Cleveland Browns have built impressive offensive line depth

The Cleveland Browns have done a great job of building quality depth up front.

With Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens praising the offensive line quality and depth, it is time for fans and the league to recognize and appreciate the talent the front office has stocked the team with. Kitchens’ recent comments (via Cleveland.com) should have Browns’ fans excited:

"“I will say this about our offensive line: This may be the best group in this setting, the minicamp, tryout guys, free agent guys – this is the best offensive line I have ever been a part of,” cleveland.com reported. “I have been in the league 13 years. I have never seen a group collectively this good. We can actually function on offense, and sometimes in this kind of camp setting, that is hard to do.”"

Out of the nine offensive linemen the team will most likely go into the season with, seven have starting experience. That includes four at the offensive tackle position, including those who closed out the season playing well as starters, left tackle Greg Robinson and right tackle Chris Hubbard.

Kendall Lamm was signed in the off season and has played well when asked to start. Desmond Harrison began last season as a rookie starter in one of Hue Jackson‘s many missteps, but he didn’t look horrible as a rookie starter and should get bigger and better in his second season.

That adds up to tremendous depth at tackle, as the Browns may be the only team in the league that would be able to withstand two injuries at offensive tackle and still function at a high level. The Browns’ sixth-round round rookie Drew Forbes is practicing at guard and tackle and could be a small-school steal, with outstanding measurables and production at Southeast Missouri State.

On the interior, the Browns lost a Pro Bowl right guard in Kevin Zeitler in the trade for defensive end Olivier Vernon. While a pro bowl player is never easy to replace, second-year player Austin Corbett will join Joel Bitonio at guard, with J.C. Tretter in the middle again.

We’ll see how Corbett plays, though I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt as a second-year player who was brought in as a second-round pick. Eric Kush has some starting experience and would be able to fill in if needed at center or guard, but is better suited as a good backup than as a starter.

The depth isn’t quite as impressive on the interior, but there is still decent depth, with Kush and Corbett able to play center if Tretter goes down. The versatility is impressive though, with the Browns being legitimately three deep at center, three deep at guard, and four deep at offensive tackle, with Forbes potentially adding to the quality depth across the board.

Make no mistake about it, the Cleveland Browns have an impressive group of offensive linemen and their quality depth should allow for continued success should a couple of injuries happen.