Deshaun Watson expects Cedric Tillman to be a great addition for Browns offense

NFL minicamp is underway, and while many of the headlines center around which veterans are or aren’t participating, it’s often the younger players who really get the most out of this practice time.

That may be true for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman. The former Tennessee product put together a very solid first season with 224 receiving yards as part of a Browns passing attack that was stellar all year long and no matter who was QB.

But the de facto QB1, Deshaun Watson, is loving what he’s seeing from Tillman in between years one and two and highlighted his play in a recent press conference.

“He’s been working, he’s been working really hard, and you can see it,” Watson said of Tillman.

“He’s been improving, he’s knowing what he’s got to do on each and every rep, he can play different positions, he can run all the routes, he can catch the big boy balls if you toss it up to him. And he can catch the tough ones and the easy ones.”

After playing a small role in 2023, Watson expects even more out of Cedric Tillman in his second season as a pro: “So I think he’s going to be a great addition for this offense and he’s going to help us out.”

Tillman was drafted by the Browns with the No. 74 overall pick back in 2023 on the heels of a tough final college year thanks to injury. However, his legacy was secure after a monster junior season anyway.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker was on point with Tillman and Jalin Hyatt for most of the 2022 season, and Hyatt especially, evidenced by his Biletnikoff Award.

Despite playing in only six games, Tillman was still a major factor, too, and caught 37 passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns. Had he not suffered an ankle injury, the numbers would have likely flown off the charts, as they did the year before. Even so, ’22 was an impressive end to a solid career with the Vols.

In 2021, Tillman eclipsed the 1,000-mark with 1,081 receiving yards on Heupel’s very first team in Knoxville, which also had an emerging Hendon Hooker at quarterback who initially took over for Joe Milton, who would then replace Hooker after he left for the NFL.

Tillman played high school football at Las Vegas (LV) Bishop Gorman, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,597 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.