The Cleveland Browns addressed some major concerns in the 2025 NFL Draft in an effort to improve upon last year’s disastrous offense, which scored a league-worst 15.2 points per game and had the worst turnover differential in the league.
Cleveland brought in two rookies quarterbacks from major college programs, two bellcow running backs from the SEC and Big Ten, and a third-round tight end who set NCAA records for receptions and yardage last season, but there is still one major area of need that one analyst believes the team needs to address in next year’s draft.
In a recent article for Pro Football Focus, Trevor Sikkema pointed out that Cleveland has to start thinking about the future of its offensive line sooner rather than later.
“Building their future offensive line,” Sikkema wrote. “Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller have been All-Pro offensive linemen, but both are now above the age of 30 and weren’t at their best in 2024, earning 65.8 and 64.2 PFF overall grades, respectively. The same can be said for center Ethan Pocic, who allowed his most quarterback pressures in a season in his 2017 rookie campaign. Offensive tackle Jack Conklin is entering the final year of his deal, and third-year man Dawand Jones is scheduled to start at the opposite tackle spot (46.4 PFF overall grade in 2024).”
These are all valid concerns, and if this line allows 66 sacks again like it did last year, the offense won’t improve, and it won’t matter what kind of new weapons are deployed.
On paper, there is enough talent for this line to be one of the better units in the league in 2025, but health is a major priority after there were injuries all over this unit last year.
Dawand Jones has to prove the team right for choosing to build around him and let former franchise left tackle Jedrick Wills walk in free agency, while Teller, Pocic, and Bitonio need to prove that they still have plenty left in the tank.
Conklin will be playing for a new contract, so all five of these men have something to prove heading into next year.
It will be interesting to see if this unit can hold up, because if it can’t, another 14-loss season could be right around the corner.
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