Austin Corbett’s entry into the NFL has not gone as expected. Cleveland’s first pick of the second round in the 2018 NFL Draft couldn’t secure the vacant left tackle position, and he wasn’t impressive enough at left guard to keep veteran Joel Bitonio at tackle in the preseason experiment, either.
Now Corbett is being trusted with the starting right guard role after the Browns dealt away Kevin Zeitler. This will require the second-year Nevada product to learn both a new position and a new side of the line.
Bitonio, his mentor and predecessor at Nevada in college, believes Corbett is up for the challenge.
“He’s a competitor,” Bitonio said via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. “He’s a good athlete. He’s strong. He plays the game the right way. He had a whole year to sit and learn. He’s developed nicely.”
The Pro Bowl left guard had a little advice for what the new right guard can do to improve.
“A couple things he needs to work on is just a little patience,” Bitonio said. “He was a little bit overaggressive last year in the preseason, but that’s something all rookies kind of are. They want to get out there. They want to show they belong.”
But Bitonio remains confident Corbett is the right man for the job.
“The game’s going to slow down for him this year, and I think he’s going to be a really, really solid player for us.”
The Browns did sign veteran journeyman Eric Kush for insurance, but the expectation is Corbett will win the job.
