BEREA, Ohio _ The Browns opened the second round of the NFL draft by picking Nevada offensive lineman Austin Corbett 33rd overall on Friday night.
Corbett, 6-foot-4 ] and 306 pounds, started 49 of 50 games at left tackle in college. He succeeded Joel Bitonio after the Browns drafted him in the second round in 2014. Bitonio played left tackle at Nevada before becoming a left guard with the Browns.
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called Corbett a "very underrated player" who "drives defenders off the ball."
The Browns wanted to draft someone to compete with Shon Coleman, their starting right tackle last season, and free-agent acquisition Donald Stephenson for the starting left tackle job left behind by retired 10-time Pro Bowl selection Joe Thomas.
Corbett, 22, said he worked at guard at the Senior Bowl in January and some teams talked to him about playing on the interior while others projected him as an NFL tackle. Corbett said he didn't know where the Browns intend to play him, but they have established starters in guards Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler and center JC Tretter.
Corbett was a walk-on at Nevada and explained he weighed only 240 pounds coming out of high school.
