3 Tight Ends the Browns Could Consider | Cleveland Browns Podcast 2024

Tight End Depth Chart [Music] welcome to the dogs podcast with your hosts Blake rener Justin Charles and Josh all what's up Browns fans welcome back to another episode of the dogs podcast presented by Omaha Stakes Josh all alone with you guys today and I'm hoping everybody's having a great week everything's gotten kicked off to a good start for you rolling through this first week of May I can't believe it's may already that's crazy we've got some you know rookie mini camp is this upcoming weekend already hard to believe that this stuff football action is underway before long we're going to be in training camp we're going to be gearing up for the Hall of Fame game we're going to be getting ready for the start of the Season preseason all that stuff time is going to fly so make sure you guys stay plugged into the podcast as we're covering as much of this stuff as we can as quickly as we can as often as we can if you're watching on YouTube please smash the like button subscribe to the channel and tap the notification Bell so you guys don't miss any of the new stuff we're coming out with and if you're listening on Apple podcast specifically in the audio platforms please leave us a five-star written review that is a great free way for you to help out the show just scroll down to the bottom of the app and tap five star written review leave us a positive written comment or two in there and hit submit and that's all we need for that so let's talk about a position today that the Browns need to address and you know we've talked many times on previous episodes about how the roster doesn't have very many holes but there are some positions in this one in particular where if the starter goes down or anything like that should happen he misses a game or two or God forbid season ending injury happens to David and joku the tight end position is very very thin and by Thin I mean there is nobody else really to speak of now the Browns roster of course we do have other guys under contract and you know I don't say any I'm not saying anything here to be demeaning to any of these players to any of these guys on the team but in reality behind David and joku there really is nobody left the Browns have Jordan Akens who we signed last off season still under contract and while I was very excited for the potential Jordan aens was bringing to the roster last year um it just was not realized on the field he wasn't used and it's not like he was missing time with injury he was healthy he was available every game all 17 games last year and Jordan aens came out had 23 total targets over 17 games just 15 catches 132 yards and just to confirm that Jordan aens was not utilized by the Browns he played Just 231 offensive snaps last year that was the lowest number in a season for his entire career just 19% of the offensive snaps but he did play 138 snaps on special teams which was the highest of his entire career 27% on special team so we saw aens last year not an offensive weapon like we had thought coming into the year more of a special teams guy and granted David and joku was available all last season so there was no real need for a second tight end to step up and play a big role even though David be careful dude you got to stay out of the fire man for real stay out of them Flames but you know you can't Bank on health for any position in in football just it's not it's not practical and and unfortunately it's across board even the quarterback position we saw that last year not just in Cleveland with deshun Watson but across the league how many teams finished the season with their main starting top QB on IR there was a lot of them so it happens running backs linebackers cornerbacks defensive tackle like these guys get hurt you have to have good depth if you want to have a good team and right now the Browns do have very good depth pretty much at every position except for this one so today we're going to talk about three tight end options that now this is you know of there's been no reports from the Browns about any of these guys not that I've seen anyway these are just three tight ends that I'm looking at who could be very good possible options for the Browns to help bolster the tight end position the tight end depth so we've got one guy who was just signed as a udfa we've got one guy that I'm looking at as a possible trade Target and we've got one guy as a possible free agent Target so before we talk about these three players I just want to go through currently under contract for the Browns of course David and joku at the top his cap number in 2024 is $9.6 million Jordan Akin behind him at $2.3 million and we do still have zier Mitchell peyon $795,000 against the cap he was signed as a udfa prospect in 2022 he's been on the practice squad but I just wanted to make sure I mentioned him because he is technically on the roster and we've also added Giovani Richie in free agency this season he spent his first three seasons with the Carolina Panthers as like a tight end fullback hybrid he has only caught nine passes for 102 yards in those three years but I mean it's really just been one season of production in 2022 Giovanni Richie caught eight passes for 100 yards so that means he's only got one catch for two yards in those other two seasons so Giovanni Richie like we talked about when we first signed him kind of brought in mainly as a special teamer maybe some tight end depth depending on how the roster shakes out over the summer but we have now added one more tight end to the roster Treyton Welch and he is the first guy that we're going to dive into on the episode this is trayon Welch the udfa signing out of Wyoming 6'3 240 lbs he is 23 years old I did talk about him brief ly last week on my udfa recap episode in the last three seasons trayon Welch started every game for Wyoming he went 19 for 163 yards three years ago then 22 catches for 308 in 2022 and now this past season in 2023 caught 31 passes for 308 yards again he had 77 career receptions 874 yards and nine touchdowns in his time at Wyoming so I put in my notes here don't worry these numbers are not here to impress your socks off but that's why like the Browns we've got to evaluate players just beyond their production especially when they're coming from these smaller schools the level of competition isn't as high the level of uh players ability around him is not as high as if he had gone to a you know a big 10 school or he played at Notre Dame or in the SEC or something like that I'm not sure I'd have to look it up to see who the quarterback was at Wyoming but I'm sure the talent was not a top tier level not everybody's Josh Allen right so the thing with traon Welch and I mentioned this again last week 8.75 relative Athletic score so this guy is an athletic player and he's worth taking a shot on for the Browns because as we'll see as I go through my notes here he was a highly sought-after priority undrafted free agent for a lot of NFL teams so trayon Welch did play wide receiver in high school he was by all accounts everything I've read an elite wide receiver in high school he was the 10th overall ranked player coming out of Minnesota when he was a senior in high school going into college and he was a finalist for the Minnesota Mr Football award as a senior so he did an interview with the orange and brown report and they asked him why he did not transfer to a more prominent power five school during his time in college his quote I learned loyalty and it was important to me to be loyal loyal to the agreement that I made 5 years ago when I signed a piece of paper saying I was going to be a Wyoming Cowboy for the 5 years at the University of Wyoming it was huge for me to be loyal to the university so before the draft Welch actually received phone calls from Brown's new tight end Coach Tommy Reese and the new coaching and uh Personnel consultant Mike Vel he said that the Browns texted him and they kept in contact with him all during the draft all weekend long and Mike Vel actually called him during the draft so the Browns were were clearly making a strong effort to stay connected to trayon Welch over the course of the weekend like I mentioned before he was a high priority udfa several NFL teams were big on trayon Welch and wanted to make sure they got him onto their roster for the summer the Browns knew there was going to be competition to sign him so he was asked you know why did you Cho choose the Browns he said the Browns have opportunity in the tight end room and that's of of course why we're talking about this topic today and also the Browns did not draft another tight end during the weekend so he knew that the path to not just having an opportunity to make a practice squad but the path to actually making the active roster is there open and available for trayon Welch that's why he chose the Browns now per PFF trayon Welch graded out actually better than FBS tight ends like uh Jared Wy from TCU Theo Johnson from Penn State guys who got drafted over the weekend Welch had just one drop in all of 2023 137 of his 308 yards came after the catch that's 44% and that was good for 4.3 Yak yards per reception so 4.3 yards after each catch is what he was averaging um 80% this is a huge one for me 80% contested catch rate he caught eight of 10 contested passes now of course that's not a high number but it is a high percentage that was the fourth highest percentage among all FBS and FCS tight ends so again trayon Welch 63 240 not the biggest guy but his history as a top tier wide receiver Prospect coming into college does give him a receiving prowess that could maybe shine in Camp for the Browns over the summer Brian Phelps on X said that Welch was grossly misused at Wyoming uh a coaching change there was long overdue so again even though he's not the biggest tight end like I said he did score seven 75.2 pass block grade from PFF eighth best in the nation and a 73.9 run block grade so those numbers indicate he's no slouch in the P or the the blocking department so stay tuned on uh more information for trayon Welch he is a guy coming into training camp over the summer he's going to be doing rookie mini camp this coming weekend we're going to be watching the progress there to see does this guy have a legitimate shot to make an impact on the Browns roster because we are just desperate for depth and reliability at the backup tight end position and while we always talk about rookie tight ends take a long time to transition into the NFL yada yada yada we still need capable players there and if he can come in and maybe it takes him a little time to get up to the blocking learning curve for from college to the NFL for a tight end David and joku can block but if this guy can come in and relieve some of En joku some of what we need him to do in the passing game if he can come in and be a reliable second option in the passing game for the tight end position that would be huge so it's something we're going to be watching and we're really going to be paying attention because trayon Welch as of now is scheduled to come onto the podcast next week we're going to be interviewing him and letting you guys get familiar one-on-one with Wyoming Cowboys udfa signing for the Browns tight end traon Welch we are very excited for that episode so again YouTube make sure you guys are liking this channel subscribing notifications so you don't miss when that episode drops this episode is brought to you by Omaha Stakes Browns fans Mother's Day is coming up and if you are having a cookout or a get together with friends and family and whatever you want to make sure you have the best food available and that's Omaha Stakes head to Omaha stakes. cdog right now they're doing their spring sale 50% off sitewide plus you know it you get $30 off your order when you use promo code dogs Dawgs when you check out get all the good stuff for Mother's Day grill out some steaks Burgers chicken 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the second tight end player that I want to talk about the second tight end option for the Browns that they could be considering or in my opinion should be considering this one is the trade the potential trade that I would like to see if the Browns did this I'd be pretty pumped if they went and got Brevin Jordan the tight end from the Houston Texans yes I know another interaction with the Houston Texans but we just seem to be linked to them in a lot of different ways and I don't really care where he's coming from it's the player that I like now brevan Jordan if you're not familiar he's another smaller size tight end but he is a guy who has good receiving skills 6'3 245 very similar size to trayon Welch now this guy has already played three seasons in the league and he's still only 20 23 years old so he's the same age as trayon Welch but he's already got three years under his belt at the NFL level he played college at Miami and he was a fifth round pick by the Texans back in 2021 so in his three years in the NFL brevan Jordan hasn't really had outstanding production but again like I mentioned in the trait and Welsh segment tight ends it is a it is a much steeper learning curve transitioning from college to the NFL and not very many tight ends can make that transition quickly and if you if you pay attention if you look back at tight end contracts and draft picks and things like that very few tight ends actually sign a second contract with the team that drafted them and it's because of this very reason it just takes more time for these guys to develop and I think it's why you see teams like the Browns just completely forego drafting tight ends altogether cuz we draft a tight end it takes them four to five years to develop he might not even be on our roster by the time he really gets to playing at his top potential in the NFL so like I I was talking about before the draft the Browns have only ever drafted one tight end the entire five drafts that Andrew Barry has been here now so they are understanding that learning curve and they are taking advantage of not investing draft Capital into it and I totally understand it unless you've got an outlier prospect that you really think can make that jump it it's probably not even worth taking a swing on but a guy like brevan Jordan and I'll I'll talk about his his contracts situation why I think he's a good trade Target but he has played 34 games in his three seasons with the Texans he has 51 total catches for 525 yards and five touchdowns in his career so far now he's only dropped two passes total in all three seasons so that's very encouraging for me he's a sure-handed reliable receiving option 311 of his 525 yards are Yak yards that's 59% of his total career yardage has come after the catch I love that number 6.1 yards after catch per reception I think that is a huge that's that's a good indicator right there that this guy can be used as a nice weapon in the receiving game get him the ball and let him work after the catch kind of the same way that we used David and joku he's got a 54.5 contested catch rate he's got six of 11 total contested passes caught over his career and what I like about Brevin Jordan why I think that he could be attainable for the Browns and first two seasons brevan Jordan played with Davis Mills not the best quarterback to be developing with last year he was bumped down on the depth chart behind Dalton Schultz they brought in in free agency and he obviously dton Schultz is a very good tight end he he became a very reliable and favorite Target for CJ strad so brevan Jordan's opportunities decreased and Schultz just resigned with Houston so the Texans now have Dalton Schultz back at the top of their depth chart and they just drafted Cade Stover from Ohio State so the tight end room is getting crowded in Houston and a guy like Brevin Jordan is now going into the final year of his rookie deal so there there's really no world that I see Brevin Jordan with the Houston Texans in 2024 having some massive breakout season where they're saying we have got to resign this guy we got to keep him under contract and bring him back so we and that's because of Dot Schultz and now Kate Stover being on the roster too and they've got Stefan Diggs coming in with Nico Collins and tank D they're receiving options are disgusting they really are they have done a really good job of bringing in receiving options to put around CJ strad so a guy like Brevin Jordan is not going to get opportunities there which means he is not going to get a second contract with Houston after this season which means after this year he just walks into free agency and signs with whoever he wants so from the Houston perspective what's the point in keeping this guy around just for this year to be a depth piece and then he walks away next year if the Browns wanted to trade for him it would be a late round pick I can't imagine it would take anything more than a sixth maybe a seventh round pick to bring in a guy like brevan Jordan who again tight end hasn't produced a whole lot because he's super young at the tight end position 23 years old I can't believe he's 23 and he's he's about to be going into his second contract that's insane which to me just says there is a lot of future left for Brevin Jordan he was a guy coming out of college that I really liked and understanding this whole process of tight ends in the NFL it makes sense why at 23 years old he still hasn't really popped the opportunities really have not been there playing with crappy quarterbacks on crappy teams in Houston and now being kind of buried on their depth chart heading into a contract season it just makes sense for Houston well let's just get a seventh round pick or maybe a sixth round pick whatever it might take to get him but I like the prospects of having Brevin Jordan on the Cleveland Browns behind David and joku I think he could be a very nice weapon in the receiving game and he could be a very reliable option God forbid anything happened to David during the season brevan Jordan could step up maybe have a little bit of a mini breakout in Cleveland and if and if it doesn't pan out and he has no production here then we let him walk in free agency no harm no foul we gave up a late round pick for you know to take a swing at a tight endend into with three years under his belt super young guy still it's the kind of move that I think Andrew Barry that likes to make you take a lowrisk high upside shot on a player and see what happens this episode is brought to you by boten Sports Browns fans boten Sports is your One-Stop shot for all your athletic gear boten started out perfecting and Manufacturing the best balls in the business yeah if that sounded that's more about your mind than my words but hey it's true baseballs softballs footballs basketballs volleyballs soccer balls you name it and boten has engineered the highest standard Sports balls available and now they offer More Than 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Browns if he shows out during camp and everything like that whether he comes in and he's like the tight end three or he makes the practice squad and hangs out there for a year whatever the case may be this this next guy here in free agency is the guy that I want the Browns to Target to pursue and really I'd love to see them bring in tight end Logan Thomas as formerly of the Washington commanders here is your big bigger body tight end 6'6 250 lbs now he is 32 almost 33 years old so this is your older veteran but the dude has definitely got proven production to his name in terms of that production he is the most he he's the most proven option that the Browns could explore right now in free agency or in trade because you're not going out and getting any sort of high-profile tight end from another team one if they're if they're a good receiving or you just a good weapon tight end for another NFL team they want him they want that guy and he's probably too expensive for the Browns and they're not going to invest a lot of money in the tight end position after David and joku anyway Logan Thomas could be a good bargain veteran proven production type of player for the Browns in free agency so Logan Thomas he started his career as a quarterback for the Cardinals he was drafted back in 2014 then a couple years as an unsigned free agent he decided to transition to tight end signed by the bills in 2017 signed by Detroit the next year finally though in 2020 he signed with Washington and that's where his uh career as a tight end really took off so in his first season uh as a or football team member or whatever the hell they're calling themselves Logan Thomas 54 career targets to his name coming into that first first year in Washington 2020 dude just explodes 110 targets 72 receptions 670 yards and six touchdowns played 16 games just a complete breakout dominating season for Logan Thomas followed that up in 2021 with an injury riddled season he only played in six games just 18 catches 196 yards and three touchdowns so at that point it was looking like okay maybe this dud was just a one-year Wonder but no in 2022 he bounced back 14 games 39 catches 323 yards and a touchdown and now last season continued his bounceback from his injuries in 21 and in 2023 he played in 16 Games 55 catches 496 yards and four touchdowns Logan Thomas has a low Drop percentage just he had five drops on the 110 Targets in 2020 but he has just six total drops in the threee since then he's averaging around four yards after catch per reception the last four seasons he's a pretty good contested catch receiver 56% contested catch rate since 2020 and let's not pretend like he's been catching passes from any great quarterbacks either none of these guys on the episode today have had a chance to play with a quarterback like deshun Watson the biggest concern with Logan Thomas of course is his injury history he missed 11 games in 2021 missed three games in 2022 but he missed just one game last year in 2023 so he's on the upswing yes he's getting a little bit older but 33 years old still not that old for a tight end to be productive in the NFL especially whenever he's coming in to be the tight end two behind David and joku that's better odds for sustained health and he could prove to be a reliable Target near the end zone with that large frame just think about the Browns being down at like the the F or the six yard line or you know inside the 10 around that area it's first and goal and you're going to roll out there a package with you know you got David and joku on one side Logan Thomas on the other Amari Cedric Tilman and maybe Aiden Robbins or you know hey maybe Nick chub is back and he's ready to go whenever he's healthy and and he's down there your options that is an offense that is very very dangerous and I like I really like the idea of what Logan Thomas would bring to the Browns especially not having to be the main guy I think that is key for him at this point in his career by pff's grades uh he's not the best run blocker and he can probably be considered serviceable in the pass blocking game but as a former quarterback I think that Logan Thomas' key abilities really lie in his route running and knowing where he needs to be on the football field for his quarterback you just you see a lot of these college quarterbacks transition to tight end at the end NFL level and it seems to be I don't want to say like a screaming success but it seems to give them a little bit of an edge because they just understand a little bit better what they need to do from the quarterback perspective so let me know your thoughts in the comments which of these three tight ends would you prioritize for the Browns heading into 2024 as the tight end two behind David it and joku because again I don't think Jordan aens is that guy I don't know if he even makes the roster by the end of Camp depending on how guys like trayon Welch show out during Camp I don't know what they want to do with giovan Richie if they do sign a guy like Logan Thomas or they make a trade for a guy like brevan Jordan things could get pretty dicey for Jordan aens but we need to make improvements at tight end and if they make a couple of these moves I think trayon Welch is pretty much well he's a lock for sure to at least be around during the summer to have an opportunity to make his case for a roster spot or at the very least to make his case for the practice squad at the end of August but these other two guys brevan Jordan with the trade Logan Thomas with the free agent signing these things I really hope at least one of them happens for the Browns so drop it in the comments let me know which one of these guys you prefer or if there's another free agent option out there via trade or via free agency that we haven't mentioned that you guys are looking at saying hey this could be a possible option as well let me know and you know we'll look into into those things too maybe do an episode on your picks in the future as well so we love hearing from you guys want to know your thoughts and opinions on all of this stuff and hopefully the Browns are looking at ways to improve tight end here in the coming weeks before the team activities really ramp up in June then they take their little break and come back for training camp in July so it's exciting time to be a Browns fan I'm telling you guys this team is legit this roster is legit and if we're sitting here talking and doing the whole episode about the biggest roster hole for the Browns is the backup tight end that is incredible we've never been in this situation before in my lifetime and I'm just enjoying the ever loving crap out of this so want to hear from you guys let us know make sure you like subscribe tap the notification Bell on YouTube if you're listening on Spotify five star rating those are awesome they help out the show Apple podcast five-star written reviews help out the show love those you guys are the best audience in the world it's Cleveland against the freaking world and you know it is you know that's the truth and I I really don't have a whole lot else to say we're going to be doing an ask me anything uh live show I think tomorrow night on YouTube so stay tuned for that if you've got AMA questions that you would like the dogs podcast to answer and it could be anything from Brown's questions to podcasting questions to movies video games um Cavaliers go Cavs by the way I whatever whatever questions you have that you'd like us to answer drop them in the comments anywhere on any social media here on YouTube wherever you want we'll see them and we'll get to as many of them in the live show as possible so until I talk to you guys again let's go Browns thanks for listening to another episode of the dogs podcast make sure you subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Twitter at the dogs podcast get your thoughts on the show at the dogs podcast.com [Music]