Zak Zinter will make his presence known against the Las Vegas Raiders in this week’s game
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry is always trying to think of future problems. Sometimes he’s able to address them while other times he doesn’t, either based on lack of value or belief in guys already on the roster.
Enter Zak Zinter. Zinter was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft from the University of Michigan. Zinter was extremely effective as a lineman at Michigan.
Zinter started in 42 out of the 45 games that he appeared in. He also finished his college career with three All Big Ten selections and even was named an All-American.
Berry knew that the future of the guard position was cloudy at best entering the year. Browns legend Joel Bitonio is on the back end of his historic and potentially Hall of Fame career. Wyatt Teller, who is now injured and heading to the IR, has often been mentioned as a potential cut or trade candidate.
With the Teller injury, Zinter is projected to slide into the starting offensive line unit. Zinter has both the physical tools and experience at the college level to be an immediate impact player for the Browns He was able to apply both of these in the preseason and performed admirably
The Browns have been putrid on offense. A large part of that is due to the offensive line play. Teams are blitzing at an high rate and are allowing quarterback pressures on almost 45% of Deshuan Watson’s drop backs. Yes some of the issues are on Watson, but not all of it..
This week the Browns have a game against the Las Vegas Raiders and Zinter will be tested immediately. The Raiders signed star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins this offseason, who has the capability to completely disrupt and take over games.
Zinter has a golden opportunity in front of him. he has the chance to show that he is able to be an effective lineman and help solve the offensive line problem. He also has a chance to show why Berry invested a top 100 draft pick on him.
