CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns’ 2024 season didn’t go the way anyone planned, a big reason they are picking No. 2 overall and why much of the roster’s long-term potential is being called into question.

It doesn’t mean there weren’t positives from the season, and a few players differentiated themselves — or at least showed they have a role as this roster enters its next phase.

You know about the core players like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Jerry Jeudy. Some other under-the-radar players showed they deserve a role on this roster in 2025

Jerome Ford

He’s not the answer at running back, but he’s part of the answer.

The Browns’ offense lacked explosive plays this season and when they did get them, it was either Jeudy or Ford with the ball. Ford accounted for four of the nine longest offensive plays in 2024 — Jeudy had three and the other two were passes to Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman — and he and Jeudy had the top four longest offensive plays this season.

Running back is an area where the Browns need to make an investment, either in free agency, the draft or both. Running the ball is cool again in the NFL and the offense and Kevin Stefanski got too far from their roots, ranking 23rd in rushing yards per play.

Ford, a fifth-round pick in 2022, has always had some boom-or-bust to his game and isn’t necessarily a bell cow back, but his ability to cut and go in the run game and make plays catching the ball makes him a valuable asset in the running back room, especially given he has one year remaining on his rookie deal. He’ll count $3,405,537 against the cap in 2025, a reasonable number for one of the few players currently on the roster who can turn a handoff or a short pass into a big gain.

Jordan Hicks

The 32-year-old linebacker was one of the Browns’ most reliable defenders when he was on the field. He missed five games this season, but the former Super Bowl champion with the Eagles and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz still finished third on the team in tackles and had two sacks.

More importantly, he filled the leadership void left by Anthony Walker Jr.’s departure in free agency last offseason, and was versatile and reliable after Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was lost for the season in Week 8 against Baltimore.

The Browns turned to a number of young linebackers to help fill the void left by Owusu-Koramoah, but it was Hicks who was a steadying presence throughout the year, and his $4.158 million cap number for 2025 is well worth having him in the locker room and in the middle of the defense.

Jack Conklin

There might not be a bigger example of a player who solidified his value than Conklin last season. The Browns managed to get by without him in 2023 thanks to strong play from then-rookie Dawand Jones after Conklin was lost for the season in Week 1. But Jones struggled when he returned from his own season-ending injury this season and the offensive line was a mess.

Conklin, whose return was delayed by a hamstring injury, finally made it back Week 6 in Philadelphia and played every snap in 11 of the 12 remaining games, including every snap from Week 8 on.

His high level of play doesn’t come cheap. He signed a four-year extension near the end of the 2022 season and has cap hits of $19,114,059 in 2025 and of $19.467 million in 2026. With no guaranteed money left, renegotiating his deal seems likely if the Browns want to keep their 30-year-old anchor on the right side, one of GM Andrew Berry’s first and most successful free agent signings.

With questions at left tackle and the future of left guard Joel Bitonio still unclear, creating more holes on the line doesn’t seem wise, especially if the Browns break in a rookie quarterback at some point next season.

Corey Bojorquez

The Browns had one of the league’s worst offenses in 2024, so their punter had plenty of opportunities to prove his value.

Bojorquez was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate and proved a valuable weapon. He helped set up a game-clinching safety in Jacksonville in Week 2 and regularly boomed punts that either died or went out of bounds before reaching the end zone, or gave his coverage units a chance to down them.

The Browns’ special teams went in the tank for most of the season, but Bojorquez was a bright spot and should continue to provide the defense a field position advantage next season, too.