The lineup alongside the offensive line on opening day of 2025 was one participant wanting the identical group who had been ranked #3 within the league in 2023: RT Jack Conklin, RG Wyatt Teller, C Ethan Pocic, LG Joel Bitonio, and LT Dawand Jones. The one distinction was that OT Jed Wills was taking part in left sort out again in 2023.
The offensive line unit that lined up within the closing recreation of the 2025 season? RT KT Leveston, RG Teven Jenkins, C Luke Wypler, LG Joel Bitonio, and LT Cam Robinson.
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Fairly a little bit of distinction. It got here as no shock that Cleveland’s offensive line was ranked #31 for the season. No shock in any respect. Bitonio and his seven Professional Bowls gutted it out.
In the course of the offseason, Browns’ GM Andrew Berry made it his quest to alter the panorama of the offensive line. Teller, Pocic, Bitonio, Robinson, Jenkins, and Cornelius Lucas had been all free brokers. Berry inked Jenkins to a one-year, $3.05 million deal. Teller signed with the Houston Texans. Bitonio nonetheless has the welcome mat prepared for him if he decides to return to Cleveland. The remaining are nonetheless unemployed.
It grew to become very clear that Berry was able to wipe the slate clear with the OLine and begin over.
In January, OT Tyre Phillips and OG Jack Conley had been signed to order/futures contracts to battle for backup positions or find yourself on the apply squad.
On March 2, Berry made a commerce with the Texans for RT Tytus Howard. Seven days later, because the free company gates opened, Berry signed OG Zion Johnson from the Los Angeles Chargers.
Two new items of the offensive line puzzle had been about to get into place.
What adopted was the free agent signing of C/OG Elgton Jenkins from the Inexperienced Bay Packers. Jenkins was re-signed, and Berry drafted OT Spencer Fano, OT Austin Barber, and C Parker Brailsford in April’s school draft.
Probably the most vital transactions was the addition of Zion Johnson.
Johnson (6’-3”, 316 kilos) got here to the Browns anticipating the crew to compete for a playoff spot immediately. In his introductory presser, he acknowledged:
“The draw was clear for me: I could see the potential with the talent on this team.“
He is a guy who can be slotted on either side, so the versatility is key. Players get injured all the time and miss games. With Johnson, this means he could start the season at Bitonio’s left guard spot, but could move to the other if the need arises. Being interchangeable is a huge asset for O-Line coach George Warhop and his assistant Bobby Johnson. He also played 11 games at left tackle in college.
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The Chargers took him in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft at pick #17. Johnson started at right guard as a rookie and played in all 17 games. At season’s end, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. In his second season, the coaching staff moved him to left guard, which he had played extensively in college.
He has proven to be very durable at all levels. That is huge since the Browns’ offensive line has been decimated by injuries for the past 3-4 years. When a guy like Conklin would return from an injury, another linemate would go down. Last year, Cleveland used the league’s third-most offensive line configurations with 14. That came close to becoming a different lineup for each game. Marinate on that fact for a moment.
Johnson is just 26 years old, so that’s another plus. In his four seasons with LA, he started 65 NFL games.
He learned the art of run blocking when he left Riverdale Baptist High School in Bowie, Maryland, where he was on the golf team, and then later started playing football. Because of his limited time participating in football, the only school that recruited him was Davidson College. They were a running team and rarely threw the ball. And they played Johnson right away as a freshman with eight starts in 11 contests. He learned how to pull and to get to the second level.
In his second year, he started all 11 games. Johnson was selected First Team All-Pioneer Football League, voted a HERO Sports All-Sophomore honorable mention, and named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll.
Johnson wanted to go to a Power-5 school. It just so happened that Boston College had graduated four starters along its offensive line. Johnson was now 6’-3”, 305 kilos, so he match proper in. He needed to enchantment to the NCAA and get a waiver to the switch rule, so he enrolled in January and took part in spring apply whereas his enchantment was being thought of, which he finally received.
Boston Faculty had a very good passing assault, and it was the offense’s bread and butter, so Johnson needed to relearn the strategies of go blocking and labored his manner right into a beginning place. In his sixth recreation in his junior yr, he grew to become the starter at left guard. At season’s finish, he was named Second Staff All-ACC and earned All-ACC Tutorial Honors.
As Boston Faculty stored throwing the ball, Johnson realized new strategies that compelled him to develop into an entire participant.
In his senior marketing campaign, Johnson was elected crew Captain and began all 11 video games at left sort out. He was one in every of simply three Boston Faculty student-athletes to earn the celebrated 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC. He additionally captured All-ACC Tutorial Honors for his second straight yr and was voted First Staff All-ACC, plus First Staff All-American, and was invited to play within the Senior Bowl, the place he had an incredible apply week that elevated his draft standing.
Now, he’s in Cleveland with a brand-new three-year deal value $49.5 million. His age permits the Browns to develop with him and his upside of an extended NFL profession.
It’s definitely encouraging to see Berry take management of the problems of the offensive line and never punt the 2026 season. He has introduced in excellent expertise that may compete every week and permit this new Todd Monken offense to develop and develop into the brand new norm.
Johnson sees this new offense as a lesson realized in his profession. A basis is being constructed, even whether it is one thing new. With new receivers, a proficient tight finish in Harold Fannin, and a very good operating again room highlighted by Quinshon Judkins, all of the Browns have to do is to get some stability on the quarterback state of affairs. Veteran Deshaun Watson will compete with Shedeur Sanders for the beginning reps and solidify the place. Lastly.
Now working for a residing in Cleveland, Johnson sees all of this as a plus:
“There are a lot of pieces. The front office is very hell-bent on improving the offensive line, improving the team as a whole. My role was just to come in, play whatever position is needed, whether it is left or right, to help the team in any way necessary.”
If you’re a Browns fan, you ought to be very upbeat concerning the upcoming season. The schedule factors to Cleveland having a fruitful yr and a potential playoff berth. It is vitally potential that this roster can eke out 10 or 11 wins.
How will Johnson react to a brand new offense with totally different terminology within the playbook? He just lately informed cleveland.com:
“It’s been exciting. Day to day, we work to improve our communication, our execution, and our knowledge of the playbook. Execution, assignment, technique – those are the big three things.”
Within the meantime, Johnson is targeted on what he wants to perform and serving to out the youthful guys who are actually within the league and may develop into his line accomplice, like Fano and Barber.
“I’m here for whatever they need. If they need advice, I’ve got that. If they need experience, I’ve got that. If they want to talk to somebody who has been in his shoes, I’m willing to give that to them as well. They have been a sponge and ask a bunch of questions.”
Johnson might want to clear up the variety of penalties he has been charged with, 21 over 4 seasons. However that quantity has dropped every season, with seven in his rookie marketing campaign and simply 4 final yr.
Johnson has been lined up at left guard. In school and with the Chargers, Johnson has performed a variety of video games at that location. To this point, he’s slated to be sandwiched in between veteran Elgton Jenkins at middle and the rookie Fano at left sort out. The extra he can work on the basics with new personnel, the higher. This new offense goes to point out the athleticism of Johnson with pulls, his run blocking abilities, and his means to run.
Maybe with the Browns’ upgraded forged surrounding the quarterback will take a leap that solidifies his spot going ahead.
Now, what would occur if in the future Bitonio had been to name the entrance workplace and state he is able to give it yet one more yr on the spot now occupied by Johnson? That……could be an amazing drawback to unravel.
What are your expectations for Johnson on the Browns new OLine?
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