The zone blocking scheme has been around for a while. Mike Shanahan’s use of the scheme with the Denver Broncos made it famous for many fans. Shanahan’s teams could churn out 1,000-yard rushers from, seemingly, random places.
The Cleveland Browns implemented the system when Kevin Stefanski was hired as the head coach. The team has had a ton of success running the ball in the zone run scheme, helped by the talents of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
The scheme is becoming more and more prevalent in the NFL today with versions of it run across the league
Previously, Cleveland ran the system when Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. This weekend, legendary Brown Joe Thomas was tagged in a tweet showing his technique as a zone blocker. Thomas replied by sharing what he learned from the younger Shanahan:
Speed off the snap is what makes the outside zone work; first and foremost
That was the #1 thing I learned from Kyle Shanahan about successfully running the outside zone
“Shock them with our speed” https://t.co/1UqMMvxD8s
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) June 4, 2022
Valuing speed on the offensive line has been evident during Stefanski’s tenure. With Nick Harris set to step in for J.C. Tretter, speed will have to be utilized as Cleveland’s new center is significantly undersized.
Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin and Wyatt Teller have shown versatility in a variety of schemes while being successful in all of them. Jedrick Wills enters his third season coming off a year where injuries limited him. All of them have the speed Thomas is talking about.
A healthy Wills and using Harris’ strengths will help the Browns once again have one of the best offensive lines in the game.