With Wyatt Teller and potentially Joel Bitonio leaving, the Cleveland Browns had an evident need for at least one offensive guard at the start of free agency this year. There weren't many high-end options on the market, and the Browns may have jumped the gun with Zion Johnson.
Johnson had obvious ties to Tom Telesco, who is currently a consultant for the Browns, as he drafted Johnson with the 17th overall pick in 2022 while with the Los Angeles Chargers. That said, giving him a three-year, $49.5 million contract seems to be a little too pricey.
Even with undeniable athletic traits and an ideal build at 6-foot-3 and 316 pounds, Johnson has yet to do anything that justifies coming close to that price tag.
Why the Browns may have overpaid for Zion Johnson
There are usually two types of overpaying teams in professional sports. There's the big-spending team that gets overcharged because they don't even look at the price tag, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the underperforming team from a small market that has to beat more appealing destinations with higher offers, like, in this case, the Browns.
That said, it's hard to believe Johnson had many suitors after his latest season with the Chargers. The offensive line as a whole crumbled after Joe Alt's injury, but Johnson gave up 26 total pressures, seven QB hits, three sacks, and was called for four penalties, per Pro Football Focus. Blaming him for the lack of pass-protection in Los Angeles would be unfair and inaccurate, but he certainly played his part.
In his defense, Johnson might only need a change of scenery and a revamped coaching staff. The Chargers' offensive line woes date back a long way, and neither Brendan Nugent nor Mike Devlin was able to fix it. Maybe working with George Warhop will finally bring out the best of a guy who was a first-team All-American and first-team All-ACC in his final year at Boston College.
Also, it's worth noting that Johnson offers much-needed positional versatility. He played all but one of his snaps at left guard last season, but he played 1,254 snaps on the other side of the line as a rookie. That should come in handy for a Browns team that could still bring Bitonio back and move Elgton Jenkins to center.
It's not that Johnson isn't potentially a good pickup or that he's definitely going to be a liability, but the Browns could have probably gotten him for far less money than what they spent. Of course, fans shouldn't worry about that since it's not their money, but with a salary cap, every penny counts. The Browns had (and still have) big needs at wide receiver, and overspending so early to get Johnson may have hurt their chances of addressing that need.
At the end of the day, the fans will root for whoever is donning a Browns jersey, and there will always be hope that whoever they sign will finally help turn things around in Berea. Johnson, though, will have plenty of heavy lifting to do to justify his elevated price tag.