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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Leftover takeaways from Browns offensive line additions …
1. Zion Johnson’s name sent me down a rabbit hole. I thought there were very few players in Browns history – a handful -- whose first name start with a Z. Turns out there are eight. The only thing to do with this useless information is pose it as a trivia question. See how many you can name without googling it. I’ll post the answer at the bottom of this column.
2. Elgton Jenkins has played every position on the offensive line. How did that come to be? “Looking back on it, when I was, like, in 11th grade, I was playing left tackle,” he said. “Then we went to a run-heavy offense and I was playing guard. When I got to Mississippi State, I started off as a swing right tackle/left tackle. Then when one of my teammates went down, they put me at guard and I started excelling at that, so I finished that year at guard. Then my junior or senior year, I knew the offense better than anybody else, so my coach moved me to center. Then I got drafted in the second round.” In seven seasons with the Packers, Jenkins made starts at every position except right guard. He made the Pro Bowl at left guard in 2020 and 2022, which is probably where he ends up with the Browns. “We talked about it,” he said. “I told them I want to keep an open mind. The more guys the better to have to play different positions. You don’t want to play musical chairs and stuff like that, but you do want guys that can fill [a position] if needed. I’m definitely open to playing anything to help the team.” He added: “I think the offseason workouts are going to clear that out a little more, see who’s the best starting five. I think everybody’s keeping an open mind, cross-training, and being available.”
3. Jenkins started at center when the Packers, undefeated after two wins, left Cleveland with a 13-10 loss in Week 3 last year. It was the Browns’ first win in 305 days. The Packers were held to 230 offensive yards as QB Jordan Love was sacked five times and intercepted once. “Ya’ll kicked our butt,” Jenkins said. He said he was impressed with Jim Schwartz’s defense, obviously, but also running back Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for 94 yards and one TD in his first real full-time load in 2025 after missing all of training camp and preseason. “Having Quinshon run the ball last year … it was very motivating to come here and have a running back run with such confidence, power and the speed he got. I definitely think the [Browns’] record last year doesn’t show the team that we have.”
4. The Browns have had a lot of bad luck in the past two years with injured linemen missing games, mostly the tackles. Zion Johnson has been an ironman in his four years with the Chargers. He played and started in 65 of a possible 68 games. One thousand snaps is kind of a benchmark for offensive linemen. Johnson surpassed the 1,000-snap mark in each of his four seasons, lining up for 99%, 100%, 98% and 94% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps. “I take a lot of pride in it because, you know, you can't help the team from off the field,” he said. “Sure you can through practice and whatnot, but I think the way that I add to the team, the way that I fill my role and do my job is being out there consistently, doing my job, giving everything I can, whether it's my body or whatever to the team. So I take a lot of pride in that.”
5. Right tackle Tytus Howard is the only one of the new linemen to play for Browns offensive line coach George Warhop. They were together for the 2022 season in Houston. Howard was asked what separates Warhop from the average O-line coach. “Just his attention to detail when it comes to technique, play style,” he said. “You're going to get the same guy every single day. He's not going to sugarcoat it. He's not one of those coaches that … he's [not] going to treat the best player, highest paid player, different than any other guys that may be on the practice squad. He's going to coach everybody the same way. And he's going to demand the best out of each and every one of us every single day. This is how he's built. And he kind of rubs it off on all the guys like on the line and basically rubs it off on everyone on the team because everyone I've ever seen been around him has the same thing to say about him. No matter where he's been, players he's coach, you're going to hear the same thing. And, you know, he demands the best. And if you can't meet that energy, you know, you won't play for him. That's the kind of coach I like to play for.”
6. Howard was the Texans right tackle in 2022 when Deshaun Watson led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards, 8.9 yards per attempt, and 12.6 yards per completion. Watson’s passer rating was a career-high 112.4 in that last season in Houston. “He made some crazy plays that year,” Howard said. “And we did it with a lot of guys that got moved up from practice squad and he was still able to go out there and and make a ton of plays.” So I asked Howard if there is a fair quarterback competition in Cleveland this year among Watson and Shedeur Sanders, what will it take for Sanders to win the job. His answer showed his veteran savvy. “You know, I wouldn't say what’s it’s going to take,” he said. “I just know that it's going to be a fair competition between those guys. I think when it comes to being quarterback, whatever guys go out there and take advantage of, leading a team in the right way and, having everyone going to buy in to where they're not there on the field and who they are as a person. That's the guy that's going to win the job. But it's not my up to me to say who's going to win or what the other one has to do.”
7. Trivia answer: The Browns never had a player whose first name started with a Z until their expansion era. The Elite Eight of Z-men, in reverse chronological order: Zion Johnson (2026), Zak Zinter (2024-26), Za’Darius Smith (2023-24), Zaire Mitchell-Paden (2022-23), Zane Gonzalez (2017-18), Zach Banner (2017), Zac Diles (2014), and Zola Davis (1999-2000). You don’t get this info anywhere but TLOD.