3 Browns Already on Thin Ice Entering Week 1

2. Elijah Moore

The former New York Jets wide receiver needs to get off to a solid start against the Cowboys as the Browns have a couple of young wideouts pushing to move up the depth chart.

Moore had a solid first year with the Browns last season, but it wasn’t overly spectacular as the No. 2 wide receiver, playing alongside Amari Cooper. The 5-foot-10 wide receiver recorded 59 receptions (104 targets) for 640 yards and two touchdowns.

All those numbers were career-highs for Moore, except for touchdowns. Additionally, Moore had five dropped passes (career-worst) last season. The Browns understood they couldn’t run it back this year with Moore as the WR2, so they traded for Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos.

Jeudy is almost in the same boat as Moore in that they were high draft picks who couldn’t find their footing with their old teams. 

With the Browns adding Jeudy as the WR2, Moore should get more favorable options out of the slot. He’ll need to take advantage of those opportunities on Sunday against a Dallas secondary without All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland because of injury.

This is a pivotal game and season for Moore as he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Based on what he does on the field, Moore will be in Cleveland for the foreseeable future or playing on a new team.