Looking ahead and trying to predict if any of the Cleveland Browns UDFAs will make the week one roster in 2024.
Yesterday we looked to see how likely the Cleveland Browns draft picks are to make the week one roster in 2024. Today we are looking to see if any of the UDFAs will make the week one roster.
The 2024 Cleveland Browns have the deepest roster in the NFL when it comes to talent and that isn’t a surprise considering it is also the most expensive one in the league. I had assumed there would be very little chances to make the roster as a UDFA last year but both Mohamoud Diabate & Ronnie Hickman managed it.
Here is a look at the Cleveland Browns 2024 UDFA group per reports:
RB Aidan Robbins
WR Ahmarean Brown
TE Treyton Welch
T Lorenzo Thompson
G Javion Cohen
C Jalen Sundell
LB Winston Reid
CB Dyshawn Gales
S Chris Edmonds
RB Aidan Robbins
He has a tough battle, if Chubb starts the season on PUP then you still have Ford, Foreman, Hines and Strong as legitimate competition for three spots. While they could certainly keep four backs in balance of something else I don’t expect it to be a likely outcome. For me his best chance is to impress enough that he can get a spot on the practice squad. Even if he was to beat the odds of making the team, once Chubb returns he would probably be the person who leaves to create a roster spot for him.
Roster Chance – 5%
WR Ahmarean Brown
The Cleveland Browns have impressive depth to this position room. In the past a room of Tillman, Thrash & Bell would have rivalled some of the starting rotations they have put together in the rebuilding years. They have given him some guarantees so I expect them to try and bring him back on the practice squad, you don’t want to be using one of the six veteran practice squad spots on a returner, it is better to save this for harder to learn positions like tackle.
Roster Chance – 5%
TE Treyton Welch
When the team only has two tight ends of note and you expect them to keep three then it is an open contest. If Giovanni Ricci was that popular an option then I would have expected him to get more than $50,000 guaranteed. Lots of people are high on Zaire Mitchell-Paden but the track record of players outside of running backs to spend two years on the practice squad and then make the roster is very low so it seems unlikely. The question comes down to do they look at free agency options or players other teams are willing to move off of or could they just keep two on the roster. For me I would consider a reduction, they don’t need a third tight end who rarely sees the field and the special teams role could be reduced with the new kickoff rules. For me I would rather have the additional lineman.
Roster Chance – 25%
T Lorenzo Thompson
They have lots of bodies competing for the fourth and final tackle spot on the roster, I’m not sure who gets it but they will likely want someone ready to go week one with how injuries have hit them in the past. This is why I think they steer away from a UDFA and go for someone like Hakeem Adeniji or James Hudson.
Roster Chance – 15%
G Javion Cohen
The Cleveland Browns are likely to keep five safeties this year but there is a chance they could drop to four in an attempt top keep an additional player in another spot but I am going to continue predicting five until we get a sign they are open to moving this around. If they keep five then Edmonds would need to displace McLeod or Bell, the issue is both have shown promise for the team and you would rather have them here for a year than bet on the UDFA becoming a piece for years to come. Bell’s special teams play will be a big factor too and why I expect him to return.
Roster Chance – 5%
Per Agent, Browns to Sign C Brian Allen
The Cleveland Browns have come to an agreement with free agent center Brian Allen according to Allen’s agency.
The Cleveland Browns are going to sign free agent center Brian Allen according to his agency, AMDG. Allen was released two months ago by the Los Angeles Rams.
Allen has spent the past six years with the Los Angeles Rams. 2021, he was the team’s starter when the Rams won the Super Bowl.
Allen, 28 years old, was a fourth round selection out of Michigan State in 2018. After one year as a backup, Allen took over the starting job. He would suffer an MCL injury which ended his season. In 2020, he suffered another knee injury before reclaiming the job in 2021. Knee and thumb injuries put him on the sideline in 2022, allowing Coleman Shelton to come in and take over the job in 2022 and then keep it in 2023.
Allen wasn’t undersized and not a great athlete coming out of college. But at only 6’1″ 298 pounds, he was a gritty fireplug who won with leverage technique and plenty of grit. That enabled him to fight his way into being a fourth-round draft pick and a starter on a Super Bowl winning team.
He joins a team with plenty of competition at center in the Browns. Beyond Ethan Pocic, the Browns also have Luke Wypler, last year’s sixth-round pick. They also reportedly are planning to sign Jalen Sundell, an undrafted rookie out of North Dakota State, though he has experience at both tackle and center. This could potentially signal that the focus for Sundell will be tackle, but that’s to be determined.
Allen’s agency, AMDG, was founded by LeCharles Bentley. Bentley was born and raised in Cleveland and has played football in high school, college and briefly the NFL in the state, including a brief stint with the Browns. Additionally, Allen’s agent is none other than former Browns third-round pick, offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao. Lauvao was selected by the Browns out of Arizona State with the 92nd selection of the 2010 draft. He was with the Browns until 2013, then continued his career in Washington with the team now known as the Commanders until 2018 when he retired.
With the nine undrafted free agents the Browns have reportedly come to terms with, unless the team makes another move, this will bring them to their 90-man roster limit.
Projected salaries, signing bonuses for Ohio State’s 2024 NFL draftees
In total, these Buckeyes will make more than $51 million on their rookie contracts.
The 2024 NFL Draft wrapped up on Saturday evening after a three-day event in Detroit, Michigan, that began with the first round on Thursday night. From an Ohio State perspective, it was a down year in the NFL Draft, as only four former Buckeye stars heard their names called during the proceedings, the fewest since 2013, due largely to the number of juniors who decided to return. This ended a run of five consecutive years with at least five players selected.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was the first and only former Scarlet and Gray player off the board in the first. Harrison heard his name called with the fourth overall pick and will head to the Arizona Cardinals. Fifty picks later, defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. became the second Ohio State player to be selected. The Streetsboro, Ohio, native will return close to home after he was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the second round.
It took until the fourth round for the third Buckeye to hear his name called as tight end Cade Stover was taken by the Houston Texans. Rapping up the draft for the Scarlet and Gray was Tommy Eichenberg. The linebacker was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fifth round, No. 148 overall.
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While it wasn’t the largest draft class, the Ohio State players who did get selected will be well compensated. These four players are projected to make over $51 million ($51,420,677) combined and signing bonuses totaling over $25 million ($25,487,524).
Here are the expected salaries for these four Buckeyes that were drafted.
*** Note: Salaries and signing bonus projections were acquired from Spotrac.com.
MARVIN HARRISON JR., WR – ARIZONA CARDINALS
Round 1, Pick 4
Total value: $35,376,397
Signing bonus: $22,548,289
Average annual value: $8,844,099
MICHAEL HALL JR., DT – CLEVELAND BROWNS
Round 2, Pick 54
Total value: $6,911,833
Signing bonus: $1,846,788
Average annual value: $1.727,958
CADE STOVER, TE – HOUSTON TEXANS
Round 4, Pick 123
Total value: $4,775,150
Signing bonus: $755,150
Average annual value: $1,193,788
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TOMMY EICHENBERG, LB – LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Round 5, Pick 148
Total value: $4,357,297
Signing bonus: $337,297
Average annual value: $1,089,324
This article originates on Bucknuts.
