The Browns held their first practice of organized team activities Tuesday, and Wednesday’s session will be the first one open to reporters.
There will be 10 OTA practices — Tuesday through Thursday, May 30-June 1 and June 5-8 — before mandatory minicamp June 13-15, summer vacation and then the start of training camp in late July.
The collective bargaining agreement prohibits live contact and padded practices in OTAs but allows seven-on-seven, nine-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills.
So even though there’s only so much that can be gleaned from spring practices, OTAs should still provide some lessons about the state of the team.
Quarterback contest
Cody Kessler enters OTAs atop the depth chart after working on his arm strength and mechanics this offseason in an effort to satisfy coach Hue Jackson’s desire for a legitimate deep-passing attack.
Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas thinks Kessler’s arm is stronger now than it was during his rookie season, when the third-round draft pick from Southern California went 0-8 as a starter last year for a 1-15 team.
If Jackson agrees, Kessler would increase his odds of holding off rookie DeShone Kizer, Brock Osweiler and Kevin Hogan in what the team’s bigwigs are calling an open competition for the starting job.
Jackson has declined to reveal the pecking order behind Kessler, but Osweiler will almost certainly begin OTAs second in the order because he has the most NFL experience in this group.
Kizer is likely Kessler’s biggest threat, though. Jackson has said he wouldn’t prevent Kizer, a second-round pick, from starting immediately if he shows he’s ready. How quickly or slowly he absorbs everything Jackson puts on his plate will be a key variable in this derby.
New defense
Gregg Williams, hired as defensive coordinator in January, will begin to implement his system in earnest with the veteran players and rookies joining each other in a real practice setting for the first time.
As Williams figures out where the pieces fit in his 4-3 base defense and dozens of sub-packages, here’s a projected starting lineup:
Ends: rookie Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah
Tackles: Danny Shelton and ?
Linebackers: Jamie Collins (strongside), Christian Kirksey (weakside) and Demario Davis (middle)
Cornerbacks: Joe Haden, Jamar Taylor and Briean Boddy-Calhoun (nickel)
Free safety: ?
Strong safety: rookie Jabrill Peppers
At defensive tackle, Desmond Bryant and rookies Larry Ogunjobi and Caleb Brantley figure to be the top contenders for the three-technique spot next to Shelton.
At free safety, veteran cornerback Jason McCourty will receive a chance to switch positions and fill the void with Derrick Kindred, Ed Reynolds and Tyvis Powell in the mix as well.
McCourty will start out at cornerback, and if a transition to free safety doesn’t appear promising for him, he would shake up the depth chart at corner and play a prominent role there.
Back in action
One lesson has already been learned because the Crow did show.
Amid questions about whether starting running back Isaiah Crowell would join the Browns for OTAs, he participated in the first practice Tuesday.
Crowell, 24, had been absent from previous voluntary workouts this offseason, and the club had been coy about whether it expected him to attend OTAs, perhaps because it didn’t know whether he would.
He signed his second-round tender as a restricted free agent May 10. He’s scheduled to make $2.746 million in 2017 and become an unrestricted free agent in March.
With the upgrades the Browns made to the interior of their offensive line in free agency and Jackson lamenting the lack of carries he gave Crowell last season, when he rushed 198 times for a career-high 952 yards (4.8 average) and seven touchdowns, the running game should finally be resurrected.
Position battle
Speaking of the offensive line, the starting job at right tackle is up for grabs.
Shon Coleman is the favorite, but the 2016 third-round pick who barely played last season must prove he’s a better option than Cameron Erving, Matt McCants, Spencer Drango and Zach Sterup.
No one will be able to win this job until there’s live hitting, but Coleman can still show the coaches he’s on the right track in OTAs.
On paper, the offensive line is impressive. Whether Coleman can reach his potential will be crucial, though.
Wide receiver watch
The Browns finished last season in need of help in their receiving corps. They signed Kenny Britt in free agency but lost Terrelle Pryor, so they broke even, so to speak. Then they drafted 10 players last month without taking a wide receiver.
So they’re not only counting on 2016 first-round pick Corey Coleman to emerge as their lead receiver, but they’re also giving the three other receivers they drafted last year — Ricardo Louis (fourth round), Jordan Payton (fifth) and Rashard Higgins (fifth) — more opportunities to show they can contribute in a major way.
But if they don’t inspire enough confidence this spring, it’ll be time to sign a veteran receiver.
Kicking duel
The competition between incumbent Cody Parkey and rookie seventh-round pick Zane Gonzalez will be tracked by special teams coordinator Chris Tabor throughout the offseason.
So the pressure is already on these guys to be at their best.
Gonzalez is considered the front-runner by virtue of becoming the first kicker drafted by the Browns since 1989.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.