It’s that time of the year once again where the Browns release the first depth chart of the season because they have to and everyone over-analyzes it.

Some of the position rankings weren’t surprising and we shouldn’t read too much into it because the team has to make these but I’ll give you my impressions on some positions that caught my eye.

Defensive Tackle

It’s no surprise that Trevon Coley is listed as a starter as he has been impressive going back to last preseason when he earned his spot on the roster and never looked back. He is currently injured with a sprained ankle so he will likely be out for the preseason opener against the New York Giants.

However, Jamie Meder being over Larry Ogunjobi was a surprise. The second-year player out of Charlotte impressed as a part-time player throughout his rookie season and many expect him to be one of the break out performers on defense in 2018.

Meder is one of the longest tenured Browns players and is responsible for the team’s lone win over the last two seasons. While he’s ahead of Ogunjobi now, I expect that to change as the preseason progresses.

Free Safety

My biggest takeaway at this position was that the team listed Briean Boddy-Calhoun as a free safety.

The third-year player has been making some noise quietly at the cornerback position during the last two seasons with the Browns but the team has been using him in a hybrid role since the spring at both corner and safety.

It’ll be interesting to see how Gregg Williams will utilize him with Damarious Randall in front of him at free safety along with the competition ongoing at cornerback.

Strong Safety

Jabrill Peppers is currently listed as the starter despite missing the first few days of practice while on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list and Derrick Kindred is listed as the backup.

The competition is still ongoing and I also expect both players to be used a lot by Gregg Williams in sub packages where they use additional defensive backs.

Return Specialists

Jabrill Peppers is listed as both kick and punt returner however I do think rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway to get a strong look at either spot.

Callaway was a dominant punt returner during his two seasons as a Florida Gator averaging nearly 12 yards per return with two touchdowns.

Peppers also was a strong punt returner during his days at Michigan but could be better as a kick returner where he averaged nearly 27 yards per kick return as a Wolverine.

Right Tackle

On Saturday, the Browns slid Shon Coleman back to right tackle where he was there with the second team offense after spending the beginning of training camp as the starting left tackle.

On the depth chart, he’s still listed as the backup left tackle to Joel Bitonio and in front of Greg Robinson. I would expect him to backup Chris Hubbard at the right tackle position with undrafted rookie Christian DiLauro, who is listed as the backup right tackle being the third string man at the position.