Countdown to 2020: Best Cleveland Browns player to wear No. 75

The best Cleveland Browns player to wear No. 75

The Countdown to the 2020 NFL season is upon us. With 75 days remaining until the Browns season opener, we continue the countdown by celebrating the best Cleveland Browns player to ever wear number 75: Joel Bitonio.

Joel Bitonio was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 35th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft out of the University of Nevada. The 2014 NFL draft is one that will live in infamy in Browns history. Cleveland had two picks in the first round and missed astronomically on both. The fact that the Browns were able to walk away from that draft with Bitonio in the second round is nothing short of a Christmas miracle in April.

Bitonio was drafted into an excellent situation when he came to the Browns in 2014. Even though Bitonio played left tackle at Nevada, he was brought into Cleveland to be a day-one plug and play left guard. Being placed between center Alex Mack and future Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas afforded Bitonio time to develop his skill set at left guard.

The big man took to his new position seamlessly. At 6-foot-4 and 320lbs, Bitonio’s physical traits make him a natural to play on the interior of the offensive line. By the end of his rookie season, it was apparent that the Browns had their left guard of the future.

Both 2015 and 2016 saw Bitonio’s season cut short by season-ending injuries. However, he had shown the Browns front office enough to earn a five-year contract prior to the 2017 season. It has proven to be one of the few smart long-term deals the team has done in quite some time.

With durability being his lone red flag, Bitonio has been able to put that particular concern to rest. Over the course of the last three seasons, he has started every game. In fact, Bitonio has not missed a single snap over that three-year span.

Coming into the 2020 season, with Thomas retiring after the 2017 campaign, Bitonio is the unquestioned leader of the offensive line. Leadership has many styles, and Bitonio leads with his play. Bitonio has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the last two seasons, and he also earned a second-team All-Pro nomination in 2018.

Now it’s Bitonio’s turn to mentor a young rookie who will be learning the ropes in the NFL just as Thomas and Mack did for him as a rookie. In that sense, between Bitonio and offensive line coach Bill Callahan, rookie Jedrick Wills is landing in an ideal situation.

Bitonio is in the middle of his prime with his best football still ahead of him, and he is already the best player to ever wear number 75 for the Browns. The question is, how far can he set the bar for future players who get to wear that number. Only time will tell.