5 reasons we can finally believe in the Cleveland Browns
By Clay Goodwin
4. An elite offensive line
The Browns have had a great offensive line before but did not lead to success without other talent around them. This Cleveland line is incredibly talented, and they also have complementary talent on offensive to light up the scoreboard. This line is similar in talent to the 2015 Browns line of Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, Alex Mack, John Greco, and Mitchell Schwartz.
Last season the OL was a massive weakness for the Browns and was the main focus of improvement for general manager Andrew Berry heading into the offseason. He shored up both tackle positions as he selected Jedrick Wills Jr. with the 10th pick in the draft and signed former All-Pro Jack Conklin in free agency. Wyatt Teller also won the right guard position again and the Browns retained their two leaders, Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio at left guard and JC Tretter at center.
Bitonio and Tretter have been the epitome of consistency and production for the interior of the offensive line in Cleveland and that has been the case this year as well. The other three spots have been extremely important in the improvement to the line. Wills is playing great football as a rookie and shown just a few mistakes in his young career. Conklin has been as good as advertised manning the right tackle spot. He was a large part of the Titans’ success running the ball last season and has been just as successful in Cleveland.
Wyatt Teller has been the biggest surprise this season. He took over the RG spot midway through last season and started the final nine games. This year, though, he has been unbelievably good. Teller leads all guards with a 94.1 PFF grade and that actually ranks him in the top four offensive players in the entire league at any position thus far. He has been a monster on the line both in the run and pass game. He is truly a weapon when he pulls and leads for the running backs.
Aaron Rodgers vs. Russell Wilson
— PFF (@PFF) October 6, 2020
Who is your MVP through 4 Weeks? pic.twitter.com/5Ik1VY50rM
Good OL play is important in the NFL for success, and the Browns have an elite unit. They are a reason to believe in the Browns this season.