Austin Barber spent his entire football career lining up at tackle, with all of about a handful of practice reps at guard during his freshman year at Florida. That changed for the Browns’ 2026 third-round pick more than midway through training camp, when Cleveland decided to try him at right guard rather than keeping him locked in at second-team tackle. The early returns have been strong enough to draw praise from one of the more experienced voices in Cleveland’s offensive line room. Veteran lineman Tytus Howard, who has played both guard and tackle throughout his own NFL career, offered a glowing assessment of how the position switch is shaping Barber’s development.
“Him being able to get all that repetition early on in his career, it’s going to help him out a lot. I know for sure because I’ve done that and being able to know what to do at every single position, you’re going to be able to play faster and it’s going to only get him better technically, which, I’ve seen this past week at right guard. Austin has a bright future ahead of him, whether it’s at guard or tackle,” Howard said.
Barber’s move inside has come with a real learning curve. Rather than facing edge rushers running 4.5 and 4.6 second 40 yard dashes on an island, he now regularly squares off against bigger interior defensive linemen. Barber has been candid about the adjustment, noting there is simply more to process and see from the guard spot compared to the relative isolation of playing tackle.
Head coach Todd Monken has also taken notice of how quickly Barber corrects mistakes once they are identified on film. During Cleveland’s preseason game against the Bills, Barber was flagged for being too casual on a screen pass, failing to move his feet quickly enough downfield. Rather than repeat the error, Barber studied the film, recognized what went wrong and executed the same play correctly the very next week against the Patriots, drawing further praise from his head coach for how he takes lessons from the meeting room directly onto the field.
With Cleveland’s line already dealing with turnover this offseason, having a rookie capable of sliding between guard and tackle gives Monken and the coaching staff valuable flexibility. If Barber’s rapid growth continues at the pace Howard describes, the Browns may have found a long-term answer somewhere along that line, regardless of which spot he ultimately settles into.
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