http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/05/shon_coleman_definitely_the_fa.html
Did the Cleveland Browns make a mistake not putting
Shon Coleman in their lineup as a rookie last season?
The Browns selected Coleman out of Auburn in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but the tackle played only 62 snaps in seven games with the Cleveland offense.
If the idea was to protect the Browns' quarterback better with a more experienced right tackle - five-year veteran Austin Pasztor -- than Coleman, it didn't work, like most of what Cleveland did during its one-win season.
Coleman tried to make the most of it, though. That included working with Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas to learn what's made him a 10-time Pro Bowler.
"I don't think it was a bad thing,"
Coleman toldthe Browns' official web site. "I got to sit back and take everything in and experience a lot of things. I got thrown in the game a couple of times and got to learn from that. I think it's better for me going into my second year and knowing what to expect."
Cleveland plunged into free agency to improve its offensive line in the offseason, giving Green Bay Packers center J.C. Tretter a three-year, $16.75 million contract and Cincinnati Bengals right guard Kevin Zeitler a five-year, $60 million deal.
With Thomas at left tackle and Joel Bitonio at left guard and Pasztor no longer with the Browns, Cleveland's only opening on the offensive line is at right tackle. Coleman might have had a year of experience there already, but now he appears the frontrunner to join the Browns' rebuilt line, although Cameron Erving and Spencer Drango, displaced by the free-agent additions, are in the picture, too.
Thomas pegged Coleman as "probably the guy they're expecting to be out there starting."
"I think he's got all the ability to do it," Thomas said, "but there's just a matter of him going out there and proving that he can, because he hasn't had a lot of NFL action yet and there is a difference between showing in practice that you can do it and being able to show in a game that you can. So I think the jury is still out, but he's definitely the favorite."
Coleman made the Browns' decision easier last year because he joined the team less than 100 percent physically. He had knee surgery in January, and his recovery kept him off the practice field until training camp.
This year, Coleman made sure he was ready when the offseason program started, staying close to the Browns' facility after the 2016 season ended.
"I just came here and worked out and went home and played video games,"
Coleman said. "I'm always looking to better the team. I've been grinding so hard this offseason. I have high expectations for myself. I look forward to getting on the field more this year."
