'It's started paying off for me': Browns rookie Jamari Thrash talks about making roster

BEREA — The first emotion that came to Jamari Thrash's mind when he found out he had made the Browns' initial 53-man roster wasn't joy or even relief.

“I was just surprised that I made it," Thrash said this week.

That might not be the exact term the rookie wide receiver was grasping for to describe the moment. It was the first one, though, that came out of his mouth when he was asked to say what the feeling was like to learn his NFL dreams had been realized.

It's not that Thrash didn't feel like he belonged on the roster. It's just there no such thing as an assured roster spot when you're a fifth-round draft pick trying to make it in his first season.

"I’m hard worker, and it’s started paying off for me," Thrash said, "so I appreciate AB and Coach Stefanski for giving me opportunity. So I'm just going to make the most of my opportunity this year.”

Thrash, who was taken No. 156 overall in April's draft out of the University of Louisville, was one of six wide receivers the Browns kept on the initial roster. He's the only rookie among the group, and one of just six rookies kept on the roster as a whole.

The 23-year-old, though, stood out among all of the Browns rookies through the course of training camp. His performance didn't just earn him a roster spot, but also the Maurice Bassett Award, which goes to the top rookie in camp, from the media covering the team.

“I mean, I'm always grateful for any type of accolade or achievement," Thrash said. "So, I mean, when I saw it I was kind of surprised by it based on what I was doing this preseason, in the camp, but I'm really looking forward to this upcoming season.”

Thrash can only hope his first NFL regular season has at least some of his first preseason. He made impactful plays in all three preseason games, including a 48-yard touchdown catch in the finale at the Seattle Seahawks.

Over the three games, Thrash caught a team-high 10 passes for 141 yards and the one score. Most of those, however, were against defensive backs who may or may not have even ended up staying on those teams' rosters.

The defensive backs Thrash has truly learned from have been the ones on his own team he's gone against throughout the offseason and training camp. Although both Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II have missed time during camp — in Newsome's case, all of camp — they've still been around enough to give him a lesson in what it's like to face the elite of the elite.

"Yeah, he's been looking good since he came in," Ward said Thursday. "I think he's been getting better and better. He’s night and day from once he came in to where he is at now, I believe. Think that's just his competitive nature and what he's been doing out there in practice and us going against one another out there. So he's been good, and he's going to be a big piece as well to our offense."

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

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'It's started paying off for me': Browns rookie Jamari Thrash talks about making roster