The offensive line was such a priority for general manager Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns this offseason that they didn’t even wait until Day 1 of free agency to start addressing it.
In a year that quickly shifted into a full-blown youth movement, Berry’s decision to trade a fifth-round draft pick to the Houston Texans for 30-year-old tackle Tytus Howard still stands as a major surprise. It was necessary, though, as the Browns eyed the unknown of free agency and the draft needing to replace all five starters along the offensive line.
In one wild offseason, the Browns bid farewell to O-line mainstays Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, and Ethan Pocic. In the same breath, they’ve welcomed Howard and fellow external veterans Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins. A year after passing on offensive linemen in the 2025 draft, the Browns selected three this year, including tackle Spencer Fano with the No. 9 overall pick.
Entering training camp, head coach Todd Monken has all but confirmed four of his starting five up front. The locks are Fano at left tackle, Johnson at left guard, and Howard at right tackle. The two open spots, center and right guard, will be determined in camp, with Jenkins serving as the wild card. Per Monken, he’ll be the starter at one of those two positions, depending on how things shake out this summer.
In Part IV of our Dawg Fight series highlighting the dozen training camp battles that will shape Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster, we’ll dive deeper into the position group that could tie everything together along the Browns' new-look offensive line. The fight for right guard will pit the past against the future, and aside from the QB1 battle — it just might be the most intriguing of all.
The Dawg Fight at right guard: Who completes Cleveland's new offensive line?
Cleveland’s right guard competition won’t be about finding the next Bitonio, as in, the linemen most likely to man one spot for the next decade-plus. It will be more about finding the final piece of the puzzle up front as the Browns look to flip one of the NFL’s oldest offensive line groups into one that better fits its current timeline.
The Browns’ right guard of the future may not be on the current roster. The team re-signed Teven Jenkins as a potential placeholder. Based on the reporting out of Monken’s first spring program, his top competitor could be Austin Barber — a third-round rookie who projects to be the Browns' future at right tackle.
This position battle may lack star power, but if the Browns get it right, their offensive line could rank among the NFL’s most improved units across the board in 2026.
The top contenders for Browns’ right guard job
Teven Jenkins
- Why he can win the job: Positive momentum. With Teller battling injuries down the stretch last season, Jenkins wound up starting four games for the Browns at right guard. He performed well enough to earn another one-year contract with almost $4 million in guarantees.
- Why he can lose the job: Jenkins is entering his sixth year in the league, and he hasn’t been able to solidify himself at any one position. The Chicago Bears drafted him No. 39 overall in 2021 as their prospective left tackle, but he ended up moving inside to right guard in Year 2, then over to the left guard spot in Year 3. He may be entering training camp this year as the Browns’ frontrunner at right guard, but he’s a fringe NFL starter at this point in his career.
Austin Barber
- Why he can win the job: The Browns traded up in the third round to select Barber with the No. 86 overall pick in the 2026 draft. They clearly like the player, and Monken immediately told reporters in April that he believes Barber could move inside. If the competition is close, the Browns could prioritize getting Barber on the field early with Jenkins as the top backup.
- Why he can lose the job: Barber played predominantly as Florida’s starting left tackle in college. It might be a stretch to think that he could learn a new position and beat out a more experienced player like Jenkins in his first NFL training camp, but we’re certainly not ruling him out.
KT Leveston
- Why he can win the job: Leveston might be a dark horse in this competition after he saw first-team reps at right guard during one of Cleveland’s spring minicamp practices. Monken spoke highly of his skill set, too. It seems odd to give Leveston a better chance to win the right guard job than Zak Zinter, a former third-round pick of the Browns who starred at that position in college, but we’re going there. Zinter appears to be entering camp on the roster bubble, with his best chance of making the team as the backup left guard.
- Why he can lose the job: He’s purely an intriguing wild-card candidate in this competition right now. Leveston could be more valuable as a reserve tackle, especially after he gave the Browns a couple of quality starts in place of Conklin at the end of last season.
The X-factors that could make or break the right guard competition
Run blocking
Given the still unsettled nature of Cleveland’s quarterback situation, Monken figures to run the football early and often in 2026. Run-blocking prowess should be a major factor in who gets named the starter at right guard.
Chemistry
No matter what happens at right guard, Cleveland will be breaking in five new starters this year. How the group jells cohesively this summer could outweigh each individual’s performance in team drills. Whatever combination looks right on the field could determine the winner.
Discipline
Pre-snap penalties have crushed Cleveland’s offense in recent years, and Monken has been doing everything in his power to clean that up. Why go out and add veterans like Howard, Johnson, and Elgton Jenkins? Because rookie mistakes, like false starts and illegal formations, won’t be tolerated.
Prediction: Teven Jenkins leads wire-to-wire to win Browns RG job
The deeper you dive into this competition, the clearer the likely winner becomes.
Teven Jenkins has experience playing multiple positions. He started games for the Browns last season, and his contract aligns nicely for a stop-gap right guard.
Run blocking is a major strength in Jenkins’ game. He has posted a PFF grade of 71 or higher in every season outside of his rookie year. He wasn’t penalized, nor did he allow a sack, on any of his 324 offensive snaps in 2025, per PFF.
Jenkins feels like the right man to start at right guard entering the 2026 season, with Elgton Jenkins remaining at center, the position he played for the Green Bay Packers last year. Cleveland’s right guard spot is fluid, and Jenkins’ one-year deal allows plenty of future flexibility. The Browns could bring him back on another team-friendly deal in 2027 or look to target his replacement with one of their 11 picks in that year’s draft.
Barber projects as the Browns’ future bookend at right tackle opposite Fano. It makes the most sense for Cleveland to develop him there in Year 1. Leveston is certainly an intriguing challenger, but similar to Barber, he’d be shifting to a new position.
The guess here is that Jenkins looks the part in camp and leads this competition wire-to-wire.
Fight card: Right guard
- Leader: Teven Jenkins
- Challengers: Austin Barber, KT Leveston
- Projected winner: Jenkins
- Confidence level: 4.5 out of 5
- Decision date: First two weeks of training camp
The next Dawg Fight: Swing tackle (Monday, July 13)
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