MAKING A BEELINE TO IMPROVE THE LINE
By STEVE KING
What is the Browns’ biggest weakness heading into the offseason?
I keep hearing that, reading that and seeing that question, and I am truly amazed. There is absolutely no question – none at all – that it’s the offensive line. In fact, if the Browns don’t fix anything else but the line, then it will have been a great offseason.
The line could not protect the Browns’ perceived franchise quarterback, Baker Mayfield, this past season. He was running for his life on most plays, and took a real beating. The Browns aren’t going anywhere without a productive Mayfield, but he can’t be productive behind that line. It’s impossible.
And the NFL is an offensive game, and has been for a long time. The line is the engine of an offense. A team needs a good one. It’s where everything starts.
There are two keepers – two really good ones, two cornerstones – on the line in center J.C. Tretter and guard Joel Bitonio. Other than that, there is no one of even decent quality. So, the Browns need three more starters – a guard and two tackles, the left one who will protect Mayfield’s blind side, and the right one behind whom the offense should be able to run most of the time – and several capable reserves. If the Browns do anything else other than selecting a lineman with their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, at No. 10 overall, then it would be an egregious mistake.
Bill Calahan is a good hire as offensive line coach. In fact, you could make the argument – and you’d probably be right – that his presence will be more important than that of anyone else on head coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff. Callahan knows line play inside and out, but he can’t transform this line without good players.
Here’s hoping, then, that the Browns involve Callahan fully in their search for new linemen, especially at the top of the draft. They desperately need his input.
