Every year, players earn their way onto the final roster and the Cleveland Browns have three players that look to have ensured they will be part of the 2018 team.
The Cleveland Browns entered 2018 training camp with a number of players that needed to step up if they were going to make the final roster. With where the Browns have been in terms of a tear down, some players have made the team by default. That era is just about over, so the final spots on the roster are going to be competitive.
In the case of these three, they seemed to be on the outside looking in entering this season, but have had a good training camp and been able to carry that over into the preseason production.
The hope is they can then parlay that into regular season production for the Browns, indicating a true success on the player development side of the organization. For the Browns, they need more contributors on Sundays if they are going to take a step forward and have any kind of sustained success.
Rashard Higgins, Wide Receiver
Higgins started his season with a pretty big game against the Baltimore Ravens, catching seven passes for 95 yards. Unfortunately, the rest of the season he would only catch another 20 passes. His last three games were reasonably promising and he finished the year with a pair of touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the finale.
Higgins has had a great camp, looking like someone who can help the Browns consistently on Sundays. He’s not a great athlete, but he understands how to create space and he has terrific hands. Chemistry has developed between he and Baker Mayfield in camp and the preseason, but he’s also been able to make plays for Tyrod Taylor with the starters.
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It has taken a couple years, but Higgins has seemed to develop into the player that had people excited about him coming out of Colorado State. Never particularly flashy, he’s just difficult to stop and finds ways to produce. As a third or fourth receiver, he isn’t likely to be a featured receiver in this offense, but he is someone who will come up with a few catches that might extend drives or generate points.
Carl Nassib, Defensive End
There have been rumors about trading or cutting Nassib almost since last year ended. He was the guy who would have a ton of plays where he’s close to making a play but didn’t make it. This year, Nassib is stronger, having more power with his punch and hands to be able to jolt defenders a little bit. He’s made it so he’s viable at defensive end, but he should be able to contribute as a defensive tackle in spots as well.
In games, he’s clearly been the best defensive lineman with the second unit. Particularly against the Buffalo Bills, that was more of a contrast against the rest of the unit, which was putrid. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, Nassib was a consistent problem and was able to cause pressure and do his job effectively. He, along with Caleb Brantley, who had a nice day himself, were really working well in tandem taking away escape lanes for runners and the quarterback as the Browns were able to shut out the Eagles.
At this point, Nassib would seem to be the fifth best true defensive lineman on team (sixth if Genard Avery is included). He should be a lock to make the team at this point and give the Browns some badly needed help with their depth, which is an issue.
James Burgess Jr., Linebacker
An undrafted free agent last year, Burgess had a solid enough camp to make the team and found himself getting playing time. Then, when Jamie Collins went down for the year, Burgess became the next man up and he did the best he could, but it was a struggle filling those shoes.
This camp, Burgess has been difficult to ignore, flying around and making tackles. Especially in games when he’s part of the second unit, he has been able to not just make the plays, but making impact plays. In three preseason games, he’s been able to rack up two tackles for loss and a pair of hits on the quarterback.
Burgess’s spot on the team isn’t guaranteed because the Browns are so loaded at linebacker, but he’s done more than enough to be worthy of a roster spot for this team. If he’s not on this final roster, he will definitely be on someone’s 53-man roster as he’s shown himself to be a capable NFL linebacker.