Browns head coach gives early impression of WR Cedric Tillman
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Cedric Tillman was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Tillman has first-round talent, but he slipped in the draft due to an injury he suffered during his final season at Tennessee. The Las Vegas native suffered a high-ankle sprain in Tennessee's third […]
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Cedric Tillman was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Tillman has first-round talent, but he slipped in the draft due to an injury he suffered during his final season at Tennessee.
The Las Vegas native suffered a high-ankle sprain in Tennessee's third game of the 2022 season (a win against Akron). The injury lingered all season, forcing Tillman to miss key matchups against Florida, LSU, and Alabama (he also missed games against UT Martin, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Clemson).
Tillman is now fully healthy and he's ready to show the NFL what he showed the SEC in 2021 (when he came out of nowhere to catch 64 passes for 1,071 yards and 12 touchdowns).
So how do the Browns feel about Tillman so far?
Well, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski took time on Tuesday to praise Tillman's physical abilities as well as his intelligence.
"I think Ced's done a nice job," said Stefanski. "I think like all of our rookies, he's swimming at times — we're throwing a lot of information at them. He's very, very, very intelligent. So he's getting it, but it's a lot and we don't want to give them just pieces of it. We want to give them everything and just make them feel how much they have to work at this thing. So a lot of our rookies — Ced included — are inundated with information and meetings and he's doing a really nice job. I think you saw…I mean, that's his physical trait. The ability to just go body it up and go get the football…..But I think Ced's doing a really, really nice job. And like a lot of our rookies, he's learning."
Tillman has a chance to play a key role for the Browns this fall. He's not going to win a job during OTAs, but he can certainly give the coaching staff some things to think about. And it sounds like that's exactly what the former Vol is doing so far with his opportunity.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
