What the hell... early prediction of the 53-man roster on the eve of camp.
QB (2): McCown, Manziel
-Browns go with 2 active QBs with Shaw back to the practice squad.
RB (3): Crowell, Johnson, West
-No surprises here.
FB (1): M. Johnson
-More of an H-back, but we're calling him a FB for this purpose
WR (7): Bowe, Hartline, Gabriel, Hawkins, Benjamin, Pryor, Mayle
-Went back and forth on this one a lot. Bowe, Hartline, Gabriel and Hawkins are locks. Benjamin could be a bubble guy. Usually not easy to sneak 4th round picks like Mayle onto the practice squad. I could be an idiot for thinking this, but as of now I feel pretty confident that Pryor will make the roster in some capacity and be listed as a WR
TE (3): Housler, Dray, Barnidge
-Wouldn't be surprised if Bibbs or Haplea takes a spot from Dray or Barnidge. Both guys are practice squad candidates.
OL (8): Thomas, Bitonio, Mack, Greco, Schwartz, Erving, Bowie, McDonald
-Guessing Greco and Schwartz make up the right side of the line, making Erving the primary backup at basically all five spots. Cam's versatility allows to the Browns to only keep 8 instead of 9. Probably looking at two young guys on the practice squad if they only keep eight.
K (1): Coons
P (1): Lee
LS (1): Hughlett
Special Teams Total: 3
-No surprises at P or LS. Flip a coin on the kicker.
DE (7): D. Bryant, Shelton, Cooper, Hughes, Kitchen, Starks, Winn
-Have a feeling Phil Taylor will open the year on PUP coming off multiple knee surgeries. Thinking Bryant/Shelton/Starks start with Hughes/Kitchen/Cooper rotating in. Taylor takes Winn's spot when he's healthy
ILB (4): Dansby, Robertson, Kirksey, Carder
-Robertson/Kirksey timeshare opposite Dansby again. Pullard perhaps beats out Carder, but I have him to the practice squad.
OLB (5): Kruger, Mingo, Orchard, Solomon, A. Bryant
-Kruger locked in. Mingo/Orchard/Solomon battle it out for starter opposite PK. I believe A. Bryant is making the transition to OLB and probably gets eased in on passing downs as he comes back off the ACL.
CB (5): Haden, T. Williams, K. Williams, Gilbert, Desir
-Best unit on the team IMO. Gaines to the practice squad.
FS (3): Gipson, Poyer, Bademosi
-Bademosi is a special teams nut, so I think he makes it.
SS (2): Whitner, Campbell
-Campbell hopefully can take over for Whitner a couple of years from now.
Offense: 24
Defense: 26
Special Team: 3