The Opening Drive 2/18: Multiple Offensive Tackle Solutions Presented
Free agency, trade market, and the draft present several intriguing forecasted options for the Browns.
The offseason projection business is moving with quick tempo as important dates loom. Here’s a reminder how far we are from each of those key dates on the calendar.
Combine - 6 days
Free Agency - 20 days
Annual League Meeting - 40 days
Draft - 65 days
Projected Schedule Release - 85 days
Training Camp - 146 days
Preseason - 170 days
2026 Season - 205 days
Now that we know why the projection business is booming, it now comes down to sorting out which of these projected ideas actually make sense and which ones have a real shot at happening. The first idea comes from Matt Bowen of ESPN but it is less and idea and more of a fit. He ranked the 50 top NFL free agents and put them with their best fit. Here is what he had to say about tying the Packers Rasheed Walker to the Browns.
There will be plenty of teams vying for Walker’s services if he hits the market. You have to be a little concerned about why a team like Green Bay would open the door for a 27-year old left tackle to hit the market but they did just draft Jordan Morgan to play the role last offseason and the film has been inconsistent. Walker has some proven moments and we will dig into his tape deeper, but this does have all the feel of a “buyer beware” type of price tag.
However, the Browns are desperate for offensive line answers and they would prefer not to arrive at the NFL Draft without some sort of option in place at the position. While expensive, you can see why the two sides would be drawn to each other.
Our next example from Bill Barnwell at ESPN was predicting some offseason trades that made sense for two sides and the Browns and Jaguars are meeting yet again. That would make three marquee trades in the span of a year but you can easily see why this one makes sense.
This is the sort of low-risk I think the Browns will find more appealing. The Jaguars have extended Cole Van Lanen to be the future of their left tackle situation and with that leaves Little on the outside looking in. He has plenty of injury history you have to be willing to accept but he will just turn 27 this season and can provide a presence at the left tackle position.
The Browns would be trying to buy time for something more-concrete long-term and it would not require them to give up much. He did flirt with some time inside at right guard late in the 2025 season as well to go along with his 2,390 snaps at left tackle in the NFL. While not overly appealing, the financials are cheap and a change of scenery might help.
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In Daniel Jeremiah’s latest mock draft for NFL.com he goes a bit of a different pathway than many when it comes to the Browns first round selections. Most will go wide receiver then tackle or vice versa. And while I do think it is possible the Browns go one of those routes, something I flirted with last week was the idea of selecting two offensive tackles in the first round — especially when you consider how deep this draft is in the second and third round appears to be at receiver.
Fano is quite fascinating with some of those most impressive run blocking tape you will see in the class. Despite being somewhat undersized, and we need to see that arm length, he is a powerful run blocker in both phases with extremely light feet.
Freeling is such a pure athlete for the size. He is a left tackle fit for the Browns projected structure and his growth from the start of the year has been fun to track. He has ideal length, pocket range, and is deadly in space either pulling or getting to the second level.
If the Browns were able to land both, and have a foundation in place at the position for the foreseeable future, it would certainly be a welcome sight. It will be an enticing option come late-April.
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I think upgrading with a veteran swing tackle would be nice and snagging 2 OTs in the draft that can get out in space and hit moving targets would be amazing. I'm curious to see how they handle the guard, center, guard combo. They got a lot of work to do
I'd be fully on board with two first round tackles, but the idea they'd then play Dawand instead of Fano seems insane