Can the Cleveland Browns offensive line be elite again?

The Cleveland Browns have had one of the top offensive lines in football nearly every year since 2017. They go into 2023 with similarly high expectations per Pro Football Focus as they expect them to be the second-best line in the NFL, with Joel Bitonio leading the way.

"Best Player: Joel Bitonio
Joel Bitonio finished the season named as a PFF All-Pro at left guard. He allowed one sack all season and earned an 84.5 PFF run-blocking grade."

- By Sam Monson, PFF

The Browns retained Ethan Pocic and re-signed Jack Conklin to keep this line together for one more season, at least. There's no question that they have talent across the line based on names and reputation. But there are some questions when it comes to age, health, and effort. Let's start with a potential Hall of Famer.

Joel Bitonio

Bitonio has shown no signs of slowing down, even at age 31. He has been a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro in his nine-year career. He has been one of the best pass blockers in the league nearly every year of his career and a road grader when asked to be in the run game.

Since an early career foot injury, he has been an ironman at left guard, starting every game for the last seven years. Unless an injury slows him down or they move him to tight end, there's no reason why Bitonio should not be able to have another stellar season on the left side for the Browns.

Wyatt Teller

Wyatt Teller was brought in by the John Dorsey regime in a trade with the Buffalo Bills in 2019. He was part of what turned out to be the worst-ranked line over the last 6-7 years, and he did not help.

His overall PFF grade over 15 games with nine starts was 56.7 as he struggled to find his way. He would find it in a big way in his first season under offensive line guru Bill Callahan going from also-ran to one of the top three guards in all of football with a 92.7 PFF grade.

Teller has been a vicious run blocker over the last three seasons and holds up in pass blocking. The Brown's offense will look a little different this season, and you have to wonder if Teller coming off his lowest PFF grade in the last three years, will be a good fit with the new pass-first offense. Could we see more regression from the 28-year-old right guard?

Ethan Pocic

The surprise of 2022 is back manning the middle of the line in 2023. Ethan Pocic was a depth piece added by Andrew Berry in early 2022 for just $1.187 million. He would end up one of the best centers in all of football over his 13 starts.

Under the tutelage of Bill Callahan, Pocic would finish with a career-best 78.9 PFF grade and allowed only two sacks all season. The concern is whether Pocic had a great season or found himself as an NFL player. At 27 years old, this is the first season he has excelled at the position, so regression is possible. Have the Browns struck gold for the future, or will Pocic return to his old form in 2023?

Jedrick Wills Jr.

The former No. 10 overall pick has had a rollercoaster of a career so far. He was a promising young tackle as a rookie after struggling with run blocking, but showed signs of being a good pass blocker.

Since then, it has been injuries and inconsistency that have plagued Wills's career. At this point, the best you can hope for is a solid season for the young left tackle. While a solid left tackle can help you win, the hope when he was drafted was he would be better than that for the next ten years.

It's now more likely the Browns, who still wisely picked up his fifth-year option, will be looking to upgrade a couple of seasons from now. Without a jump in effort/tenacity, the expectation should be another season of up-and-down play from Wills.

Jack Conklin

Conklin is the wild card on the Browns line with the past injuries. There's no telling if his body, even at 28 years old, will hold up in 2023. Since joining the Browns as a free agent in 2020, Conklin has started 36 of 49 games at right tackle.

When healthy, he has been a stud earning All-Pro honors in 2020. In 2021, Conklin was off to another outstanding season until a torn patellar tendon ended his season at seven games. He came back in 2022 and started 14 games, but was not the same player.

With a year away from the injury and a fresh new extension, will we see All-pro Jack Conklin or the player we saw last year? If the Browns want to be the elite offensive line PFF thinks they will be Jack Conklin needs to be close to the player he was in 2020. 

Depth

Another big question surrounding the Browns line is what happens if one of the starters goes down for an extended period of time. With James Hudson III, Nick Harris, Luke Wypler, Drew Forbes, Michael Dunn, and Dawand Jones as the depth heading into 2023 there are some questions that need answered.

While Dunn has shown he can step in at guard, and Hudson has played a lot over the last couple of years, the rest is untested. Once again, the Browns will hope that Bill Callahan can work his magic on the young guys should they be forced to see any significant playing time. A solid veteran tackle would be great, but the money only goes so far, and a lot of spending has already been done at this position.

Here's hoping for health and a return to form in 2023.

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