The Cleveland Browns offensive line has been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal season thus far. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan may be the most valuable staff member, as many of his pupils have grown up to be true ballers under his tutelage. The front five managed to send both starting guards to the Pro Bowl last season, and Joel Bitonio made it to his first-ever All Pro team.
In the previous year, Jack Conklin also made first-team All-Pro. Success tends to follow Callahan around. According to the Browns’ official website, he’s had 12 offensive linemen who have combined for 29 Pro Bowl selections and counting. In fact, it wouldn’t be a total shock if he adds another one this season in Ethan Pocic, who has come from out of nowhere to be one of the better centers in the NFL.
Callahan’s skills may come into play with the trade deadline looming because the Browns may need to clear some salaries, especially if they lose to the Bengals on Monday Night Football, thereby essentially wiping out their playoff hopes. The reason is simple. Losing teams need to clear cap space and save it for next year’s team. If they can get draft picks for a starter on the offensive line, that might happen, and someone currently on the bench may become a starter next week.
Fortunately, there is a history of success on the offensive line. We can point to players who have improved significantly under Callahan as well as other players currently on the bench who appear to be ready to move up. Let’s start with the Pancake King, Wyatt Teller.
5 Browns O-Linemen who stepped up under Bill Callahan
5. Wyatt Teller: Pro Bowler and Pancake Artist
Wyatt Teller is currently out with a calf injury, but it’s believed that he will be back soon and will be his dominant self. Teller, along with a 2021 seventh-round pick, was acquired by John Dorsey in 2019 from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for 2020 fifth and sixth-round picks. Yet Teller was not even the first string player originally, as that job was owned by Eric Kush. That trade didn’t seem to make very much sense at the time to many of us, but how wrong we were.
Once Teller got into the lineup in mid-season, he seemed to be a definite upgrade over Kush. At first, he seemed to be at least average, and most observers agreed that he deserved the promotion over Kush. Well and good.
Soon, however, opposing defenders started winding up on their backs, via the “pancake block.” What was going on here? Most of the time, this wasn’t something that appeared to be devastating, just a quick movement of Teller’s forearms, and bam, someone fell on the ground.
Much of the time, even watching the replay, you might think that the defender slipped on the wet turf or something. But it kept happening game after game. Teller’s man kept winding up flat on his back. Eventually, it started to sink in that Teller is very, very good at delivering pancake blocks. This guy was for real. For that reason, FirstEnergy Stadium might be unofficially known as Teller’s House of Pancakes.
In the course of his Browns career, he has gone from benchwarmer to starter to Pro Bowler. Obviously, John Dorsey saw the talent, and Bill Callahan helped to bring it out.
It’s possible, but not likely that Teller will be offered in a deadline trade. As of Week 9, Teller is listed as Out versus the Bengals with that calf injury. At this point, it’s believed that the injury is not chronic, although he had a similar injury in 2020. That slightly uncertain prognosis, along with his hefty contract, might keep him anchored in Cleveland. If traded, the Browns’ cap would be charged for his signing bonus money, but the new team would inherit obligations for his base salary and roster bonuses, amounting to roughly $40 million in the next three and a half seasons.
Hjalte Froholdt is the greatest Danish football player since kicker Morten Anderson. Of course, there haven’t been that many. The former Arkansas Razorback and fourth-round draft pick of the New England Patriots had an impressive start in place of Teller.
He started a few games at center in college and got in some snaps for the Browns in the preseason and looked fine. We would like to see more of the Danish strongman before recommending him for a starting job at guard or center, but in limited sample sizes, he has looked fine.
4. Ethan Pocic has Quietly Been Outstanding
Ethan Pocic hasn’t made a lot of noise, but he has done his job very well. The only time you hear about the starting center is if there is a bad snap or a penalty, and we have not heard very much about Pocic. Pro Football Focus has ranked him within the top five among starting centers this season. That’s not half bad for a player who was supposed to be backing up Nick Harris this season.
However, Harris went out for the year with a knee injury suffered in the very first exhibition game. For that matter, there were cries of anguish that the Browns needed to bring back popular starter and NFL Players Association President J.C. Tretter for one more season.
But the Browns installed Pocic as the starter and never looked back. Somehow, some way, he’s having the best season of his career.
Pocic was a sometimes starting center for the Seattle Seahawks, with 40 career starts in four seasons. They were ambivalent about him in the offseason, so the Browns were able to sign him for $1.2 million, including a $152,000 signing bonus, and $1 million dollars guaranteed.
On a losing team, it’s easy to overlook the effectiveness of the quarterback sneak, which has been a bright spot of the Browns’ offense this season. The quarterback keeper is referred to as the quarterback sneak, but after a few successes, there is nothing sneaky about it.
Jacoby Brissett does his best imitation of Kevin Mack, and the entire NFL knows about it now. The reason why it works is that Pocic, Joel Bitonio, and Wyatt Teller get just enough surge that Brisset is able to power his way forward for a yard when he needs it. Pocic in particular has proven himself to be very valuable in short-yardage situations. We expected it from Bitonio and Teller. Pocic was a major surprise.
What’s the difference? Well, he spent five years in Seattle and didn’t have great success. Now, in his first year with the Browns, he is acting like he wants to go to the Pro Bowl. Go figure, maybe Bill Callahan is part of the success formula.
Pocic is not signed for 2023 yet. If he leaves as a free agent, it’s possible that he will generate a compensatory draft pick based on his achievements. Or if they still like Nick Harris — who is under contract for 2023 — and some team will offer a draft pick now for Pocic, perhaps the Browns might entertain a deal. In that case, Froholdt or Michael Dunn might become the new starting center.
Practice squad player Brock Hoffman probably needs to be protected with a real roster spot immediately based on his work in the preseason.
3. James Hudson III has Improved as a Sophomore.
Last season, James Hudson III was not very good as a rookie. There were reasons to question the wisdom of making him a fourth-round pick.
Most of Andrew Berry’s draft picks are precocious kids, drafted at age 21 with three years of college experience, rather than the 22 or 23-year-olds with four years. The theory is that the younger guys are still developing and thus will have a higher ceiling in the NFL.
However, Hudson only had one year at the University of Cincinnati after making the transfer there and was 22 when drafted. Hudson had gotten tangled up with coach Jim Harbaugh at That School Up North. That’s actually okay. In evaluating potential prospects, student-athletes should have an automatic forgiveness policy if Harbaugh doesn’t like them. Nevertheless, a 22-year-old prospect with one year as a starter and one year’s cup of coffee at TSUN did not sit well with amateur draft evaluators.
Sure enough, Hudson wasn’t nearly ready as a rookie last year and just was not much of a baller. When Jack Conklin and Chris Hubbard both went down, neither he nor Blake Hance (who famously stepped in at guard to protect Baker Mayfield in the playoffs in 2020, but isn’t really a capable tackle) was able to provide pass protection. The Browns gave up an appalling 49 sacks in 2021.
However, at the start of 2022, Conklin was not ready to go and Hudson had to play against Carolina and the New York Jets. Hudson was night-and-day improved over his rookie campaign. Because Conklin’s contract is expiring at the end of 2022, Hudson may become the starter in 2023, or possibly next week if there is a deadline deal that makes sense.
Here again, let’s credit Hudson for working hard, but maybe Callahan and the rest of the Browns coaching staff had something to do with it as well. Having Joe Thomas on staff in the preseason was certainly a major asset as well.
Speaking of Conklin, it goes without saying that he made All-Pro in his first year with Cleveland after coming over from Tennessee, but that might not be enough to keep him in Cleveland.
1. Will All-Pro Conklin Stay or Go?
Jack Conklin was a very good offensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans, but when he came to Cleveland in 2020, he became even better, making the All-Pro team. You can say what you want about the politics of the Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, but those vectors are rarely pointed in the favor of Cleveland.
If someone makes the All-Pro team wearing a Cleveland uniform, he probably earned it. Thus, the Browns have three players who have been recently honored in Conklin, Wyatt Teller (second-team All-Pro) and Joel Bitonio (first team in 2021), so you may as well believe that something good is happening on the Browns’ offensive line.
Bitonio was drafted by Ray Farmer, Teller was obtained via trade by John Dorsey and Conklin was obtained via trade by Andrew Berry. The common thread is that all three made All-Pro with Bill Callahan as their offensive line coach.
Conklin was a first-round draft pick of the Titans and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. However, he suffered a knee injury and his level of play was not the same for the rest of his career in Tennessee. According to an article in Titanswire, Conklin and the Titans training staff decided to reduce his playing weight to add quickness after his knee injury. That may or may not have helped his level of play. With the Browns, he is still listed at 308 pounds. However, he may be stronger now than he was in his days as a Titan.
Will Conklin still be with the team after the NFL trade deadline passes? If the Browns are knocked out of contention by the Bengals, it would seem like a good idea to obtain a draft pick if at all possible. Conklin is not signed for 2023. His departure as a free agent would generate a compensatory draft pick if the Browns lose more free agents than they sign.
The Browns will probably wind up in negative territory, given that they need to adjust to the new reality of paying the starting quarterback $55 million dollars per year. Also, since they gave up six draft picks in two years for Deshaun Watson, they could really use a compensatory pick if one is available.
Conklin’s departure would probably result in a fourth or fifth-round pick in 2024. If they trade him now, they might get a little more. Hence, if the Browns can swing a trade for Conklin that would bring a draft pick or two in return, they will probably do it.
They might hang on to Conklin if they pull off the upset against the Bengals on Monday Night Football. In that case, they might decide they still have a shot at making the playoffs via some miracle. Perhaps Deshaun Watson will be given a shot at running the table. If they have three wins at the deadline, it is not quite impossible. A normal team would be sellers with three wins, but the Browns may not be a normal team.
Cleveland Browns mailbag: Is the 2022 season already over?
The Cleveland Browns have lost four games in a row and things are not looking pretty let's answer some reader questions about the rest of the season.