After an injury-riddled season that saw three tackles unable to finish the season due to injury, Browns offensive line coach Andy Dickerson is pleased with the depth of his position group heading into 2024.
LT Jedrick Wills Jr. and RT Jack Conklin exited the season with knee injuries and are working back to return to full health ahead of the Browns' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. RT Dawand Jones, who stepped in for Conklin in Week 2, ended his season in December with a knee injury.
LG Joel Bitonio and C Ethan Pocic also each missed a game in 2023 due to injury.
Now, heading into 2024, the Browns offensive line continues to progress and get healthier.
Wills Jr. and Conklin are listed on the active/physically unable to perform list while Pocic and Bitonio have been full participants in practice. Jones missed one practice but was back on the practice field on July 30.
In order to best prepare for injuries, which are often inevitable in as physical a game as football, Dickerson is making sure his players are prepared to step in at various positions across the line.
James Hudson III has played right tackle in each of his three seasons in the NFL but has lined up on the left side at times during training camp.
"The great thing about the offseason program is James has come in and he's worked hard, and he's lined up a bunch at that spot," Dickerson said. "So, it's a next man up mentality. You never want anybody to be hurt, but the good thing is you can get reps and stack reps, get the communication with the different guys. So, we just try to have everybody available for all those situations."
Despite experiencing injuries across the line, the Browns offensive line was among the best in the NFL. The Browns had a 64 percent pass block win rate in 2023, good for fourth-best in the league. Dickerson is looking to build off last year's success in his first season as the Browns offensive line coach after Bill Callahan departed for Tennessee in the offseason.
"There's a lot of carryover, a lot of good things and I'm a big believer of 'if it's not broke, don't fix it,'" Dickerson said. "So again, maybe some subtleties or little nuances but I mean, anytime you're in a room and you get to talk football with these guys, they're so intelligent, they ask good questions."
With four veterans boasting seven or more seasons in the NFL, Dickerson said that the older players on the offensive are just as eager to learn as the younger players, mentioning that Bitonio told him "Hey, I want to be coached."
The Browns return an accomplished group of veterans in three-time Pro Bowl Wyatt Teller, two-time All-Pro in Bitonio, two-time All-Pro in Conklin, Wills – who has 53 NFL starts – and Pocic – who has 68 NFL starts. Dickerson has seen the veterans advise and influence a talented group of young players.
"You have a spectrum of old and young, vets and rookies," Dickerson said. "I'm watching film, you might say something, coach something up and then you got Joel Bitonio saying something, you look over and Wyatt Teller's talking to Javion (Cohen) and you got Dawand (Jones) talking to somebody. […] I love when those side conversations are going on because these guys are all football."
One player who could see action in the preseason is former Michigan guard Zak Zinter, who the Browns took in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Zinter, who won a national championship with the Wolverines and was a unanimous consensus All-American, has been eager to learn as he enters his rookie season.
"Zak's been working hard," Dickerson said. "He asks good questions, smart, tough kid who is hardworking. So, I'm happy he's getting more reps and reps and again, with the pads on, it does help."
The Browns have now had two padded practices of training camp, allowing the offensive line to practice with much more physicality than non-padded sessions. However, Dickerson emphasized the importance of non-padded practices and walkthroughs, saying they allow room for learning techniques and improving as individuals and an offensive line unit.
"Are they communicating? Are the mental aspects there? Do they make the right adjustments when those things happen?" Dickerson said on what he looks for during practice – with or without pads.
Jones, who had a promising rookie season with nine starts, is a player Dickerson has high hopes for in 2024. Standing at 6-foot-8 and 375 pounds, Jones has the body type to be an elite offensive tackle.
Dickerson said that the second-year player is an active participant in meetings, asking good questions that challenge the group.
"Asking good questions" is a phrase the offensive line coach used throughout his time with the media, saying that the players make meetings challenging and productive.
the media, saying that the players make meetings challenging and productive.
It's clear that those meetings, as well as simply spending time with his new team, is important to Dickerson, who returns to Cleveland after working as the offensive line coach in Seattle last season.
"We're in a great setting here in West Virginia at The Greenbrier," Dickerson said. "I've just been able to continue to team build. And you miss your family a little bit, but then because I'm new, being around all these guys – not just the offensive line, but the running backs, the tight ends, the wide receivers, everybody, the defense too. It was a really good team-building opportunity."
The team building will continue in Cleveland, as the Browns have one more practice at The Greenbrier before heading back to Ohio for the remainder of training camp.
