag.

Could a position change for Alex Wright be coming for the Browns?

Will the second year player see even more snaps on the inside in 2023?

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It was not a great rookie season for pass rusher Alex Wright after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of last year’s NFL draft. He came in as a developmental player along the defensive line that had great tools and physical traits but was underdeveloped having played a UAB. Wright was thrust into playing time due to injuries and it wasn’t pretty.

It’s hard to argue that Wright doesn’t have the physical tools to develop at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds. Some of the better snaps Wright did have last year were playing on the inside as a three-tech and he certainly has the size and skill set to thrive inside.

Part of the reason the Browns haven’t added another veteran defensive tackle may be that they see Wright playing significant snaps inside. He has the long arms to play on the inside and is a pretty good athlete for his size. Could he be an interior rusher on passing downs and the reason they haven’t added more, it seems like it.

The team isn’t likely to make him a full-time interior player but Jim Schwartz and the team seem open and intrigued about the idea of him playing more there. We will see when training camp and the preseason rolls around how serious they are about it but it’s something to remember and consider when discussing the defensive tackle position heading into training camp.

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4 Downs: Piecing together thoughts from a long offseason

Welcome to a vacation period edition of 4 Downs!

We have reached the six-week portion of the offseason where all 32 teams have entered a vacation period. This means we have to wait until training camp for any big Cleveland Browns happenings throughout the rest of the summer. As head coach Kevin Stefanski and his team take this time to refocus and rest before getting back to work, we take this time to reflect on the long offseason it has been to this point.

As we enter the vacation period, here is some food for thought on what the Browns have done this offseason and what it means for their 2023 season.

LOOK: Browns players in full uniform as mandatory camp kicks off

#Browns players were in Berea on Monday preparing for mandatory minicamp and having thier photos taken

The 2023 NFL offseason continues as players and coaches of the Cleveland Browns are in Berea for the team’s mandatory minicamp that kicks off later this week. It will be the last time the Browns practice together before they return for training camp and the preseason in July.

On Monday the team was in full uniform as players took pictures and videos for in-game use during the season. Among the players who participated were quarterback Deshaun Watson, edge rushers Alex Wright and Za’Darius Smith, and superstar running back Nick Chubb.

Take a look at the first photos of the 2023 Browns as they inch closer to the beginning of their new campaign:

Browns announce jersey changes after post-draft trade and signings

The Browns have announced new numbers for a handful of players.

Since the 2023 NFL draft was completed, the Cleveland Browns have made a couple of big moves including the big trade for pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. As a result, there are some number changes the team announced Tuesday. This includes a number change for two existing defensive ends, Smith’s choice, and the numbers for two other additions including veteran safety Rodney McLeod.

The Browns have also added two other secondary players in the veteran Super Bowl champion McLeod and journeyman cornerback Chris Westry. Here are the new numbers for the newest members of the Browns, as well as two number changes.

4 Browns change their numbers entering the 2023 season

Four Browns players have changed their look for this season.

After adding a couple of handfuls of talent in free agency, the Cleveland Browns announced the numbers for the newest members of their team. Along with those new players, however, four current players like defensive end Alex Wright have changed their number. Wright announced his number change last week, as new defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson presumably paid the second-year player a pretty penny for the number.

However, three more players changed their numbers as well as they enter the 2023 season. Here are the four players who changed their numbers and what they will now be sporting for the Browns this season.

Alex Wright changes number to 99 so Dalvin Tomlinson can keep 94

It looks like Dalvin Tomlinson will keep his old number.

Dalvin Tomlinson has historically worn 94 throughout his career with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. And now it looks like he will keep that number with the Cleveland Browns after signing a massive contract this offseason, as well as second-year defensive tackle Alex Wright has announced a number change on Instagram.

Previously wearing the number 94, Wright now makes the switch to 99 this season. The number 99 was occupied by Taven Bryan a year ago, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.

Deshaun Watson bought linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. a Rolex watch for giving up the number four last year, so a fun question for Wright would be what Tomlinson surrendered to him for 94.

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Beyond free agency: Browns must get leap out of young talent already on the roster

Developing the young players currently on the roster is more important long term than finding new guys in free agency.

With little doubt, the Cleveland Browns have to capitalize this offseason to improve their roster, specifically on the defensive side of the football. Both through free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft, the Browns have an opportunity to add talent, both veterans and rookies, to their roster as they look to scratch and claw back to the playoffs in 2023.

However, beyond the players they may look to add to their roster this offseason, a bigger question mark and priority for the Browns will be the development of the young players already on their roster. They got a great rookie season out of rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., second-year players Greg Newsome II (even while playing out of position) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah continued to flash, but the Browns need more from their youngsters on rookie contracts to capitalize on their window.

The Browns need to overhaul their defensive line. This is no secret to anyone who was even a bystander to Cleveland football last year. However, if they can get progression out of the likes of Alex Wright, Perrion Winfrey, and Isaiah Thomas in their defensive trenches, this will go a long way toward solidifying that unit long-term.

At this point, the Browns cannot afford to go into the 2023 season banking on the development of Wright, Winfrey, and Thomas along their defensive line. However, as they inevitably sign a few veterans this offseason in free agency, having the ability to sign them to just one-year deals as a stopgap would do wonders for their books as their cap number will continue to shrink into the future.

As Jim Schwartz now takes over as the defensive coordinator, and as these young players will get new position coaches this season, there is a hope that a new perspective and angle in coaching can jumpstart the development of the underachieving youngsters. This is a premise of the Browns’ age guardrail: draft young players so you have more time to develop. But this hinges on the coaching staff’s ability to develop.

Free agency is important. The NFL Draft is important. But being able to rely on their young players beyond 2023 to take over significant roles will be the biggest key to the long-term health of the Browns’ roster. And hopefully, the changes in leadership on the coaching staff can shock new life into these key pieces.

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