Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has received mostly positive reviews for the work he did in the offseason to address the team’s aging and injured offensive line.
Sure, there have been some grumblings that Berry may have overpaid in free agency, most notably guard Zion Johnson, but no one can say that Berry did not see a need and did what he could to fix it.
Teams have to look past just the upcoming season, of course, which is why Berry selected Spencer Fano, Austin Barber, and Parker Brailsford in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fano is expected to hold down the left tackle position for the next decade or so, Barber looks to have a future at either guard or tackle, and Brailsford will be looking to earn the starter’s role at center this summer.
With the line mostly set for the next year or two, now could be a time to bring in a developmental player, one who has some skills but could use some polishing and some quality coaching from the likes of offensive line coach George Warhop.
A player like Dodji Dahoue, who is looking for a team after not sticking with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.
Dahoue is massive (6-foot-9 and 300 pounds), smart (he earned a degree in mechanical engineering at Eastern Michigan), and a quick learner, as pointed out in this story from the Eastern Michigan football team’s website:
Dahoue’s path to Eastern Michigan stands out for how quickly he developed into a contributor after coming to football later than most. Born in France and raised between the Washington, D.C., area and Mali, he did not play football in high school at Lycée Liberté de Bamako, graduating at just 16 before returning to the United States in 2021. He enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he initially redshirted while learning the fundamentals of the game after briefly exploring basketball. By 2022, he broke through as the program’s Freshman of the Year, and in 2023 he served as a team captain and earned All-Nor-Cal Conference honors, showing rapid growth on the field.
At Eastern Michigan, Dahoue continued that upward trajectory. He saw action in six games during the 2024 season, gaining experience at the collegiate level, before stepping into a starting role in 2025. He started five games and was establishing himself as a key piece of the lineup before a season-ending injury cut his year short. Throughout his time at EMU, Dahoue’s impact was evident in his physical presence and continued development, culminating in a unique journey from no football background to a junior college standout and Division I starter.
Not your normal path to the NFL, but Dahoue was a starter his senior year before being injured, and the MAC is a respectable enough football conference that some team will likely give him a look.
Could that be the Browns? Maybe. They need all the bodies they can get when it comes to the...
