The lineup along the offensive line on opening day of 2025 was one player short of the same group who were ranked #3 in the league in 2023: RT Jack Conklin, RG Wyatt Teller, C Ethan Pocic, LG Joel Bitonio, and LT Dawand Jones. The only difference was that OT Jed Wills was playing left tackle back in 2023.
The offensive line unit that lined up in the final game of the 2025 season? RT KT Leveston, RG Teven Jenkins, C Luke Wypler, LG Joel Bitonio, and LT Cam Robinson.
RELATED: MONKEN MAKES NEED FOR DETAILED
ACCOUNTABILITY CLEAR
Quite a bit of difference. It came as no surprise that Cleveland’s offensive line was ranked #31 for the season. No surprise at all. Bitonio and his seven Pro Bowls gutted it out.
During the offseason, Browns’ GM Andrew Berry made it his quest to change the landscape of the offensive line. Teller, Pocic, Bitonio, Robinson, Jenkins, and Cornelius Lucas were all free agents. Berry inked Jenkins to a one-year, $3.05 million deal. Teller signed with the Houston Texans. Bitonio still has the welcome mat ready for him if he decides to return to Cleveland. The rest are still unemployed.
It became very clear that Berry was ready to wipe the slate clean with the OLine and start over.
In January, OT Tyre Phillips and OG Jack Conley were signed to reserve/futures contracts to fight for backup positions or end up on the practice squad.
On March 2, Berry made a trade with the Texans for RT Tytus Howard. Seven days later, as the free agency gates opened, Berry signed OG Zion Johnson from the Los Angeles Chargers.
Two new pieces of the offensive line puzzle were about to get into place.
What followed was the free agent signing of C/OG Elgton Jenkins from the Green Bay Packers. Jenkins was re-signed, and Berry drafted OT Spencer Fano, OT Austin Barber, and C Parker Brailsford in April’s college draft.
One of the most significant transactions was the addition of Zion Johnson.
Johnson (6’-3”, 316 pounds) came to the Browns expecting the team to compete for a playoff spot right away. In his introductory presser, he stated:
“The draw was clear for me: I could see the potential with the talent on this team.”
He is a guy who can be slotted on either side, so the versatility is key. Players get injured all the time and miss games. With Johnson, this means he could start the season at Bitonio’s left guard spot, but could move to the other if the need arises. Being interchangeable is a huge asset for O-Line coach George Warhop and his assistant Bobby Johnson. He also played 11 games at left tackle in college.
The Chargers took him in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft at pick #17. Johnson started at right guard as a rookie and played in all 17 games. At season’s end, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. In his second season, the coaching staff moved him to left guard, which he had played extensively in college.
He has proven to be very durable at all levels. That is huge since the Browns’ offensive line has been decimated by injuries for the past 3-4 years. When a guy like Conklin would return from an injury, another linemate would go down. Last year, Cleveland used the league’s third-most offensive line configurations with 14. That came close to becoming a different lineup for each game. Marinate on that fact for a moment.
Johnson is just 26 years old, so that’s another plus. In his four seasons with LA, he started 65 NFL games.
He learned the art of run blocking when he left Riverdale Baptist High School in Bowie, Maryland, where he was on the golf team, and then later started playing football. Because of his limited time participating in football, the only school that recruited him was Davidson College. They were a running team and rarely threw the ball. And they played Johnson right away as a freshman with eight starts in 11 contests. He learned how to pull and to get to the second level.
In his second year, he started all 11 games. Johnson was selected First Team All-Pioneer Football League, voted a HERO Sports All-Sophomore honorable mention, and named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll.
Johnson wanted to go to a Power-5 school. It just so happened that Boston College had graduated four starters along its offensive line. Johnson was now 6’-3”, 305 pounds, so he fit right in. He had to appeal to the NCAA and get a waiver to the transfer rule, so he enrolled in January and participated in spring practice while his appeal was being considered, which he eventually won.
Boston College had a good passing attack, and it was the offense’s bread and butter, so Johnson had to relearn the techniques of pass blocking and worked his way into a starting position. In his sixth game in his junior year, he became the starter at left guard. At season’s end, he was named Second Team All-ACC and earned All-ACC Academic Honors.
As Boston College kept throwing the ball, Johnson learned new techniques that forced him to become a complete player.
In his senior campaign, Johnson was elected team Captain and started all 11 games at left tackle. He was one of just three Boston College student-athletes to earn the prestigious 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC. He also captured All-ACC Academic Honors for his second straight year and was voted First Team All-ACC, plus First Team All-American, and was invited to play in the Senior Bowl, where he had a tremendous practice week that elevated his draft status.
Now, he is in Cleveland with a brand-new three-year deal worth $49.5 million. His age allows the Browns to grow with him and his upside of a long NFL career.
It is certainly encouraging to see Berry take control of the issues of the offensive line and not punt the 2026 season. He has brought in very good talent that will compete each week and allow this new Todd Monken offense to grow and become the new norm.
Johnson sees this new offense as a lesson learned in his career. A foundation is being built, even if it is something new. With new receivers, a talented tight end in Harold Fannin, and a good running back room highlighted by Quinshon Judkins, all the Browns need to do is to get some stability at the quarterback situation. Veteran Deshaun Watson will compete with Shedeur Sanders for the starting reps and solidify the position. Finally.
Now working for a living in Cleveland, Johnson sees all of this as a plus:
“There are a lot of pieces. The front office is very hell-bent on improving the offensive line, improving the team as a whole. My role was just to come in, play whatever position is needed, whether it is left or right, to help the team in any way necessary.”
If you are a Browns fan, you should be very upbeat about the upcoming season. The schedule points to Cleveland having a fruitful year and a possible playoff berth. It is very possible that this roster can eke out 10 or 11 wins.
How will Johnson react to a new offense with different terminology in the playbook? He recently told cleveland.com:
“It’s been exciting. Day to day, we work to improve our communication, our execution, and our knowledge of the playbook. Execution, assignment, technique – those are the big three things.”
In the meantime, Johnson is focused on what he needs to accomplish and helping out the younger guys who are now in the league and might become his line partner, like Fano and Barber.
“I’m here for whatever they need. If they need advice, I’ve got that. If they need experience, I’ve got that. If they want to talk to somebody who has been in his shoes, I’m willing to give that to them as well. They have been a sponge and ask a bunch of questions.”
Johnson will need to clean up the number of penalties he has been charged with, 21 over four seasons. But that number has dropped each season, with seven in his rookie campaign and just four last year.
Johnson has been lined up at left guard. In college and with the Chargers, Johnson has played a lot of games at that location. So far, he is slated to be sandwiched in between veteran Elgton Jenkins at center and the rookie Fano at left tackle. The more he can work on the fundamentals with new personnel, the better. This new offense is going to show the athleticism of Johnson with pulls, his run blocking skills, and his ability to run.
Perhaps with the Browns’ upgraded cast surrounding the quarterback will take a leap that solidifies his spot going forward.
Now, what would happen if one day Bitonio were to call the front office and state he is ready to give it one more year at the spot now occupied by Johnson? That……would be a great problem to solve.
What are your expectations for Johnson on the Browns new OLine?
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
