3 Tackles the Browns Must Target Following Devastating Jack Conklin Injury Update

The Browns' Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was a huge one, and fans are ready to keep rolling to a historic start in Week 2. But that excitement has really taken a hit on Monday morning following the confirmation of some devastating injury news.

Jack Conklin will officially miss the entire 2023 season, and that means Cleveland needs to act quickly to shore up the tackle spot and continue its push as a real threat to win the AFC North.

I love Dawand Jones, but he's not ready to anchor this line in Conklin's place if we're serious about being a playoff contender, and we should be.

That means looking to the trade market and targeting these three tackles.

Browns Jack Conklin Replacement Options

1. Dennis Kelly, Free Agent

Dennis Kelly is probably the most interesting free agent option on the market for Cleveland.

The 10-year vet has plenty of experience at both tackle spots, and he’s long been a viable option for teams needing a depth tackle able to step into the starting lineup.

Kelly has started for all four NFL teams he has played on over his career, and he’s been consistently a solid option at the very least, with occasional great years as well. 

He’s better at right tackle than he is on the left side (which led to a down year in 2022 when he played mostly on the left side), but that’s not something we need to be concerned about.

Kelly’s last year as a full-time right tackle was in 2021, and he ranked top-45 (among 143 ranked tackles) in Pro Football Focus’ grades for both pass and run blocking.