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Beware the offensive line

This is one side of the football Browns fans will never have to worry about this season as long as Baker Mayfield is the chief engineer.

No matter how the defense and special teams play, the Browns will never be out of a game from a scoring standpoint because they are, quite frankly, loaded. They have become a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.

Talent resides at every skill position. Not just ordinary talent, but talent that pushes the boundaries of almost unstoppable. But there is a caveat when the Browns own the football.

The offensive line, that group of plug uglies whose job it is to make certain those skill players perform at a supreme level, is clearly the weak link in this potential scary machine.

This is a weaker group up front than the one that stunned the National Football League last season, permitting a hard-to-believe five sacks in the final eight games. That will turn out to be an aberration.

Too many question marks at three of the five positions help pump the brakes on the early enthusiasm displayed for this offense. And because the quality of offenses and defenses rests in the performance in the trenches, tapping those brakes is in order.

If the engine up front struggles, it will have a domino effect on the rest of the train. That is where the danger resides. The line must play well in an effort to make certain all the dominoes fall into place.

The Browns are strong at left guard with Joel Bitonio and center with JC Tretter. That’s it. Uncertainty abounds everywhere else.

The tackles are (trying to be kind here), barely acceptable. No. Make that less than mediocre. Left tackle Greg Robinson is effective only when he is holding an opponent (hoping an official doesn’t see it.) His numerous flags killed many promising drives last season when he took over at the midway point.

Chris Hubbard on the other side hasn’t mastered the art of holding. He just gets flat out beat much more often than Robinson in pass protection and isn’t much better in the ground game.

The front office would love to see Austin Corbett, who flamed out as a rookie and barely saw the field last season, step right in at right guard for the departed Kevin Zeitler. It would justify his lofty draft selection at the top of round two in 2018.

Even then, it would still be a significant drop in quality from Zeitler, clearly the club’s best offensive lineman last season.

It’s the one major blunder General Manager John Dorsey committed in the offseason. To compensate, he signed average free agents in Kendall Lamm, Kyle Kalis, Eric Kush, Bryan Witzmann and drafted Drew Forbes. More numbers and depth than solid talent.

Mayfield is blessed with the talents of Nick Chubb and, eventually, Kareem Hunt at running back; Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins at wide receiver; and David Njoku at tight end.

But unless he has the time to throw, opposing defenses can neutralize Mayfield. And if the holes aren’t there in the running game for Chubb and Hunt, the pressure to succeed slips back to whether the young quarterback can adjust.

If head coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken think they can win with a weak offensive line, good luck with that. As with most good teams, winning begins in the trenches.

The only possible saving grace might be James Campen, the outstanding offensive line coach pirated away from Green Bay. Campen has a reputation of taking what is thought to be mediocre talent and developing top quality performers. He’ll need to in order to make this entire machine function at a top level.

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks (4): Baker Mayfield, Drew Stanton, Garrett Gilbert, David Blough

Makes final cut: Mayfield, Stanton, Gilbert

Cut: Blough

Overview: The success or failure of not just the offense, but the entire team, runs through Mayfield. As the face of the franchise, the pro sophomore is the walking talking, breathing reason the Cleveland Browns have become the Most Interesting Team in the NFL. Quite literally, as he goes, so goes this team. He stays healthy and prospers, so do the Browns. Sophomore jinx? Nah.

Running backs (6): Nick Chubb, Duke Johnson Jr., Dontrell Hilliard, Kareem Hunt, Trayone Gray, D. Ernest Johnson

Makes final cut: Chubb, Duke Johnson Jr., Hilliard; Hunt (suspended first eight games)

Cut: Gray, D. Ernest Johnson

Overview: Now that the NFL has discovered him, Chubb will carry a bull’s-eye on the back of his uniform. His abundant talent should overcome any obstacles that stand in his way of recording a 1,000-yard season. His amazing jump cuts should produce numerous chunk-yardage runs. And when Hunt completes his half-season suspension, the Browns will own the best running backs tandem in the league. Hilliard will take Johnson’s reps once he is traded.

Wide receivers (12): Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins, D. J. Montgomery, Damion Ratley, Ishmael Hyman, Blake Jackson, Jaelen

Strong, Damion Sheehy-Guiseppi, Derrick Willies, Dorian Baker

Makes final cut: Beckham, Landry, Callaway, Higgins

On the bubble: Strong, Willies, Ratley

Cut: Montgomery, Hyman, Jackson, Baker, Sheehy-Guiseppi

Overview: From the worst corps of wide receivers in the league as recently as two seasons ago to one of the best in the NFL: That’s the story of this season’s wide receivers room. The only question here is whether Beckham can stay healthy enough to play an entire season, something he’s done only once in five seasons. He’ll love playing with college teammate Landry. Opposing teams will have a difficult time concentrating on either of these two standouts, Callaway and Higgins providing Mayfield with ample opportunities for big plays. If Strong and Willies stay healthy, they will help.

Tight ends (6): David Njoku, Demetrius Harris, Orson Charles, Seth DeValve, Stephen Carlson, Pharaoh Brown

Makes final cut: Njoku, Harris

On the bubble: DeValve, Charles

Cut:  Brown, Carlson

Overview: Numerous pundits forecast a bust-out season for Njoku, the beneficiary of an exquisite set of wide receivers. He can be All-Pro caliber once he corrects inconsistency in catching the football. He makes the tough catch and drops the easy ones. Harris provides stronger blocking in the run game and has decent hands in the aerial game. DeValve could be a training camp casualty with the return of Charles.

Centers (4): JC Tretter, Kyle Kalis (hybrid center/guard), Willie Wright, Lo Falemaka

Makes final cut: Tretter, Kalis (might start at guard)

Cut: Wright, Falemaka

Overview: Tretter is tough, solid, dependable. Played half of last season injured. Kalis, pushing for the starting job next door at right guard, is a solid backup for Tretter should he lose out.

Guards (5):  Joel Bitonio, Austin Corbett, Eric Kush, Bryan Witzmann, Kyle Kalis (see above)

Makes final cut: Bitonio, Corbett, Kush, Kalis

Cut: Witzmann

Overview: They don’t come any more solid or reliable than Bitonio, easily the best on this line. Not even close. The front office would like Corbett to step in at right guard and replace the departed Zeitler after missing virtually the entire 2018 season despite being a high draft choice. He doesn’t nail down the job and he automatically becomes a draft bust. No matter who wins, the position is a clear downgrade.

Tackles (7): Greg Robinson, Chris Hubbard, Kendall Lamm, Brad Seaton, Drew Forbes, Ka’John Armstrong, Brian Fineanganofo

Makes final cut: Robinson, Hubbard, Lamm, Forbes

Cut: Seaton, Armstrong, Fineanganofo

Overview: The strongest unit on this side of the football at the end of last season was the offensive line. That will not be the case this season. Robinson and Hubbard will anchor each side of the line as they did the last half of 2018. Both are better at run blocking than protecting the quarterback., which sounds ludicrous since Mayfield was sacked only a handful of times in the final eight games. But Robinson, who signed a prove-it contract this season, is a penalty flag waiting to be thrown. Nothing can strangle a drive quicker than yellow laundry. And Hubbard is scary on the other side. Wouldn’t be surprised if the rookie Forbes or Lamm make a move in training camp to remedy that.