The Cleveland Browns came close to their second win of the season on Sunday, but once again, avoidable mistakes became their undoing as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings, 21-17.
The Browns are now 1-4 on the season with a game in Pittsburgh - a city where they haven't won a regular-season game in 22 years - up next. While Cleveland's 2025 season may be trending in the wrong direction, the future of the team is beginning to look brighter; most members of the Browns' rookie class have not just played a lot, but have begun to establish themselves as legitimate foundational pieces for a roster that needed an infusion of young talent.
Let's take a look at how the Browns used said rookies and their veteran contributors in Week 5.
Offense (5): QB Dillon Gabriel, G Joel Bitonio, G Wyatt Teller, OT Jack Conklin, C Ethan Pocic
Defense (4): LB Carson Schwesinger, S Ronnie Hickman, CB Denzel Ward, CB Greg Newsome
A rare sight: the Browns' offensive line managed to stay healthy throughout the entirety of Sunday's game, with four of the five starters playing every offensive snap. The lone exception was offensive tackle KT Leveston, who lost 10% of his snaps to his newly-acquired teammate, Cam Robinson.
Gabriel played every offensive snap during the first start of his NFL career, finishing the day 19-of-33 for 190 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
The Browns' secondary was very active on Sunday, as the team's starting corner duo of Ward and Newsome both played a full game for the first time this season. While starting safety Grant Delpit missed a single defensive snap in Week 5, his counterpart, Hickman, remains the only Browns defender to play every defensive snap this season.
If it felt like David Njoku was a bigger part of the Browns' game-plan than usual this week, that's because he was: Njoku played a season-high 96% of the Browns' offensive snaps on Sunday. He finished the day also recording season-highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (67) to go along with his first touchdown of the 2025 season. Harold Fannin Jr., who out-snapped Njoku in Week 4, played 79% of the Browns' offensive snaps.
With Cedric Tillman inactive on Sunday due to a hamstring injury, the Browns' wide receiver rotation mirrored what the team rolled out after his exit vs. Detroit. Jerry Jeudy led all Browns WRs with 63 snaps (90%), and Isaiah Bond was the team's clear second option with 40 snaps (57%). Jamari Thrash got extended playing time for the second straight week with 28 snaps (40%), while Malachi Corley made his Browns debut on Sunday and played 12 snaps (17%).
The Browns didn't roll out anything new in the offensive backfield on Sunday, as the running back rotation remained the same as it has since Quinshon Judkins took over as the full-time starter in Week 3. Jerome Ford (26 snaps, 37%) continues to hold the main backup spot over rookie Dylan Sampson (7 snaps, 10%.)
While Myles Garrett had an abnormally quiet day on the stat sheet in Week 5, the Browns' star edge defender did play a season-high 88% of the snaps on Sunday, as did linebacker Devin Bush (85%), who has firmly established himself as the main starter alongside Schwesinger.
Behind Garrett in the EDGE room, Alex Wright out-snapped Isaiah McGuire for the first time this season, narrowly - Wright played 33 snaps to McGuire's 32.
Veteran cornerback Tre Avery - who has been elevated from the practice squad each of the last two weeks - emerged as one of the Browns' main special teams contributors this week, playing 57% of the snaps. Grant Delpit joined the core special teamers in playing 50% or more of the special teams snaps for the second straight week.
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, who has only played on special teams so far this season, led the team this week with 19 snaps.