Browns Best Moves of 2022: #1 Signing Ethan Pocic
All 32 teams had the opportunity to sign center Ethan Pocic. The Cleveland Browns were able to do it for the league minimum and ended up with one of the top centers in the league for the 2022 season. Regardless of whether Pocic re-signs with the Browns, it was their best move of this past season.
After five underwhelming seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the Browns signed the former second round pick to provide depth behind Nick Harris. Harris was the protégé of J.C. Tretter, the Browns reliable stalwart from the previous five seasons. Everything was set up for Harris to start, but a torn ACL ended his season in August, giving Pocic the lion's share of the remaining snaps ahead of the season.
Pocic being able to step in allowed the Browns to make a smooth transition from Tretter, a center who never missed a game due to injury in five seasons. The Browns offense was strong coming out of the gate because they had good run blocking as well as effective pass protection.
It certainly helped that Pocic stepped into a situation where he was flanked by All-Pro guards in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. That may have carried him initially, but he got comfortable quickly and improved over the course of the season up until he suffered a knee injury that kept him out four games.
As important as Pocic's role was as a blocker, the Browns didn't experience a drop off in terms of line calls. Pocic was adept leading at the line of scrimmage, making the appropriate adjustments to put the line in position to succeed.
The acquisition of Pocic is the Browns organization operating at their best. General Manager Andrew Berry finding a player that fits what the coaching staff wants and the coaching staff being able to maximize them. In the case of Pocic, the Browns paid him just $1.187 million for the 2022 season.
Only one other team got as much bang for their buck at the center position. The Kansas City Chiefs. Creed Humphrey has been one of the best pivots in the NFL since he set foot on the field as a rookie in 2021. Being a second round pick, he's still on his rookie deal and was paid $1.264 million this past season.
It was an outstanding move by the Chiefs and helps to illustrate why they find themselves in the Super Bowl. The Browns did their damage in free agency in an environment when anyone could've signed Pocic.
Good GMs can win in a multitude of ways. Berry illustrated that in 2022 by exploiting opportunities in the NFL Draft, trades as well as free agency. The best of those moves got massive return on a small investment.
Undoubtedly, the prospect of learning from offensive line coach Bill Callahan was an added incentive to playing with the Browns. That is an inherent advantage the Browns have when it comes to attracting talent.
In the event Pocic signs with another team, the Browns are hoping he gets paid handsomely. Not only would the Browns benefit in terms of compensatory value, but it would serve as an advertisement why other free agent offensive linemen could choose the Browns over other teams, even potentially taking less to do it. A year apprenticing under Callahan could result in a life changing amount of money in the form of a premium contract.
Pocic, like Jacoby Brissett came to the Browns for a season and is better for it. Even if it's just landing valuable offensive line depth, it will be interesting to see if lower and middle tier free agents are more interested in buying what the Browns are selling.
Signing Pocic was the best move the Browns made in 2022, but it has a chance to be even better if it can help lay the ground work for repeating that type of success at a time when the Browns will have fewer resources at their disposal.
