Cleveland Browns training camp 2026: OL preview, Part 2 – Who starts at offensive guard, center?
· Yahoo Sports
Next up on our Cleveland Browns training camp preview for the offensive line position is the interior: guard and center. Although we feel confident in one of the positions, training camp will help decide who starts in the other two spots. Fans have already made their voices heard.
6. Elgton Jenkins – Starting OG/C
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 310 lbs | Age: 30
Experience: 8 years | College: Mississippi State
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With the Browns not retaining C Ethan Pocic in free agency, they needed to give themselves an option on the market. They did so with veteran Elgton Jenkins, signing him to a 2-year, $24 million deal.
A second-round pick by the Packers in 2019, Jenkins proved to be durable, starting 94 games. He made the Pro Bowl as a guard in 2020 and 2022, and was then moved to center last year. There were reports that he wasn’t necessarily thrilled with playing center, when thinking about the better salaries that guards make as free agents compared to centers. That might be moot at this point, considering he’s under contract.
Jenkins’ experience at guard has primarily been at left guard, but it sounds like Zion Johnson is locked up there. I’m sure Jenkins can play the right side just fine too, but my thought process heading into camp is that Cleveland will be able to get the best five offensive linemen on the field if Jenkins is at center, and someone else plays right guard. Barry Shuck also has an article all about Jenkins’ background here.
Final Roster Odds: 100%
7. Zion Johnson – Starting OG
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 315 lbs | Age: 26
Experience: 5 years | College: Boston College
Zion Johnson was a first round pick by the Chargers in the 2022 NFL Draft, starting 65 games in that stretch. He has primarily played left guard, and that’s the starting job he’s expected to take on with Cleveland. When you look at his PFF rankings for the past few years, though, it doesn’t seem like a slam dunk signing for Cleveland. Johnson struggled a bit with the Chargers last year, ranking as the league 53rd best guard.
Johnson has a bit of a reputation of struggling in pass blocking, with the ability to be a mauler in the run game. There’s also been some consistency issues over the course of his career. On the surface, the Browns definitely overpaid for Johnson’s 3-year, $49.5 million deal. They are banking on him being a better for for what offensive line coach George Warhop and head coach Todd Monken want to do offensively, much like the lightbulb clicked once Wyatt Teller had a change of scenery from Buffalo to Cleveland.
Heading into camp, I get that Johnson has a starting role locked up, but I won’t know what to expect from him until we’re a couple of games into the season. Barry Shuck’s write-up on everything to know about Jenkins is here.
Final Roster Odds: 100%
8. Teven Jenkins – Competing OG
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 321 lbs | Age: 28
Experience: 6 years | College: Oklahoma State
Last year, the Browns signed Teven Jenkins to a cheap deal after he was coming off some injuries from his time with the Chicago Bears. Jenkins made 4 starts with the Browns and saw action in a few other games due to injuries across the line, and the former second-round pick did an adequate job.
If Jenkins starts at right guard, he would be the only returning player starting on the offensive line this year. He has the potential to be a slightly above average pass and run blocker, a degree of consistency in both aspects of his game that others on the line might lack (i.e. they might excel in pass blocking, but struggle against the run).
Even if Jenkins does not start, he’d be the team’s top option as a backup, which puts his roster odds at a high percentage.
Final Roster Odds: 90%
9. Parker Brailsford – Rookie C
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 290 lbs | Age: 22
Experience: Rookie | College: Alabama
If I called Dawand Jones one of the top players to watch in Browns camp this offseason, then Parker Brailsford is right up there with him. As a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, it’s natural to think that Brailsford won’t be ready to win the starting center job from day one. However, if he thrives in camp, then I’m sure the coaching staff would love to stick him at center and make E. Jenkins happy by putting him at right guard.
Dane Brugler had Brailsford as the 7th-ranked center in this year’s draft class:
Overall, Brailsford will only appeal to certain teams, because of his frame, but he is light on his feet, tough as nails and can handle everything from a mental standpoint. He has the potential to be a starter for a scheme living in an outside-zone world.
Brugler mentions how Brailsford would only appeal to certain teams, and DBN’s Matthew Wilson wrote about why Cleveland is definitely one of those teams, calling him “a slightly smaller version of Tyler Linderbaum” (who was the Ravens’ center under Todd Monken). Here is Shuck’s profile on Brailsford’s background.
Final Roster Odds: 100%
10. Luke Wypler – Backup C
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 303 lbs | Age: 25
Experience: 3 years | College: Ohio State
Maybe it’s too soon to write off Luke Wypler, who was a 6th round pick in 2023 by the Browns out of Ohio State. However, when Cleveland goes out and drafts a potential replacement center (Brailsford) and signs a guy (E. Jenkins) who started at center last year, Wypler immediately falls to third on the depth chart in my opinion, fighting for a roster spot.
Wypler missed all of 2024 with an ankle injury, but started 5 games last year. He was carted off in the season finale with a knee injury, but is good-to-go for camp.
Even though my mental perception is down on Wypler, the center position is one that is up for grabs. Entering his fourth year, maybe Wypler can build off his experience from a year ago. Monken has indicated previously that he’d prefer to have E. Jenkins at guard, so if that holds true, then it could be a competition between Brailsford and Wypler. If Brailsford isn’t quick to pick things up, maybe Wypler provides a more stable presence initially.
Final Roster Odds: 60%
11. Zak Zinter – Backup OG
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 310 lbs | Age: 25
Experience: 3 years | College: Michigan
The final of the top contenders on the interior of the offensive line (besides KT Leveston and Dawand Jones potentially, which we mentioned in our tackle piece) is Zak Zinter. Unfortunately for Zinter, despite being a third-round pick a few seasons ago, his ceiling to compete for in camp is to hang on to a reserve role.
After starting 3 games as a rookie, he only played in 5 games last year and did not start any of them despite the team’s injury woes across the line. Lance Reisland thinks the broken tibia and fibula he suffered with Michigan against Ohio State has hurt the short-area burst he used to have:
For me, Zak Zinter is not about effort or talent, it is about health. The film shows it. His lateral movement, his ability to redirect, and that short-area burst have not been the same since the injury against Ohio State. #Browns
— Lance Reisland (Coach Riz) (@LanceReisland) March 29, 2026
Final Roster Odds: 60%
Next up, we’ll look at the remaining players competing for backup spots in camp on the offensive line.