Cleveland Browns: Shon Coleman continues to lead left tackle competition

Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Shon Coleman was given the first crack at taking over the left tackle job during the summer, and he continues to lead the competition heading into training camp.

When future Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas retired during the off-season, the Cleveland Browns left tackle job became one of the most intriguing competitions heading into the season.

Browns general manager John Dorsey made plenty of moves this offseason to build depth and competition along the offensive line, more specifically at offensive tackle.

During the first days of free agency, Dorsey signed offensive tackles Chris Hubbard and Donald Stephenson. He then drafted Austin Corbett in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Browns also recently signed Greg Robinson. All of these players were expected to battle with Shon Coleman for the starting left tackle job.

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However, Hubbard is going to be the starting right tackle and Stephenson has not shown up to any Browns team activities since being signed and is suspended the first two games of the season. Therefore, those two players will not factor into the left tackle competition. That leaves only Coleman, Corbett, and Robinson battling to be the team’s starting left tackle.

But even with all of the added competition, according to Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie, the man that is currently leading the way is Coleman, via Patrick Maks of clevelandbrowns.com.

"Coleman, the third-year offensive lineman and third-round pick in 2016, worked with Cleveland’s first-team offense as offseason workouts came a close.“He is leading the charge,” offensive line coach Bob Wylie said last week."

It may seem like a surprise that Coleman is currently leading the competition due to his struggles last season. Coleman started all 16 games last season, but allowed eight sacks and was called for ten penalties.

But since Thomas retired, the future hall of famer has spent time working with the Browns linemen. Thomas was even working with Coleman the day after his retirement, via Scott Patsko of cleveland.com.

"“(We’ve gone over) technique stuff. Just the ways that he went about,” Coleman said during OTAs. “Stuff that only a guy like him would know. He told me a couple of the secrets that he uses. Hopefully that will pay off.”"

If Coleman is able to apply the knowledge from Thomas and is able to clean up his footwork, Coleman can hold onto the starting job. The hardest part for Coleman will be switching from the right to left side of the line. But Coleman played most of his career at left tackle, and it may just take him finding the muscle memory to feel comfortable on the left side.

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Although it is still early, Coleman holding off all of the other competition is a great start. He will have to play well during training camp and the preseason to hold onto the starting job, but he seems to be the favorite for the job right now.

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