Exhibition thoughts . . . 

You know it's going to be a good season for the Browns when the biggest conundrum is whether Demetric Felton, a sixth-round pick at the last college football draft, is a running back or a wide receiver.

Felton, who began his collegiate career at UCLA as a 5-9, 190-pound wide receiver, switched to running back with the Bruins and became an all-purpose performer his junior season before concentrating on the ground game as a senior.

His versatility obviously caught the attention of Browns General Manager Andrew Berry, but no one knew exactly how he would fit into head coach Kevin Stefanski's offensive scheme. Coming off an abbreviated senior season averaging 111 yards a game on the ground and eight total touchdowns suggested running back.

That changed in a hurry when Felton began making his presence known in training camp that he was still pretty good at catching the football. And 25 snaps at wide receiver, mostly in the slot, in the 23-13 victory in the exhibition opener Saturday night in Jacksonville cinched the verdict. Or did it?

Felton was targeted a team-high six times and caught four for 44 yards. But Stefanski, when pressed, indicated there was a chance the rookie, who displayed the playmaking capabilities of former Browns running back Duke Johnson Jr., would get some reps at running back before the regular season begins.

The Browns obviously have an embarrassment of riches in the running backs room with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt with D'Ernest Johnson playing well enough to start with a few other teams. So where does Felton fit in?

Stefanski is just curious enough to run that possibility up his flagpole and find out. And then we will finally be able to answer the question: Running back or wide receiver? The guess here is both with a strong lean toward receiver. The versatility angle will more than justify his selection so late in the lottery.

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Felton making the 53-man roster impacts the makeup of the wide receivers room. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. will start with Donovan Peoples-Jones all but locking up the No. 3 role with a terrific camp. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Baker Mayfield's soul mate Rashard Higgins will be No. 4.

That leaves room for only one more receiver with the understanding Felton's versatility enables him to fit just about anywhere in Stefanski's offense. Candidates for the last slot are KhaDarel Hodge and rookie speedster Anthony Schwartz.

Hodge was a reliable, but seldom-targeted performer last season, but he is also highly regarded as a special teams player. He  caught only 11 passes last season (17 targets), but every one gained a first down, a statistic that should not be ignored.

Schwartz, meanwhile, can't stay healthy. Hamstring problems have sidelined the world class sprinter. And hammies,, like groin pulls,  have a tendency to linger. A solution if the healing process carries into the regular season is designating Schwartz for the injured reserve/return list.

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The game plan for the Jaguars victory was so plain, so simple, so vanilla, the Browns did not use motion for any of their 71 plays. No motion to deceive or confuse the defense. Everything was as basic as basic could be.

It will be interesting to see if Stefanski adds a wrinkle or two in the offense in Sunday's exhibition at home against the New York Giants. With only three exhibition games this year, he's got to unveil something other than the basics by the time the real games are played.

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It might take all three exhibitions to determine who wins the placekicking competition. Incumbent Cody Parkey was perfect, sort of, on his two field-goal attempts. But his 48-yarder that gave the Browns a 16-0 lead early in the third quarter doinked off the left upright and sneaked over the crossbar. Chase McLaughlin converted both extra points and connected on a 37-yard field goal on the opening drive. 

That Parkey never attempted a 50-yard field last season lingers in my mind. This very good offensive football team needs a kicker with a strong and accurate leg. No longer should drives stall at, say, the opponent's 35-yard or farther out and Jamie Gillan and the punt team trot out. That's got to stop.

I'm surprised the smart Browns front office has scoured the vast National Football League landscape and the best they can come with are two journeymen in Parkey and McLaughlin.  

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The news that Stephen Carlson is through for the season is a big blow. The Browns still have three good tight ends in Austin Hooper, David Njoku and Harrison Bryant, though, after Carlson was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

The Browns have an option to keep (backups) Jordan Franks or Connor Davis or choose to fill the roster at another position. The latter seems like the likely move because the club doesn't use a three tight end look often enough to keep a fourth.

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What made Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's performance Saturday night semi-remarkable was that once he entered the game midway through the second quarter, he was in every play thereafter. In addition to the 47 snaps he took on defense, he also booked 15 special teams plays.

Of the 47 plays on defense, he lined up in the box 35 times. That's the kind of versatility fans can look forward to this season. It could wind up with opposing offensive coordinators constantly playing a game entitled "Where's JOK?"

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No need to worry about the red-zone woes that plagued the offense in the first half of the Jacksonville victory. The likelihood of that happening during the regular season would be rare, not with the likes of Chubb, Hunt and the solid receivers corps.