The Browns can be called a lot of things by fans of other teams. One thing they've rarely been, though, is devoid of offensive line talent. There's just something in the water in Cleveland that breeds enormous maulers with precise footwork that allows them to move like someone 100 pounds lighter than them. Think of Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, Alex Mack, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, and an endless list of old-timey legends.
It was odd this offseason, however, when the Browns had to start from scratch along the offensive line. Four of five projected starters from the 2025 outfit saw their contracts expire — Bitonio, Teller, Conklin, and center Ethan Pocic. The lone returnee, Dawand Jones, missed almost the entire year after suffering an early-season injury.
In other words, general manager Andrew Berry had no safety net to fall back on. The Browns needed to rebuild the unit in a hurry, with no proven incumbents in place.
The Browns' brand-new offensive line showed both promise and cause for concern in its preseason debut
Utilizing every avenue available to him, Berry went about doing just that. First, he traded for the Houston Texans' Tytus Howard and promptly gave him a controversial contract extension. Then, he inked Green Bay Packers castoff Elgton Jenkins and former Los Angeles Chargers first-round pick Zion Johnson to big-money deals in free agency.
Berry also brought back Teven Jenkins, who was a rare bright spot on the 2025 Browns' moribund offense. Finally, the worst-kept secret of draft season came true when Berry used the Browns' first first-round pick on Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano. With a steady hand, the unit was rebuilt, at least on paper.
Preseason Week 1 against the Chicago Bears allowed fans to get their first view of how the new unit is gelling. In the eyes of the fine folks at Pro Football Focus, there's still some work to do. At center, Elgton Jenkins had a solid day at the office in his 10 snaps played, producing an overall above-average 61.9 grade with a particularly impressive pass block grade of 76.3. His fellow Jenkins, Teven, was the leader of all the linemen with a 74.6 grade in his 10 snaps of action.
As for Zion Johnson, the extremely early reviews reinforce the skepticism around signing him in the first place. His 51.4 grade ranked 26th of the 34 Browns to play an offensive snap in the contest. Tytus Howard fared even worse, with his 39.9 grade holding the dubious title of worst of the bunch. He was memorably penalized for tripping on a play where Deshaun Watson wound up scrambling for a gain of five yards. Both Johnson and Howard had the same 10-snap sample as the Jenkinses.
Spencer Fano had perhaps the most eyes on him as the rookie took his first NFL snaps. He played more than his fellow projected starters, logging 33 snaps at left tackle and earning a slightly below-average 58.4 overall grade. He allowed two pressures and a quarterback hit, but was otherwise lauded for his work in pass protection, earning a 70.8 pass-block grade. It was in the run game that he struggled to the tune of a 47.1 grade.
Many expected the Browns' nouveau O-Line to instantly represent an upgrade over last year's outfit. Even with a rocky start, that's still a reasonable expectation. In 2025, the Browns' offensive line ranked 31st in the league according to PFF. Cleveland offensive tackles surrendered a league-worst 143 pressures last season, and the unit's 80.3 pass-blocking efficiency rating was 31st. The best thing about being at the bottom is that there's nowhere to go but up.
One could argue the debut — particularly Fano's — was mostly encouraging. As long as the Browns can get the veterans on the line to play to their previously established levels, fans should notice a night-and-day difference in 2026. That should be welcome news for Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, or any other signal-caller who winds up taking snaps for the Browns this year.
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