Should the Cleveland Browns add an offensive tackle this offseason?

The Cleveland Browns are often said to have a need at offensive tackle, but is it imperative that they add one during the 2019 offseason?

Should the Cleveland Browns add an offensive tackle this offseason? The Browns are generally judged to have very good guards, with Joel Bitonio making the Pro Bowl, and Kevin Zeitler not far from that level. Center J. C. Tretter has also been outstanding. Unbelievably, these three players have not missed a snap in two years. Not one missed snap. That is an amazing achievement, but what about the two tackles?

The tackle situation has been much more uneven. Chris Hubbard, a former pupil of Todd Haley in Pittsburgh, was brought in to play right tackle. Hubbard, it should be mentioned, also did not miss a single snap in 2018, giving the Browns four offensive linemen that did not miss a single snap. Incredible. However, Hubbard led the team with 8.5 sacks allowed. That’s a problem.

On the left side, when Joe Thomas went down in 2017, there were several players considered to replace him, including Spencer Drango, Shon Coleman, Joel Bitonio, Austin Corbett, Desmond Harrison, and Greg Robinson.

Coleman was traded for a 6th round draft pick and Drango was simply cut. At the start of the season, Hue Jackson decided to go with Desmond Harrison, an unheralded rookie.

At Texas, Harrison struggled academically and was suspended three times for various offenses, including marijuana plus a gun battle that he apparently lost, and then sat out three years before resurfacing at West Georgia, where he played well enough to be invited to the 2018 Senior Bowl.

He also ran the best time for an offensive lineman at the NFL Combine. He’s listed at 296 pounds, which is somewhat lower than the 314 pounds cited as the 50th percentile, according to Nathan Gabler, writing in Global Sport Matters and crediting The Scouting Academy as the original source  (link:  NFL Linemen Weight).

So the Browns went with a guy who was undersized, older than the average rookie, and who was a problem player in college. Nevertheless, the ‘Quarterback Whisperer’, Hue Jackson, decided Harrison would be the starting left tackle.

Predictably, he led the team with eight penalties and was charged with four sacks allowed in eight games. On the plus side, like his linemates, he played every down until he was replaced in their ninth game by Greg Robinson, who also had zero missed snaps. So the Browns made one and only one lineup change in 2018, and that was the only interruption in service. This might be a special group.

Robinson is a former number one draft choice (second overall pick by the Rams) rejected by the team that drafted him as well as the lowly Detroit Lions. Browns GM John Dorsey picked up off the street as a free agent. He played surprisingly well, giving up zero sacks, though he was flagged seven times for holding. He is a free agent now, so if the Browns chose to resign him, they would have to outbid 31 other teams for his services.

But if they can re-sign him, should they? There are other free agents available and for what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus (Subscription Required) ranks Robinson as only the 63rd best offensive tackle in the NFL (i.e., one of the worst starters in the league, since there are only 64 starters. Unfortunately, PFF does not break it down by right and left tackle). He was still ahead of Harrison, who came in at 68th. Hubbard is ranked as 51st, which is below average but higher than his counterparts on the left side. Needless to say, there are players available in the draft as well as in free agency that project higher.

DPD reached out to Björn Braun, a staunch Browns fan from Germany, for an opinion on the subject. “My opinion is that Greg Robinson did a solid job, more than we expected from him. Chris Hubbard came with high expectations but is little more than a Backup Tackle that is paid like a starter. My wish would be that we re-sign Greg Robinson and draft a right tackle high like in the 1st or the 2nd round. If not we need to look who is available in Free Agency.”

Extending Braun’s point a bit further, the Cleveland Browns OL as a whole transcended expectations by giving up only 5 sacks under Freddie Kitchens after giving up 33 in the Todd Haley era. If you extrapolate the second half performance over 16 games, that is 10 sacks per year.

By comparison since the return of the Browns to the NFL in 1999, no team has given up fewer than 11 sacks in a year (Detroit Lions, 2003).  Hence, at least for eight games, the Browns performed statistically as the top team in the NFL as far as protecting Baker Mayfield is concerned. Part of that has to do with Mayfield’s evolution as a passer and in particular his quick release and elusiveness in the pock. Part of it has to do with the schematic changes in the Browns’ blocking scheme. But one way or the other, the OL was not broke in 2017 so it doesn’t necessarily need to be blown up.

Still, if the Browns want to go the free agent route, they could take a look at Trent Brow26-year-old old tackle currently on the Patriots. He is ranked 44th by PFF and thus might represent an upgrade over Robinson. That should be looked into. The Browns could also get a reading from the team doctors on guys like Ja’Wuan James, RT for the Dolphins and Daryl Williams, RT Panthers. Both players are age 27, highly regarded, but coming off major knee injuries.

The right tackle spot is made more complicated because of the salary cap. Incumbent Chris Hubbard is currently the 6th highest NFL right tackle at $7.3 million per year, according to OverTheCap.com, but as discussed above he is not playing at that level. Thus from a football standpoint, it makes more sense to try to upgrade the right tackle position, assuming they can retain Robinson on the left side.

If the Browns cut Hubbard, however, they are on the hook for $3.2 Million dollars, so really his replacement value is $4.3 Million. That would be high enough for the Browns to make someone the 17th highest paid right tackle in the league, and that may or may not rate as an upgrade.

Hubbard’s ability to make every snap is not just a statistical oddity, it means that the team did not have to use a backup player in his position. So, if you cut Hubbard there is an excellent chance that someone like Baltimore or Cincinnati might pick him up with the Browns paying $3.2 Million of his 2019 salary. Ouch. Alternatively, if they keep Hubbard on the team another year, they could acquire a developmental right tackle in the draft.

In terms of backups, the best player they have is probably Austin Corbett, who was the first pick of the second round in the 2018 draft. In that position, the player should start. However, it is thought that his size and skill set are more suitable for the left guard position, currently occupied by Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio. He was not able to dislodge Desmond Harrison from the starting lineup.  That’s bad. Nevertheless, it’s too early to give up on the player.

The Browns could use a developmental center to replace Austin Reiter, who was inexplicably cut in September 2018 only to emerge as a quality player on the Kansas City Chiefs. Likewise, they could use a guy who could challenge for a starting job at tackle, but the Browns are not desperate for a starter assuming they can sign Robinson or a comparable talent. That suggests a late round draftee or undrafted free agent.

If Robinson will cut the Browns a deal, he should be re-signed. Although a free agent upgrade is possible, it might make more sense to bring along a developmental tackle or center, while keeping together an O-Line that had an incredible eight-game performance last year. Maybe we should let them prove it wasn’t a fluke.

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