The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Browns O-Line still needs fixing
John Dorsey in two offseasons has put together the most starstudded roster the Browns have had in 30 years.
Dorsey traded for wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., traded for safety Damarious Randall and end Olivier Vernon. He drafted quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb, cornerback Denzel Ward and cornerback Greedy Williams. Cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson and tight end Demetrius Harris are among the most notable free agents signed by Dorsey.
But if the Browns have one question mark heading into the start of the 2019 regular season, it is on the offensive line.
Lineups.com gives the following rankings to the Browns starting offensive line: Left tackle Greg Robinson, 92nd among tackles (left and right), left guard Joel Bitonio, 11th among guards; center JC Tretter, 15th; right guard Eric Kush, 66th; right tackle Chris Hubbard, 81st. That means Robinson, Kush and Hubbard should be backups.
For comparison, lineups.com has the following rankings for the Steelers offensive line: Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva ninth, left guard Ramon Foster 14th, center Maurkice Pouncey ninth, right guard David Decastro second and right tackle Matt Feiler 148th.
The website ranks Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ninth and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield 15th.
It was evident from the start of training camp this summer that right guard was a problem. Kyle Kalis, Austin Corbett, Kush and rookie sixth round pick Drew Forbes each had their shot. Kush won.
Whether he was so much better than the rest or the others were just worse is difficult to discern.
Dorsey took a step to amend the problem on Aug. 29 when, less than four hours before hosting the Lions in the final preseason game, he traded the Browns’ fifth-round and sixth-round draft picks in 2020 to the Buffalo Bills for second-year guard Wyatt Teller. The Browns got Buffalo’s 2021 seventh-round pick in the deal.
Teller, a 2018 fifth-round pick from Virginia Tech, started the last seven games of his rookie year at left guard with the Bills. Lineups.com ranks Teller 43rd, which means he would be an upgrade over Kush and anyone else the Browns have tried at right guard.
Dorsey is not in the habit of trading two draft picks for a backup. Teller might not get enough practice time to usurp Kush before the regular season opener against Tennessee Sept. 8. But it should be only a matter of time until Teller is starting.
“It gives us some depth at that position,” Dorsey said during the WEWS telecast of the game between the Browns and Lions. “He’s started seven games in the National Football League. He’s a younger guy. I think he has developmental upside.
“I liked him in college and he can help grow the offensive line. You can’t have enough good football players, and that’s another one we’ve acquired.”
The Browns did not do enough to fix left tackle last year following Joe Thomas retiring just before the free agency began in March of 2018. It would be unfair to claim Dorsey totally neglected left tackle, but he missed in his talent evaluation. He used the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 draft on Corbett, who played left tackle at Nevada.
Corbett is not an NFL tackle. He is currently the backup center and heir apparent to Tretter. Consequently, the Browns went into last season with undrafted Desmond Harrison as the starting left tackle.
Predictably, Harrison failed. Robinson replaced him at midseason and was part of a unit that allowed only five sacks the final eight games. But Robinson also was charged with 10 holding penalties.
Robinson has been spotty this preseason. He was part of an offensive line that blocked poorly in the 13-12 preseason loss in Tampa Bay last week.
It would be no surprise if the Browns find another tackle when rosters are cut to 53 on Aug. 31. It might not be a tackle ready to replace Robinson immediately.
Warts on the offensive line will be hidden by Mayfield’s ability to step out of trouble and pass the ball quickly. That will take the Browns only so far, though, and it won’t help open holes for running back Nick Chubb.
The forecast for the Browns in 2019 is bright, but a cloudy offensive line could result in disappointing Sundays.