Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry promised a “heavy investment” in the offensive side of the ball after a disappointing 2025 season that saw the offense repeatedly come up short.
Berry delivered on the promise by:
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Recharging a morbid wide receiver room by selecting KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Building depth at tight end by selecting Joe Royer and Carsen Ryan in the 2026 NFL.
Collectively, that group should help the offense get back to resembling an NFL offense, even if Berry had to push off fixing the quarterback position for another season.
But which of those moves represents the biggest upgrade?
According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, the work on the offensive line is the difference maker, as that unit landed on his list of the 10 biggest position upgrades heading into the 2026 season:
No unit in the league was more emphatically overhauled than Cleveland’s offensive line. Five of the six leading snap-getters from last season are no longer with the team, and three of them (Bitonio, Teller, and Pocic) were multiyear starters. It’s tough to measure just how poorly that interior trio played, as the carousel at both tackle spots hamstrung the entire unit. But the Browns were 31st in adjusted line yards (according to FTN Fantasy), 20th in pass block win rate, 24th in run block win rate, and 32nd in quick pressure rate surrendered. It was comfortably a poor unit.
Out with the old, in with the new. The Browns could potentially field a starting offensive line made entirely of players they’ve acquired in the 2026 league year. Howard, acquired from the Texans via trade, figures to start at right tackle. First-round pick Fano will man the left side. Jenkins, cut by the Packers, has played better at guard than at center in his career, but with the big free agent signing of Johnson, Jenkins looks like he’ll stick at center with Cleveland. The other guard spot comes down to incumbent Teven Jenkins and Barber, a third-round rookie who played tackle in college but is likely to convert to guard in the league.
There isn’t one individual move here that blows me away as a clear upgrade. We’ve seen worryingly poor play from Jenkins, Howard and Johnson in recent stretches — that’s why they were available. But collectively, the infusion of new blood makes it likelier the Browns hit big on at least one acquisition. Say Fano is a lights-out rookie tackle, or Johnson sees the light bulb turn on in a new ZIP code. Just two plus starters would move the needle considerably from last season to this season.
There’s a lot of jelling to do in the new group — and just one injury could reshuffle the whole deck. But given how poor the Browns’ line was last season, an average group in 2026 would easily qualify for the most improved positional groups.
Will all the moves along the line work out? Probably not, as injuries are always just a play away, and there is validity to the argument that Jenkins, Howard, and Johnson were available for a reason.
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But did the moves address a major need? There is no doubt the answer to that is a resounding yes, and that is a good start.
Berry hit the offense hard in the offseason, and, on paper, the offensive line should be better than it was last year.
It is now up to the players and coaches to make sure the moves that look good in the offseason actually look good when it matters the most.
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