The Opening Drive 8/18: The Browns Cutdown Watch List - Potential Cornerbacks and Tight End Cut Candidates to Monitor

We scoured every team's roster projections to find the Browns best chances at upgrading their weakest depth positions.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Browns are getting closer to the point where the roster they have taken through training camp will become the roster they take into the regular season.

That doesn’t necessarily mean all 53 players will come from the group currently in Cleveland.

Every year, roster cutdowns create opportunities for teams willing to churn the bottom of their roster. Players who are perfectly capable of contributing in the NFL become available because of numbers, scheme changes, younger draft picks, or simply because another team happens to be unusually deep at a position.

For the Browns, two positions should demand particular attention over the next two weeks: cornerback and tight end.

The Browns are thin at both spots, and the situation becomes even more concerning when you consider what happens if injuries hit during the regular season. That makes this year’s cutdown period particularly important.

The Browns shouldn’t simply wait until players are officially released, either. If there is someone they identify as a clear upgrade, Andrew Berry should be willing to make calls now and potentially surrender a conditional late-round pick rather than compete for that player once he becomes available.

Here are several names worth monitoring as teams work toward their final 53-man rosters.

---

Cornerback

Jaylon Jones, Indianapolis Colts

If there is one player on this list who immediately jumps out as a potential Browns target, it is Jaylon Jones.

Jones is only 24 years old and already has significant NFL experience, but a changing cornerback room in Indianapolis has put him in an unexpected fight for a roster spot. Recent Colts coverage has specifically identified Jones as one of the team’s more notable bubble players.

That’s exactly the type of situation Cleveland should be monitoring.

This isn’t an aging veteran hanging onto the back end of a roster. Jones is a young corner who has already demonstrated that he can play NFL snaps on the outside.

Those players don’t become available very often.

The Browns don’t necessarily need another starting cornerback. What they desperately need is more trustworthy depth behind their starters, and Jones would immediately make the room deeper while still possessing enough youth to develop into something more potentially.

If Indianapolis decides he isn’t going to make its 53, Berry should be on the phone before he ever reaches waivers.

---

Jakorian Bennett, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia might be the first team I would call if I were looking for cornerback help.

And following the Eagles’ first preseason game, the possibility of Jakorian Bennett becoming available looks even more legitimate.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s newest 53-man projection has Philadelphia keeping Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen, Jonathan Jones, Mac McWilliams and Kelee Ringo at cornerback.

Bennett is projected to be cut, along with Shaun Wade, Ambry Thomas and Tariq Castro-Fields, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Bennett is 25 years old, athletic, and already has NFL defensive experience. More importantly for the Browns, he has experience playing outside corner rather than being limited to the slot.

This is exactly where the Browns should be looking for August value.

Philadelphia may have more NFL-caliber defensive backs than it can keep.

If Bennett is available for a conditional late-round pick before cuts, Andrew Berry should be making calls, especially considering his established relationships in Philadelphia.

---