4 takeaways from Browns’ initial 53-man roster for 2022

For the third consecutive year since Andrew Berry became Executive VP and GM of Football Operations, the Browns have kept all their rookie draft picks.

That seemed highly unlikely after the Browns drafted nine players and added to a roster that already was deep before the draft started, but strong training camps from guys who might’ve been considered on the bubble changed that.

Thomas, a seventh-rounder, had two sacks in the first preseason game. Woods, a sixth-rounder, was one of the most impressive players during the first week of camp, and it helped him stay on the roster despite missing the last three weeks with a hamstring injury. Dawson Deaton, a seventh-rounder, was placed on injured reserve and won’t play this season, but he would’ve had a shot at making the 53-man roster, too, with the season-ending knee injury to Nick Harris.

The Browns have kept all 24 of the players they’ve drafted under Berry since 2020, a remarkable feat that shows just how well the front office has constructed the roster through the draft. Bell, a safety who also went undrafted out of Division II West Florida, is also the first undrafted rookie to crack the initial 53-man list.

The first draft of the 53-man roster will almost certainly not be the same list we see Sept. 11 in Charlotte, and two positions stick out most as ones likely to change: tight end and defensive end.

David Njoku and Harrison Bryant are the only two tight ends on the initial roster, but the Browns have always carried three or more tight ends under head coach Kevin Stefanski. They’ll need someone as a backup for Njoku and Bryant.

From a playbook perspective, the offense likely won’t use packages featuring three tight ends as much this season, but they led the league in 13-personnel usage (three tight ends, one running back) in each of the last two seasons. They won’t go away from those looks entirely, so the third tight end could be someone…