Every training camp comes with players looking to prove something to their respective teams. Whether it's a player on the bubble hoping to earn a roster spot, or a player seeking redemption following an injury or a bad season, and the Cleveland Browns roster is no different.

Littered with a lot of young talent, success for Cleveland will be very dependent on how a largely inexperienced roster develops as the 2026 season progresses. The veterans who remain in place also enter with their fair share of expectations to hit as well, though, especially if the team plans on winning more games than expected this fall. 

Here are the top 5 Browns players with the most to prove in 2026:

Nobody on this roster, or arguably in the NFL, has more to prove this season than Watson. Entering the final year of his lucrative and controversial five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns, there's no telling what his future holds beyond this season. 

Watson will enter camp in a heated battle with Shedeur Sanders for the starting QB job, but for him, it's about much more than simply winning the starting job for Cleveland this season. This QB competition could very well determine whether or not he has a future in the NFL, at least one as a starting QB.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Watson, hence why he tops the list of Browns players with the most to prove. 

Jeudy put together a career year in his first season with the Browns in 2024. He followed it up with one of the worst performances of his career in 2025. The inconsistent QB play certainly didn't help his cause, but the 27-year-old has been trying to live up to his first-round pick expectations since he entered the league in 2020. 

That's no different for the upcoming season, as Jeudy looks to produce a bounce-back effort that proves he is the No. 1 WR he looked like two years ago. 

Myles Garrett is gone and opposing offensive lines are rejoicing. The amount of attention that he commanded created opportunities for the other members of Cleveland's defensive line to make plays. That includes Wright, who developed into a nice complement on the opposite side of Garrett. 

He'll need to be even more impactful in that spot, now, as a running mate to Jared Verse, who is still a really good player, but isn't Garrett. Wright can earn every penny of that second contract he signed last season with a breakout performance. 

Joe Thomas retired nearly a decade ago and the Browns have been desperately searching for someone to stabilize the left tackle spot he once manned ever since. 

Enter Spencer Fano, the freakishly athletic rookie who will immediately start at left tackle for Cleveland. Growing pains are to be expected, especially at that position where truly making the leap to the NFL takes time. 

Expectations are high for Fano to become a cornerstone player in the trenches. And nobody serves to benefit more from the Utah product working out than GM Andrew Berry, who has failed to draft a viable replacement for Thomas in his seven years with the franchise. Will that change with Fano? Pressures on. 

Entering training camp, Tillman's path to the 53-man roster is as unclear as ever. Yes, he's had some moments where he's looked ready to cement himself as the Browns' big-bodied wide receiver, but they've been few and far between, largely due to endless injuries that have kept him off the field over the last three years. 

This year, Cleveland essentially drafted his replacement in Washington product Denzel Boston. Tillman needs a big camp to prove he still belongs on this roster, as part of a wide receiver room that was transformed around him. this offseason. 

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