As the Browns hosted the Bills for a joint practice ahead of the second game of the preseason, rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion lined up at the line of scrimmage during the first set of team drills.

QB Deshaun Watson dropped back after the ball was snapped and looked downfield. He spotted Concepcion finding space from the defender as he broke to the middle of the field, and Watson launched the ball over the top of the defense. Concepcion came down with the pass for a big completion.

For the coaching staff, the joint practice is an integral part of their evaluation process. Facing the Bills provided another chance to see how the Browns' offense — and their receiving corps — matched up against a different style of defense.

"Joint practices are the greatest thing that I've been a part of since coming into the league," wide receivers coach Christian Jones said. "I think it's really cool. Competition level raises. Guys come up with a different mindset – you're playing against guys in different colors and that just kind of does something for you when you're playing – so the intensity rises, there's a lot more trash talk, I think it's just great."

The joint practice also segued into the second preseason game, which gave numerous young players another chance at game reps to put on film for evaluation. For the coaching staff, the time to evaluate their roster – and specifically the players in their wide receiver room – is quickly coming to a close. Soon, cuts will be made, and the initial 53-man roster will be set.

For their depth players in the receiver room, the joint practice with the Bills, the second preseason game and the week of practice leading into the final preseason matchup provides one more chance to showcase to the coaching staff why they should make the roster.

"With the second game and really this far into training camp and then in the preseason, you're really just trying to see what they can do, how they perform in different roles and with different routes, different blocks, and just trying to see what guys' strengths and weaknesses are," Jones said. "I mean that's really the evaluation process right now. We should know what to do well enough. We should have our details down pat. But now we gotta know what can you do well, what can you not do well, and how does that fit this team and this offense."

Behind the three receivers that have emerged as consistent first-team players in Denzel Boston, Jerry Jeudy and Concepcion, the Browns have key players who bring valuable depth to the room.

Isaiah Bond, who is entering his second season in Cleveland, has used the offseason program and training camp to demonstrate his versatility and speed to carve out a larger role. Bond said during the offseason he focused on staying in the weight room to add about 15 pounds of muscle and to be in the physical shape necessary for the season. He saw the added muscle as a way to help him catch more passes over the middle, block on the outside and play more in space, in addition to fueling his deep threat ability.

The coaching staff has taken even more notice of the way he can use his speed throughout training camp.

"Him having that elite level of speed is great to lift the defense back, take advantage of guys on double moves, and even cornerbacks who may be sitting at certain spots expecting breaks," Jones said. "But I think what the best thing about him is that he has speed, but he keeps his speed in and out of his breaks. He's not afraid to run 15, 25, 30 yards down the field and break back down or run full speed to 10 yards and break in. He's not afraid to run speed cuts, angle breaks, different things that normally we see speed receivers, it's a lot – either they have tells before they get in their breaks or they slow down before they get into their breaks or it just takes a really long time for them to get out of it – and I think that's something that's truly unique with his game."

Bond also used the offseason to improve his knowledge of the offensive scheme, understand his assignments and be as comfortable as possible with his game. Bond said he believes the maturity of his game has improved the most.

His teammates have witnessed that improved confidence on the practice field, as Jeudy said he sees how Bond understands his assignments more and what the coaches are asking out of him, leading to continued progress each week of camp. Bond has taken reps with the first team and the second team throughout training camp, and with his reps, shown how he can attack the ball in the air and use his speed.

"He's very, very coachable, wants to do things the right way, wants to try to learn, and really I think you see him wanting to go up and attack the ball in the air and not letting it get too much into his frame anymore," Jones said. "He's willing to go use his hands and go get the ball and that's been something that's been really cool. He's really smart. He learns really well, wants to do things the right way. He's got the mindset. I think it's just the growth in that area that's been really fun to see."

The Browns also added a key veteran player during free agency when they signed Tylan Wallace, who was previously at the Ravens with Monken. When Wallace stepped through the doors of CrossCountry Mortgage Campus to sign with the Browns, he had the chance to reunite with head coach Todd Monken.

"When I came in the building and saw him, had smiles on both of our faces. And being able to talk to him for the first time, he said, 'Good to see you again, let's get it rolling this year.' So, it was good to come back and reunite with Monk," Wallace said. "I took a lot of factors into my decision obviously coming here, but it's definitely great to be back with Monk."

For Wallace, the opportunity to sign in Cleveland awarded him a chance to showcase his talent, as he knew the prominence of the receiver role in Monken's style of offense. He views himself as a tough, gritty receiver who can plug in to different spots – whether in the slot or on the outside in the run game.

Monken views Wallace as a "glue guy" – both in the receiver room and on the offense.

"Tylan is a guy that has been a four-core special teams player, a guy that'll do the dirty work and has made plays when called upon," Monken said. "Years ago, at the Ravens, he wins a game in overtime with a punt return. Years ago, (versus the Bengals) on a third-and-5, catches an out cut, goes 80 yards for a touchdown. Hard to bring down and really rounds out the receiver group with his versatile skillset."

That flexibility to move around to all three spots has allowed him to take advantage of his opportunities during training camp. Wallace acknowledged that there could be a limited number of reps in practices, with certain days producing more catches than others, and the importance of finding ways to still make a play in the run game to show off his skillset.

Yet, even with limited reps, Wallace's versatility gives Jones the confidence and trust in Wallace to know the roles of each three spots and perform at a high level.

"You put him in the slot and ask him to run a banana route, just like he had in the joint practice, he can go execute that on a safety and get you a first down in two-minute drill," Jones said. "You ask him to go play outside one-on-one, he goes and wins a fade down on the goal line to get a touchdown, right? Like, you can put him in different spots and know that he's going to do his best to perform and it's more than likely going to show up for you."

Throughout the offseason program and training camp, Wallace has utilized his previous experience with Monken's style of offense to his advantage in his adjustment to a new team. He understands Monken's tendencies as a coach and his expectations for the offensive play calls.

He has also exercised his familiarity to help the receivers in the room learn the new offensive scheme and Monken's style of coaching. For the rookie receivers in Concepcion and Boston, Wallace has been another coach as they adjust to the NFL.

"Ty has helped me so much," Concepcion said. "Him formerly being at the Ravens and then him coming with Coach Monk here, he's my vet. Coming here, I didn't really know everybody. But Tylan, he let me know if I ever needed anything, he was there for me. And a couple of times during those two-minute scenarios up on the practice field, I'm over there asking Ty, what do I have here or what do I have there. He knew it and he had no problem helping me."

Jeudy – a seven-year veteran in the league – has also leaned on Wallace's experience with Monken. Jeudy has asked Wallace about specific details on certain routes or concepts in Monken's offense, as well as what Monken expects out of his players. Jeudy has picked Wallace's brain about details such as where Monken wants his players to get to on the field – on the hash, outside the hash, top of the numbers or the paint – that affect how a certain route is run.

With that information from Wallace, Jeudy said he has focused on those details when watching film, and paid attention when they are out on the practice field repping the plays. Once the play is called, he knows exactly where he needs to line up for his route, as well as his assignment and fundamentals.

"I feel like a lot of the guys can take pride in them being able to lean on me and ask me questions about whatever it is about the offense – whether it's the play, what the assignment is, what maybe what Monk is thinking in certain scenarios," Wallace said. "I try to do everything I can to help those guys so they can understand like why we're doing certain things or why he wants a route run this certain way. I take a lot of pride in being able to provide those guys with that information."

Wallace's previous experience with Monken has even helped the coaching staff. Jones leaned on Wallace in the early days of the offseason program as they all learned the new offensive scheme and adjusted to the playbook.

"Ty's experience with Monk has been very helpful for me," Jones said. "If something's going on, and I don't know the answer – in the first week, first month that I was learning this offense, I leaned on Ty while we were in the meeting room. And I would ask, 'Is this how it's supposed to look? Or what are we trying to get here? Or did you call it this way or what was the signal for this? Do you remember this or that?' Like I leaned on Ty a lot and I think a lot of the receivers in the room leaned on Ty a lot. I think he's been huge for not only myself but everybody else in the room."

As the Browns' first team faced the Bills' first team in the joint practice on Aug. 20, Monken had a simple goal for his receivers – compete.

"I thought they did a great job of detailing out their route running. We certainly found a way to get the ball to them in space, and you could see their explosiveness," Monken said. "I saw guys competing, really good to go up against another group of secondary players. I mean, just to compare, we know we've got some really good corners. We know they do. It was just fun to get out there and watch our guys compete, and I think they felt very comfortable going against their guys."

For the receivers – especially for players like Concepcion and Jeudy who did not play in the second preseason game – the chance to face another defense as part of training camp was crucial.

Jeudy said facing off against the Bills' secondary allowed him to see more clearly how to run certain routes against different defensive looks. It gave him another chance to visualize where the quarterback is supposed to make the throw on an offensive play. And as he narrowed in on the little details within the play calls, seeing different defensive schemes with the Bills allowed him to rep how they would want to block or run certain routes.

For Jones, he witnessed how his receivers did not back down from the defenders as players throughout the room made plays in different team periods of practice.

"They came out, they were striking, they were trying to block guys, they were finishing, and I mean it was just fearless and that's what I loved," Jones said. "They were trying to go get the ball. Balls in the air were theirs, and I loved it."

Concepcion continued to demonstrate his playmaking skills in the joint practice. Outside of his deep completion in the first 11-on-11 period in the middle of the field, where Concepcion made a contested catch on a play to come down with the football over multiple Bills' defenders, he also had other notable catches over the course of practice. He caught a screen pass from QB Shedeur Sanders for a touchdown, bouncing off a defender on his way to the end zone.

While the deep receptions highlighted Concepcion's first joint practice, Jones saw other key elements of his game that were more impressive at this stage of training camp.

"The most important thing to me was how he played off the ball, how he ran, how he finished on blocks, and it's really what showed up off the ball," Jones said. "That's what makes it harder for guys to know whether it's an action or know whether it's a drop back pass. And I think that's something I was really looking for more so. The down the field plays I expect from every player in this room, every receiver in this room. I expect that when the ball's in the air, it's theirs; but I'm more so paying attention to how we play without the ball."

It wasn't just the first-team players who took advantage of their reps in the joint practice.

For second-team players like Wallace and Bond, they took advantage of their reps to not only face another defense, but also to showcase their talent. Bond caught a deep pass over the middle of the field from Sanders during an 11-on-11 period. Wallace also caught a touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone from QB Taylen Green during a 7-on-7 period.

That joint practice set the stage for the second preseason game, as the practice allowed the first teams to face off against one and open the door for young players in Week 2.

"I think the biggest thing to be able to go into the second preseason game, what you really want to be able to showcase is that you understand what you're doing," Wallace said. "You understand the offense, you understand what your role is or what your responsibility is. I think that's what the coaches are really looking for is to see that throughout training camp, throughout even the first preseason game, you fix the mistakes that you made, or if he's calling plays, you understand what you're doing, just so they can understand that you're picking up on the offense and just understanding really what to do if you get thrown out there."

When the Browns took the field for the second week of the preseason to face the Bills, many young players and potential depth players earned the chance to gain game reps. Boston, Bond and Gage Larvadain earned the start, while Wallace, Luke Floriea, Malachi Corley, Kole Wilson and Ben Patterson rotated in over the course of the game.

"The benefit of preseason games is just being able to, especially for us this year with having a first-year head coach with Monk and obviously a new offense, for everybody being able to understand how he's going to call the games," Wallace said. "When we get to the real season, understanding for a lot of the young guys how NFL games work, what you see, how it feels to be on an NFL sideline with the NFL crowd, just being able to have that experience to get warmed up for the real season."

On Cleveland's opening drive, Bond caught the first pass of the series on an 8-yard reception from Sanders. Then later in the drive, Floriea found open space in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown catch from Sanders over the middle – and later added a 23-yard catch to convert on third-and-long. Following the touchdown drive, Wallace found the football for Floriea and gave it to him on the sideline to keep as a memento of his first touchdown at Huntington Bank Field.

"Well, it's so cool for Luke I mean, playing in the state, being from the state, the opportunity to get a touchdown and an explosive play," Monken said. "All he does is come out and work every day. Put him in the slot, he wins. Put him outside, he finds a way to get open. He's a self-made guy and really has really opened our eyes in a lot of ways."

The Browns are in the final week of the preseason, set for one more matchup against the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. Their potential depth players will have a final shot at showcasing their skillset in a game setting as they work to earn their spot on the initial 53-man roster.

Last season, the Browns had five receivers on the initial 53-man roster. That final number on this year's 53-man will shake out over the coming days, and the picture of Cleveland's wide receiver room will be in full view.

"The next step in the evaluation process is this last preseason game to try and round out the roster. We still have a few spots open where the guys that will play in the game we're looking at to see, hey, where are we at? Is there something we missed, an opportunity to make plays – whether it be on the offensive side or the defensive side," Monken said. "I feel really good about the wide receiver room. I mean, the addition of KC, Denzel, along with Jerry – who's been a great player in this league for a number of years – and then Isaiah that's in his second year, adding Tylan. I feel really good about how the room's been rounded out."