Browns' Cameron Erving Having Rookie Season to Forget

When the Cleveland Browns drafted Florida State center Cameron Erving to compete with John Greco for the team's starting right guard job, the red flags should have been raised.

Erving, a one-time defensive lineman, switched first to left tackle and then to center in his final two collegiate seasons. Nowhere in the predraft process did anyone suggest that guard should be his eventual home in the NFL.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote that Erving is a "former defensive lineman who is still learning the nuances of offensive-line play after just two seasons as a starter. [He] [h]as the length and foot quickness to play tackle, but film work shows that he will have a much more successful career at center." But, the Browns were committed to Erving switching to guard, at least for 2015, before potentially taking over at center for Alex Mack, who is expected to opt out of his contract in the upcoming offseason.

Snaps	Snap%	Run Snaps	Pass Snaps	Pens.	Sacks	Hits	Hurries
222	32.4%	57	165	4	1.0	3	11

Erving spent his summer with the second-team offensive line, unable to beat the Browns' "best five" offensive linemen—Greco, Joel Bitonio, Mack, Joe Thomas and Mitchell Schwartz—for much first-team practice time. He was used as both a left tackle and guard, never really working at center. 

In the regular season, Erving saw the field sparingly, getting no more than 11 snaps in a game through Week 9, according to Pro Football Focus. He was sometimes used as a sixth offensive lineman, sometimes as a guard. He was also blocking for field goals as the season wore on.

But it wasn't until Bitonio suffered an ankle injury that eventually became season-ending that it was apparent Erving as a guard may not be the right move. He had two starts in Bitonio's place, in Weeks 10 and 12, giving up two quarterback hits and six hurries in the process.

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

In Week 13, he gave up a sack, a hit and four hurries, and had a crucial holding penalty. He was then pulled for Austin Pasztor, who started against the San Francisco 49ers and looks to be the team's left guard for the remainder of the season.

Watching Erving this year, it's clear that guard is not the place for him. Nor is he comfortable trying to keep opponents from meddling with Travis Coons' field-goal attempts. For the past three weeks, Coons has had a field goal blocked, and the common thread is seeing Erving on the ground, manhandled by the defense. In fact, Erving on the ground has been a repeated sight this season: This is the rule, not the exception.

In a year when Cleveland's offensive line has struggled, it is saying something when Pro Football Focus ranks Erving the team's worst lineman—and second-worst player on offense, overall. He also ranks 123rd at the position, out of 137 guards graded. 

This wouldn't be an issue if Erving was not a first-round draft pick. Granted, the Browns of any team have not been beholden to starting or playing guys simply based on their draft pedigree. But to get such a developmental prospect in Round 1 and then see him struggle at the position he spent months trying to learn is yet another mark against general manager Ray Farmer's draft process, particularly when it comes to the first round.

Perhaps a switch to center next year will be more fruitful. But to assume a former defensive lineman with only two years of offensive line experience would be ready to be a full-time guard as a rookie was a fools' errand. An undrafted journeyman is starting over Erving. That's where the months of preparation have led. 

Erving's 2015 season is not the one the Browns had envisioned for him, nor the one he had envisioned for himself. And his redemption won't come this year. It will have to wait for 2016 and for Mack's decision to determine Erving's role in Cleveland moving forward.