BEREA — There were a number of reasons for the Browns’ 5-12 2025 season. Many of the primary ones are well known and have been well covered.
Special teams might not have been the No. 1 or No. 2 cause of the disastrous season, but they were certainly a major contributing factor in the way it played out, which resulted in a change at head coach from Kevin Stefanski to Todd Monken.
After Monken was hired, Bubba Ventrone — Stefanski’s special teams coordinator the previous three seasons — departed for the same position with the Los Angeles Rams. Byron Storer was hired to replace him, and in his introductory news conference, set the table for what he saw in the Browns special teams.
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“The thing about, I think the building blocks are here,” Storer said March 4. “The foundation of players is here. … When I went through the interview process, I got fired up about the players that we have here, and then we’re going to obviously … add more to go through free agency and then the draft.”
Nearly three months later, Storer’s words on the eve of the NFL’s player acquisition period proved true. If there was any area the Browns appeared to bolster, it was in what they did to help the special teams.
The initial wave of free agency was clearly spent on offensive or defensive help. It was during the second wave that help started to arrive in former Detroit Lion Daniel Thomas and former Baltimore Raven Tylan Wallace, and the Browns also re-signed Julian Okwara.
“So, what we really focused on in that free agency, later in free agency, was trying to get some gunner competition, and that was where those two guys come into play,” Storer said after the Browns’ May 27 OTA. “And the cool thing about Tylan, too, is he is versatile. He’s kick returned, he’s punt returned. He’s really done it all. So Tylan was a really cool addition from my perspective. We had him rated really high in free agency in terms of special teams value.”
Thomas, a defensive back, has played 1,417 special teams snaps in his career, compared to 556 defensive snaps. Wallace, a wide receiver, has played 986 special-teams snaps in his career, compared to 686 offensive snaps.
Wallace has returned 12 punts for a 16.2-yard average and a touchdown. He also averaged 26.3 yards on three kickoff returns in the Ravens’ Week 2 win over the Browns last year in Baltimore.
The punt return spot, in particular, was an area where the Browns have struggled to find consistent success at least since Travis Benjamin about a decade ago. Gage Larvadan ultimately settled into the role by the middle of the season, but Wallace and first-round draft pick KC Concepcion are among the additions being auditioned.
“First of all, I’m treating everybody as if they’re going to make the team, you know what I’m saying?” Storer said. “I am not going to assume that I know what’s going to happen. So, if anybody has any punt return experience, I want them to get catches during practice or after practice. And when we get into the preseason, late in the game, who’s going to go out there? So, they all need to get catches.
“And we got a lot of interesting guys. We talk about Kole Wilson, Aaron Anderson, Luke Floriea, those guys, even Davon [Booth], the running back, but he’s also got some kick return experience.”
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Concepcion was one of several Browns draft picks who have already jumped to the front of the line in Storer’s mind as he envisions where the special teams could be when training camp comes around. In fact, almost all of them could factor into the mix in some form or fashion.
One player Storer’s convinced has a spot, even before pads are put on, is fifth-round pick Justin Jefferson. The linebacker from the University of Alabama maintained a strong special-teams presence with the Crimson Tide even after he was established as a starter in 2025.
That fact made Jefferson a favorite of Storer’s from the moment they drafted him. It’s also assured him of a pathway to potentially sticking on the 53-man roster.
“Sometimes when you’re watching college guys, they don’t necessarily play a lot of special teams,” Storer said. “So what you have to do is kind of project in your mind based on the way they play defense or offense or whether they block or they pass protect or whatever it may be. So, when you see a guy who goes out there and actually does it at a high level in college, that just pushes him up the board for you.
“And so, in my mind, I want to stand on the table for a guy like Justin Jefferson and say that’s a guy we need to go get because of his special teams value. I know if he doesn’t play on defense, we have a role for him on special teams.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Byron Storer says Browns newcomers can help bolster special teams
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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