2020 NFL Mock Draft: Full first-round mock plus all Redskins picks
One of the reasons the Browns offense struggled so badly last season was the performance of their offensive line. The team made the decision to trade Kevin Zeitler before the season, and that weakened their interior line and their mediocre tackle play was exposed as a result.
At right tackle, Chris Hubbard had his issues and it probably better served being a swing at this point in his career. Meanwhile, Greg Robinson was arrested in February for transporting 157 pounds of marijuana between state lines. He’s a free agent anyway and wasn’t very good last season.
It feels like the Browns have to draft a tackle here. They signed Jack Conklin in free agency, but they still have a massive hole on the left side of the line. And they have a number of options to choose from at this point.
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Realistically, the Browns could choose any of the top tackles remaining in Andrew Thomas, Mekhi Becton, and Jedrick Wills. I strongly considered Becton here because of his elite upside, but I think that the Browns may opt to go with Thomas.
The Browns have shown a lot of interest in Thomas throughout the draft process, and it makes sense. He has the highest floor of any of the top tackles and should do just fine on either side of the line. He held up very well in SEC play at Georgia and fared well blocking some of college football’s best pass rushers and was even better at opening running lanes for the Bulldogs.
Thomas isn’t the most athletic of the top tackles. But he’s steady, productive, and has three years of starting experience in the SEC. That’s enough to give him the nod here as a plug-and-play starter in Cleveland. Thomas and his 6-foot-5, 315-pound frame should have no trouble opening up big running lanes for his former college teammate, Nick Chubb. And with Thomas and Conklin in the fold, the Browns will have two steady, rock-solid bookends to keep Baker Mayfield clean in his third season.