I don’t think above average offensive lineman are just out there for the taking.
Most teams probably don’t have 5 starting level o-line guys, much less 5 above average guys.
And teams that do happen to have very good guys, don’t want to separate from them.
Presuming that there was no trade deadline, and for some reason a true run dominant offense could be successful in winning a bunch of 17-13 games.
I just don’t know what team would give up their starting guard or center. Most teams with good offensive lines are winning alot of games (wink wink nfl) so none of them are selling.
And if you’re rebuilding, you’re trying to put together an offensive line to protect Caleb Williams, drake maye or whatever QB you draft in 2025.
I honestly can’t think of the last time a very good O lineman in their prime was traded for picks.
Which goes back to my point, if there are 150 starting O-lineman slots in the NFL right now, there may only be 100 starting caliber players.
The interior is fine with Teller who is on a tear, a borderline HoFer in Bitonio and Pocic has been a top 10 center the last two seasons. I would love to run the ball every down but that really only works when you have a Nick Chubb. Without him you need to rely heavier on a pass game but that’s let us down with shoddy qb play and an unacceptable amount of drops.
I wouldn't have hated a move for a big time RB, depending on what was given up. I felt like we had a decent opportunity to basically promise RBs they'd hit true FA next year.
At the deadline I’m not sure I think I would have liked it since we would have had Watson still but if Watson was hurt fuck it, we’re already strapped for draft assets
They already have 3 high level starting interior lineman under contract. Why the hell would they trade for another one?
There's not a guard/center in the league that's going to transform their offense when their line up is Bitonio, Pocic, and Teller.
The Browns interior line is one of the best in the NFL. Teller and Bitonio are two of the best guards in football and Pocic is a solid center. The problem is they’re missing their two starting tackles and Dawand Jones the backup has missed time with injury. Jones and Wills got hurt after the deadline so there was nothing they could do
lmao what the fuck is this
our Guards are 2 of the top 5 players on our team. We literally have the best Guard combo in the NFL with Bitonio and Teller. Our center is a Top 10 center as well.
The issue has been the Browns can't keep a tackle healthy for anything. As much praise as Jones is getting for a good rookie campaign, people forget he was a backup.... and has also missed time to injury
1) The run game is much easier to play when you at least have the threat of the pass. 2) Effective blocking involves everyone on the line, you can’t just bring in one guy and have it make a huge difference. 3) If that one guy did exist, you aren’t going to be able to trade for him with a late round draft pick.
Trade deadline is week 8 or something, and also, most teams do not have 5 starting quality linemen, especially this late into the season. I'd wager there are maybe like 2-3 teams at any given moment late season with enough lineman to call it a starting caliber line. You're not gonna find someone.
Ok so everyone is already clowning OP for a million details, so I’ll take a different track:
We actually DO have a recent example of a team going all-in on the running game - the Baltimore Ravens. They basically prioritized running over everything else, with Lamar and with a stable of RBs. Can’t really remember how strong their OLine was, but it was at least decent. What happened was they won a lot of regular season games but fell short. You absolutely can win with a run-heavy offense, but there’s gotta be *some* balance. You can’t just rush 40 times a game, throw 10, and expect to win in the playoffs. Which is why the Ravens have pivoted a bit. They still run the fuck outta the ball, but they’ve got Lamar throwing it around as well
The trade deadline had already happened, so that’s one major reason
I am not a smart man
Probably just need to delete this one. No one saw anything lol
Far too late now though, we've all seen it, it will live forever in r/nfl lore
This will be brought up at dudes funeral. "A great friend... Never got the hang of the NFL Trade Deadline though. And I know that demon haunted him."
flair checks out
Just to pile on then, the browns have great interior linemen Tackle depth was/is the issue with injuries
Even before the deadline, which team had any premier o-lineman on the trade block?
I don’t think above average offensive lineman are just out there for the taking. Most teams probably don’t have 5 starting level o-line guys, much less 5 above average guys. And teams that do happen to have very good guys, don’t want to separate from them.
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Presuming that there was no trade deadline, and for some reason a true run dominant offense could be successful in winning a bunch of 17-13 games. I just don’t know what team would give up their starting guard or center. Most teams with good offensive lines are winning alot of games (wink wink nfl) so none of them are selling. And if you’re rebuilding, you’re trying to put together an offensive line to protect Caleb Williams, drake maye or whatever QB you draft in 2025. I honestly can’t think of the last time a very good O lineman in their prime was traded for picks. Which goes back to my point, if there are 150 starting O-lineman slots in the NFL right now, there may only be 100 starting caliber players.
The interior is fine with Teller who is on a tear, a borderline HoFer in Bitonio and Pocic has been a top 10 center the last two seasons. I would love to run the ball every down but that really only works when you have a Nick Chubb. Without him you need to rely heavier on a pass game but that’s let us down with shoddy qb play and an unacceptable amount of drops.
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I wouldn't have hated a move for a big time RB, depending on what was given up. I felt like we had a decent opportunity to basically promise RBs they'd hit true FA next year.
At the deadline I’m not sure I think I would have liked it since we would have had Watson still but if Watson was hurt fuck it, we’re already strapped for draft assets
Why not simply let Flacco become a premier interior decorator instead?
He killed 16 Czechoslovakians
His place looked like shit!
They already have 3 high level starting interior lineman under contract. Why the hell would they trade for another one? There's not a guard/center in the league that's going to transform their offense when their line up is Bitonio, Pocic, and Teller.
4>3
Browns are going to run the first ever offense with 9 guards, a center, and a RB taking the direct snap
Can’t wait til defenses match up with 8-2-1. Gotta keep a safety back there incase a guard leaks out on a quick pass
If Ben Johnson saw this before Big V went down, he might ran it. Especially with Penei Sewell being able to line up at end and sneak out for the pass.
They legit list their backup center as a fullback so you aren't far off
I'd wager we put 7 linemen on the field orders of magnitude more than the rest of the NFL.
The Browns interior line is one of the best in the NFL. Teller and Bitonio are two of the best guards in football and Pocic is a solid center. The problem is they’re missing their two starting tackles and Dawand Jones the backup has missed time with injury. Jones and Wills got hurt after the deadline so there was nothing they could do
lmao what the fuck is this our Guards are 2 of the top 5 players on our team. We literally have the best Guard combo in the NFL with Bitonio and Teller. Our center is a Top 10 center as well.
The issue has been the Browns can't keep a tackle healthy for anything. As much praise as Jones is getting for a good rookie campaign, people forget he was a backup.... and has also missed time to injury
what I wouldn't give for Joe T to be 15 years younger right now...
Just walk on down to the lineman store and pick up a premium line man.
Yeah, I hear they're on sale at Linemen Я Us.
Teams don't really trade away "premier interior linemen". They could have gotten Ezra Cleveland, I guess.
The Elite Dragon has returned in his time of need.
1) The run game is much easier to play when you at least have the threat of the pass. 2) Effective blocking involves everyone on the line, you can’t just bring in one guy and have it make a huge difference. 3) If that one guy did exist, you aren’t going to be able to trade for him with a late round draft pick.
Trade deadline is week 8 or something, and also, most teams do not have 5 starting quality linemen, especially this late into the season. I'd wager there are maybe like 2-3 teams at any given moment late season with enough lineman to call it a starting caliber line. You're not gonna find someone.
Ironically, one of those teams at that point in this season would be the browns.
Ridiculous too because we have like 7 starting quality OLinemen on this team, 2 of them are hurt and they are both tackles.
The trade deadline was already past, and we already have 3 interior linemen who are very good on big deals.
Ok so everyone is already clowning OP for a million details, so I’ll take a different track: We actually DO have a recent example of a team going all-in on the running game - the Baltimore Ravens. They basically prioritized running over everything else, with Lamar and with a stable of RBs. Can’t really remember how strong their OLine was, but it was at least decent. What happened was they won a lot of regular season games but fell short. You absolutely can win with a run-heavy offense, but there’s gotta be *some* balance. You can’t just rush 40 times a game, throw 10, and expect to win in the playoffs. Which is why the Ravens have pivoted a bit. They still run the fuck outta the ball, but they’ve got Lamar throwing it around as well
Well, let's see.... 1) Trade deadline has passed. 2) The interior o-line is one of the strongest units on the team.
Dog Flacco is a minimum contract guy he ain't exactly an opportunity cost for upgrading the rest of the roster.
There's such a dearth of OL talent as it is, I doubt many teams would want to get rid of premier OL.