Overlooked Browns lineman may be climbing the depth chart faster than expected

As the Cleveland Browns concluded the spring portion of their offseason program on Thursday, one thing was clear to those with boots on the ground in Berea: the battle at right guard might be as wide open as quarterback entering training camp.

Head coach Todd Monken threw a curveball that should have fans' attention on Tuesday. We expected to see some combination of the "big three" at right guard in Elgton Jenkins, Teven Jenkins, and Austin Barber. Absolutely no one had KT Leveston on their Bingo card.

Leveston worked mostly at tackle last season, but Monken made somewhat of a statement by opening Day 1 of the Browns’ mandatory minicamp with Leveston as the starter at right guard. 

After practice, Monken sounded like a man who is clearly higher on Leveston, a former seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, than fans expected.

“We’re just trying to move guys around a little bit to see where we can find the best five,” he said of Leveston’s first-team reps at right guard. “We do like his power and his toughness. ... Last year when he got a chance to play, you could see that running off the football, his aggressiveness, finishing plays — you love that about him. Those kinds of guys you’re always trying to find a spot for.”

KT Leveston could be a lot closer to roster ‘lock’ than roster ‘bubble’ this summer

The Browns have routinely carried nine or 10 offensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster during GM Andrew Berry’s tenure. That seemingly put Leveston on the cutdown borderline entering the start of Monken’s offseason program.

Cleveland should have six “locks” in 2026 draft picks Spencer Fano, Austin Barber, and Parker Brailsford, free agent additions Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins, and trade acquisition Tytus Howard. The Browns also re-signed Teven Jenkins this offseason to a one-year deal with about $4 million in full guarantees, making him an extremely unlikely cut candidate. That leaves two or three open spots, with returning players Dawand Jones, Luke Wypler, Zak Zinter, and Leveston the most likely contenders entering camp.

Jones recently took a pay cut via a restructure that guaranteed his $1.2 million salary for 2026, so while he’s far from a lock due to his injury history, his contract gives him the upper hand. Wypler is coming off a December knee injury, and Zinter’s status continues to be a complete mystery. 

Based on Monken’s comments last week, Leveston might be first in line among that group.

He quietly started seven games at tackle for the Browns’ injury-ravaged offense last season, logging 653 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He seemed most comfortable on the right side, allowing just one sack in five starts to close the season. It’s worth noting that Shedeur Sanders, who has a tendency to hold onto the ball and extend plays, was the quarterback for all five of those games.

These practices are unpadded and limit contact, so until Leveston gets first-team reps in actual football situations in training camp, we probably shouldn’t take his chances of stealing the right guard job seriously. Teven Jenkins, who feels like the favorite to be the fifth starter with Elgton Jenkins at center, was back at right guard on Wednesday and Thursday, per ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi. Brailsford, the Browns’ fifth-round rookie, also got some first-team center reps, so the chances of Elgton Jenkins sliding over to right guard can’t be ruled out, either.

With that said, Leveston seemed to be lost in the shuffle after Cleveland drafted a pair of offensive tackles in the first three rounds of the 2026 draft. Versatility has been a common theme of Monken’s program so far, though, and if Leveston can continue to prove that guard is in his repertoire, he could end up nowhere near the roster bubble come late August.

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