BEREA, Ohio – We’ve come to the first off day of Browns training camp. With the team taking a rest until Wednesday, it’s a good time to take stock in what we’ve seen so far, and determine some winners and losers from the first five days.
WINNER: Freddie Kitchens
A year ago at this time, Kitchens was in charge of the running backs. So it was natural to wonder how the career position coach with eight games of coordinator experience would fare running a team.
The answer so far: just fine.
It’s clear that Kitchens is the authority and in full control of his first training camp. He has had no problem keeping his players on the field “until they get it right.” He has confronted players about their effort, had linemen running laps for false starts, barked at practice officials over calls, and had the entire team run gassers after a scuffle between Chad Thomas and Pharaoh Brown.
He has also had players dressed and on the field with their position coaches even when they weren’t participating in practice, a call-back to that infamous Hard Knocks scene that introduced him to most Browns fans.
He has continued his trademark honesty in press conferences, and has been consistent in his messaging about forgetting the past and staying in the moment. As outsiders toss praise at his roster, he has stuck with his “Whoopty-hell” attitude, pointing out how everyone from Baker Mayfield to his rookie kicker have to get better.
Freddie Kitchens is driving the bus, now. Everybody else better take a seat.
LOSER: Right guard plan
After three weeks of OTA practices, a three-day minicamp and five days of camp, the Browns are still waiting for someone to claim the starting job at right guard.
Austin Corbett, Eric Kush and Kyle Kalis have rotated between first-team right guard and second-team right guard and center. It’s a game of musical chairs and nobody knows how to stop the record.
That the Browns haven’t just installed Corbett as the starter to see if he can sink or swim makes the 2018 second-round pick the biggest draft head-scratcher of John Dorsey’s tenure in Cleveland. A year after it was one of the best units in the NFL, the offensive line, flanked by boundless skill positions riches, is now THE question mark on the team.
WINNER: Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry
The longtime friends and former college teammates have had to ask each other if this is real, even in the huddle. Are they really on the same team?
Browns fans can probably relate. It wasn’t long ago that the potential of having Josh Gordon, Terrell Pryor and Corey Coleman running routes together made folks excited with anticipation.
But that doesn’t compare with the anticipation of unleashing Beckham and Landry on the NFL.
Fans got a taste of the potential during a two-minute drill near the end of Saturday’s practice. Mayfield led the offense 60 yards in three plays, eating up chunks of yardage on a pass to Beckham and two to Landry. Even more than the one-handed and acrobatic catches they’ve made at camp, the drive showed how devastating the duo can be.
Beckham and Landry have also taken on a leadership role with the young receivers on the roster, offering pointers in practice and trying to raise the bar for what is expected.
Believe it. It’s real.
LOSER: Austin Seibert
Kitchens said he doesn’t care about the kick that was just missed, he only cares about the next kick. The problem is that Seibert has been missing that one, too. The rookie fifth-round pick is 4-of-8 in field goal sessions during camp. Greg Joseph, meanwhile, has hit all eight attempts.
In a perfect world, Seibert would be making the roster decision easy for Dorsey. Instead, this has become more than just a kicking competition. It is a test case for the idea of taking a kicker so high in the draft, in a round where players like Genard Avery, Rashard Higgins and Tyreek Hill have been found.
There’s still a long way to go. Preseason games are sure to play a key role in the competition.
But if things don’t improve, there won’t be a next kick for Seibert.
WINNER: Defensive line
Like the wide receivers, the defensive line opened camp as a must-see position group. Newcomers Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson have boosted the talent level. Larry Ogunjobi is expected to build on the promising start to his career. Myles Garrett is Myles Garrett.
So far in camp, the line hasn’t disappointed. Mayfield has had passes batted by Garrett and Ogunjobi. Vernon and Garrett have been active on the edges, and have shown the ability to switch sides. And Richardson has helped stuff numerous running plays in full team sessions.
Richardson’s directive for the group is simple: “Don't meet me there, beat me there.”
LOSER: Kareem Hunt
The clock is ticking for Hunt, who will be barred from the team during his upcoming eight-game suspension, unless the NFL grants him permission to hang around Berea.
Hunt has yet to participate in camp due to a groin injury. While he has been able to attend meetings and be around his position group during practices, the last we saw of him on the field was minicamp in June.
Kitchens said Monday that the third-year running back is close to returning. That’s good news. Every rep in July and August could mean less makeup time for Hunt when (or if) he returns in November.
WINNER: Fan interaction
Chad Thomas might disagree, but fans and their interactions with players have been one of the camp highlights. Two sets of bleachers have been full for most practices, and people have been lined up a half-dozen deep in standing room areas.
They’ve been vocal, too, shouting the names of players as they come near. Each great catch is met with cheers. Each dropped pass is met with “aww.”
Garrett and others have run by rows of fans for high-fives. Rookie quarterback David Bough (a Purdue alum) went into the bleachers to lead fans in an O-H-I-O chant. Beckham gave his shoes to a young fan.
It’s a different atmosphere at Browns training camp this year, and the fans are a big part of it.
Cleveland Browns quarterback David Blough pumps up the fans as he runs up in the stands druing day four of training camp in Berea. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)cleveland.com
LOSER: Antonio Callaway
Callaway started 11 games last season as a rookie and had the third-most targets on the team. His 2018 totals: 43 catches for 586 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.
When he showed up in Berea for OTAs, coaches and teammates talked about how great Callaway looked, and that it seemed like he put in work to prepare for the coming season. He ran with the first team during OTAs and minicamp, and alerted media to his goal of 1,000 yards with 10 or more touchdowns.
But at training camp, Callaway has consistently been part of the second team, while Beckham, Landry and Higgins get first-team reps. When Beckham sat out team drills on Monday, it was Derrick Willies and Jaelen Strong who got first-team opportunities.
Callaway will make the team. He still has his remarkable speed, and his ability to return punts and kickoffs. But the receiving depth is real, and Callaway has work to do if he wants to build off last season’s promising start.
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