Two in the preseason, three during the season, the Browns will face off with five of the top 10 interior defenders in the NFL in 2021.
The interior of the Cleveland Browns offensive line will have to earn their pay this year. Including preseason, the team is scheduled to face off with five of ESPN’s top ten interior defensive linemen.
With the continued focus on passing offenses that include quick throws, interior defenders have become more and more valuable. They have a shorter path to the quarterback, generally are facing less athletic linemen in front of them and can compact the area where a quarterback wants to step into.
The Browns have invested, wisely, in their offensive line over the years including on the interior. Joel Bitonio has been around at left guard since being drafted and developed, quickly, into a top-flight guard. J.C. Tretter was a keen pickup in free agency and has had his contract extended while Wyatt Teller all of a sudden became a top-level guard in 2020.
Bitonio and Tretter have been paid well for their services and Teller is now up for an extension or he will hit free agency this offseason.
They will need to be up to the task in 2021. They could get a chance, starting in the preseason, against some of the best in the league. As ESPN continues to rank their top NFL players, using executives, coaches and players to make their picks, half of the names are scheduled to face the Browns this year.
In the preseason, the Browns are scheduled to face off with Leonard Williams (ranked #7) and Grady Jarrett (ranked #10). Then, to start the season, Cleveland faces off with ESPN’s #2 interior defender in Chris Jones and face Cam Heyward (#4) and Stephon Tuitt (#8) twice when they play the Steelers.
If everyone plays in the preseason, Williams and Jarrett will be a good test to help prepare the Browns offensive line for starting the year against Jones when the team travels to Kansas City in Week 1. Then Heyward and Tuitt will bring their talent to Cleveland in Week 8 before the Browns visit Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football in Week 17.
Nothing on defense can wreck an offense like great interior defensive line play. Cleveland, starting in the preseason, will get tested often in 2021.
