BEREA, Ohio - Scribbles in my Browns notebook after checking out the team in practice:

1. It's hard not to be fixated on the quarterbacks, and the quarterbacks have been worth watching. Baker Mayfield has made huge progress from the spring, where he sometimes seemed confused and even a bit overwhelmed trying to grasp the pro offense. His comfort level and confidence are growing.

2. Tyrod Taylor and Mayfield are both accurate passers. That's a huge difference from years past. They both have above-average arm strength. Cody Kessler was a fairly accurate passer, but he had trouble throwing the deep pass.

3. Part of the reason some of the Browns receivers look better than a year ago is the quarterbacks are better. Rashard Higgins is able show his good hands and solid-route running because he has quarterbacks delivering the ball at the right time. Higgins may be emerging this season into a viable NFL receiver.

4. Jarvis Landry can make most quarterbacks better. He has a knack of finding an open spot in the defense when the quarterback is scrambling from a rush. You can see why Landry has caught 400 passes in the last four seasons. He did that with quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Ryan Tannehill, so he wasn't catching passes from future Hall of Famers.

5. Last season in Buffalo, Taylor didn't have any receivers close to the caliber of Landry. In terms of wide receivers, his targets were Deonte Thompson, Zay Jones, Kelvin Benjamin and Jordan Matthews. None caught more than 27 passes.

6. Or how about this? The Bills' four wide receivers -- Thompson, Jones, Benjamin and Matthews -- combined for 95 catches last season. Landry had 112 catches last season. That alone has to help Taylor.

7. I was thinking about how Higgins is taking some steps forward. A few things came to mind: a) He has decent hands; b) He worked hard to learn the playbook; c) He has stayed out of trouble, and d) He's stayed healthy.

8. I was talking to an NFL executive who thought the Browns linebacker group "is a good group." Joe Schobert has emerged as a Pro Bowl middle linebacker. Christian Kirksey is above average. Jamie Collins can excel if he is healthy (he's coming off knee surgery) and fully engaged. Adding Mychal Kendricks is big plus. Kendricks has impressed in camp.

9. I know Corey Coleman has been playing better in the last two practices. But he has a lot to prove in terms of staying healthy and not dropping balls.

10. The Browns should have a strong inside running game. Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb have impressed with their strength. They have excellent guards in Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler, and JC Tretter is reliable at center. Now, the Browns must stick with that running game.

11. The NFL executive echoed one of my thoughts, "The Browns have to be worried about left tackle." We really won't know how well Shon Coleman is playing until the preseason games. That's when the blocking weaknesses appear. The executive told me that he also liked Greg Robinson in the 2014 draft -- just as John Dorsey did. Robinson went to the Rams as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

12. "I don't know why Robinson has struggled so much, but you can see it on tape. It's not been good," said the executive.

13. Robinson suffered a concussion early in camp. If he can recover and play reasonably well, he could win the left tackle job.

14. It's easy to trash the Sashi Brown front office, but some of the players they drafted are ready to take on major roles on defense. Naturally, it begins with Myles Garrett, the top pick in the 2017 draft. But looking at the lower-round picks: Caleb Brantley (6th round, 2017), Larry Ogunjobi (3rd round, 2017) and Schobert (4th round, 2016) are making an impact. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams also likes Derrick Kindred (4th round, 2016) as a strong safety. He is competing with Jabrill Peppers for playing time.

15. We'll know a lot more once preseason games begin, but the Browns have made significant improvements in several areas from a year ago. Go to training camp and check it out!