The Cleveland Browns offense has been a work in progress throughout the entire season. New faces across the board, but the one place that was reworked this offseason was the offensive line. Five new starters across the line, two being rookies. The team signed center Elgton Jenkins and guard Zion Johnson, traded for right tackle Tytus Howard, drafted left tackle Spencer Fano in the 1st round, and right guard Austin Barber in the 3rd round. As a whole, this group was new going into the season.
As the
season has progressed, it has been highs and lows, including a ton of penalties, but recently the group has been struggling.
With the offensive line struggling, many fans are asking for a reshuffle or criticizing general manager Andrew Berry for not doing enough to fix the offensive line, but, overall, the line is fine.
The numbers might look bad in terms of the amount of sacks that the group has allowed, but like every situation, context is needed. As a group, they are average. One of the most talked-about players on the line is the right tackle, Howard. The trade addition has struggled this season, but his play hasn’t reached the point of being benched. Dawand Jones would replace him, and his play looked far worse when he got a chance this season.
Jenkins has been average, and Johnson has been better than people want to admit.
In terms of the rookies, both Fano and Barber have exceeded expectations. Fano has been playing at a high level, despite some struggles. Barber took the starting job from right guard Teven Jenkins and has turned out to be a solid starter.
Despite the struggles from individuals, the last thing this group needs is constant reshuffling. The five on the field are the most talented players the roster has to put out there. Much like when Jones was on the field, fans often want to see something different, until that different ends up being worse than the original.
The offensive line group is ahead in terms of pass protection, especially when you take into account the number of sacks caused by the quarterbacks, but the run blocking has been inconsistent. The group will be together until the end of the season, barring injury, but overall this is a unit that has been better than last season despite their flaws.
