For the third season in a row, the Cleveland Browns swung a trade for a veteran wide receiver.
In 2022, it was Amari Cooper, who they landed in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Last year, it was Elijah Moore, who was picked up from the New York Jets. Now, it's Jerry Jeudy who they acquired from the Denver Broncos for two late-round picks.
His addition will obviously help the Browns in more ways than one. Not only do they feel good about their wide receiver depth but they can now use the 54th pick on another need — such as defensive tackle. But it's not good for all the players on the roster. For example, these three could now be on the chopping block following the Jeudy addition.
3. Michael Woods II
Even if Jerry Jeudy wasn't traded, Michael Woods might have been on thin ice. A sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2022, Woods has just 45 yards on five receptions thus far in his career. Despite the low usage, there was some excitement surrounding him.
Woods proved to be a precise route runner from the moment he arrived and showed off an enormous catch radius during his rookie training camp. He then went into 2023 with a lot of promise but suffered a torn Achilles while working out in the offseason.
While out injured, he was suspended for six games due to a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. That doesn't help him moving forward and now with Jeudy in town, he's buried too deep on the depth chart to make an impact.
2. David Bell
David Bell was a production machine at Purdue. In three seasons, which were limited to just 29 games due to the COVID-shortened campaign in 2020, Bell had 232 receptions for 2,946 yards, and 21 touchdowns. He averaged 12.7 yards per catch and Sasquatch sightings were more frequent than seeing him drop the ball.
Expected to be an early Round 2 selection, Bell struggled in the NFL Combine with the athletic testing. His stock dropped, due in large part to a 4.65 time in the 40-yard dash and he fell to the Browns who took him 99th overall.
As a rookie, Bell appeared in 16 games but had just 35 passes thrown his way. He continued to show off sure hands and even did a solid job beating man coverage. However, he never stretched the field and finished with 214 yards on 24 receptions (an average of 8.9 per catch) and had no touchdowns.
This past season, he saw fewer targets after Cedric Tillman and Elijah Moore were added, but had more of an impact. Bell caught 14 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns. He even converted a couple of fourth-down conversions, one of which went for 41 yards and a score.
His development was promising but we can't forget that 68 yards and two of his touchdowns in Week 18 when playing primarily against backups.
Bell has the tools to be a long-time NFL player but he's not very dynamic and the addition of Jerry Jeudy means he's in danger of losing his spot if even one more wideout is added in the offseason.
1. Greg Newsome II
While the first two players were wideouts who could be directly impacted by Jerry Jeudy's arrival, our final player could be indirectly affected by Jeudy.
Greg Newsome II was added in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and has developed into a quality slot cornerback for the Browns. He's versatile enough to play on the boundary as well but has an issue when it comes to his long-term future in Cleveland — they're rather stacked in the secondary.
Denzel Ward, the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, remains the top Dawg and is playing on a five-year, $100.5 million contract. They also have Martin Emerson, a third-round pick from 2022 who developed into a physical force on the outside. There were times when Emerson outplayed Ward, which shows just how dominant he can be when he catches fire.
This puts Newsome in a tough spot. Entering his fourth season, the Browns have to decide by May 2 if they want to pick up the fifth-year option in his rookie deal. Doing so would guarantee him $13.77 million which is a lot to pay when there's already that much tied to the position. Throw in the fact that they just lost two late-round picks, and it all could be an incentive to move Newsome.
Rumors already started to surface that Cleveland was looking to trade a cornerback and this could be motivation to get that done sooner rather than later.