The Cleveland Browns have added OT Thayer Munford from the New England Patriots’ practice squad. He’s from Ohio State, so our Columbus-educated webdork has against escaped morning Newswire containment and offers some quick thoughts.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Browns have plucked OT Thayer Munford, Jr, off the New England Patriots practice squad. In a corresponding move, the Browns have placed OT Dawand Jones (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season.
Like Jones, Munford is an Ohio State product, having played left tackle for the team from 2018 to 2020 and earned first-team All-American honors as a left guard in 2021. He’s a big lineman, measuring 6’6″ and 315 pounds. Munford just turned 26 last week, so he brings relative youth to the Browns’ offensive line. Munford did experience knee and ankle issues last season, which caused him to miss several weeks and limited his participation in practice. Munford brings with him the experience of having over 1,000 regular-season snaps.
As noted in Rumor Central, the Browns are taking some steps to bolster their offensive tackle position on both sides, which is badly needed after Jones’ injury (and ineffectiveness to date) and the ongoing situation with Jack Conklin. Mumford actually came up in Ask the Insiders yesterday, and Lane Adkins pointed out that the team would be looking for additional help. At this point, it’s likely, per Jack Duffin, that the Browns would have Conklin (if healthy), Lucas, Tevan Jenkins, and potentially KT Leveston ahead of Munford.
The player’s best year was 2023 for the Raiders, when he split time playing between left tackle (208 snaps) and right tackle (263 snaps). Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.1 overall grade, with a stellar 80.4 run-blocking grade (10th in the league) but a 59.2 pass-blocking grade (which was 85th out of 137 tackles).
Munford offers some flexibility for the team, as he has played both tackle positions and can move inside at guard if needed. As said before, his size helps him with run blocking, but a draft report from PFSN suggests that he lacked (at least when coming out of college) some lateral agility, which could potentially hamper him in the wide zone scheme that the Browns utilize.
At this point, though, Munford represents a solid depth move for the Browns, particularly as they need better run-blocking from the offensive tackles. The addition helps stabilize an offensive tackle group that was pushing a developmental talent like Leveston out into the field before he was really ready. Leveston received one of the worst pass-blocking grades so far this season (13.0) on his 72 snaps, indicating that the Browns may be inclined to move Munford over him on the depth chart as he develops.
