The Browns may have found another starter in the making in Austin Barber, and it might not happen at the spot most people expected when Cleveland took him in the third round.
Barber, a tackle from Florida, went 86th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft after the Browns moved up to get him. Cleveland sent picks 105, 145, and 206 to the Chargers to make sure Barber was the guy, a clear sign the team was willing to spend extra to land him.
At Florida, Barber built a heavy résumé. He played in 50 games over five seasons and made 39 starts, including 34 at left tackle. At 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds, he looked like a natural fit to stay on the edge in the NFL.
But Browns training camp has pointed him somewhere else.
Barber opened camp working mostly at tackle, while the competition at right guard started to heat up. Teven Jenkins entered as the presumed starter after making four starts for Cleveland last season.
Jenkins played in all 17 games in 2025, but durability has followed him as a concern. He missed 23 games across four seasons with Chicago and also dealt with shoulder and concussion issues late last year.
Cleveland also tried KT Leveston at guard after moving him from tackle, but that experiment didn’t hold. Leveston struggled and ended up off the Browns’ 53-man roster.
Barber, meanwhile, kept turning heads. He picked up more work at right guard and kept showing out as the preseason rolled on. In Cleveland’s final two games, he posted PFF grades of 87.3 and 90.2.
The broader preseason numbers backed that up, too. Among rookie offensive linemen with at least 50 blocking snaps, Barber checked in with an 82.8 grade, behind only Fernando Carmona’s 90.5. J.C Davis came in at 82.4, with Diego Pounds and Josh Gesky both at 78.9.
Todd Monken’s comments only added to the sense that this job is still up for grabs. He said the right guard battle is “not over yet” after praising Barber, though he later added that his lean is still Teven Jenkins at RG.
Barber’s tape has shown why the Browns are giving him a real look. One clip shows him at right guard washing the shade, or one-technique, down to his left before releasing into the screen and getting physical with the defensive back. He’s shown the ability to play multiple spots, and he brings a nasty, mean demeanor to the offensive line.
He may not be the Week 1 starter against Jacksonville, but the path is easy to see. If Barber keeps developing at this pace, he looks like the kind of third-round pick who forces his way into the lineup sooner rather than later.
That would give Cleveland another young piece to build around, joining the promise already shown by KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Spencer Fano in the 2026 class, while also raising the possibility that Barber becomes another third-round steal, much like Harold Fannin Jr. in 2025.
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