(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Rob McBurnett
Senior Manager, Communications
T Jack Conklin:
On excitement to join the Browns and what he hopes to offer the team:
“I could not be more excited to be in Cleveland playing for the Browns. One of the biggest things for me is just being back in the Midwest, being back home and close to home in Michigan. Being able to be a part of a similar offense that I was running in Tennessee, I could not be more excited about the opportunity to play in Cleveland. Those are probably the biggest factors for me coming in and making the decision, and for me just to fit in with this team. I think I have a great opportunity to fit in on the right side over there and really help create some sparks, help protect (QB) Baker (Mayfield) and hopefully, get the run game rolling like it has been and be a part of something special.”
On describing what a good, solid, reliable RT can do for an offense:
“As an offensive lineman, it is the whole five. I am just a part of it. When you have a whole five and when you have a group of guys that can all work together, can come together and be on the same page and to understand the key principles of this offense, it is a huge role. I like to think everything starts up front with the O line and that is really what gets the offense rolling. Whether it is the run game or the pass game, they work in cohesion. If we can get the run going, that is going to lead to a lot more passes downfield and open receivers and a lot more opportunities for Baker and the receivers downfield to get open. I would not say it is all based on the right tackle. I am just going to play my role when it comes down to it, but it is all based on the O line. It is about creating that cohesion with the five up front that are playing.”
On the player he is today versus when he entered the NFL and how he has grown, given he had an opportunity to potentially be selected by the Browns in the draft:
“Definitely weird. It is kind of funny how it has come down to back to the Browns. It is weird how they traded that pick and that is where I ended up being picked. Definitely just growing as a player. Definitely kept the hard-nosed, power type of guy and player. I think what has grown is really understanding, especially in this zone scheme offense, the athleticism that it takes, the running, to open the hips, the ability to get my head across and stuff like that. I think I matured in the way of learning the scheme and how to use my body in those different schemes. I think I definitely improved my pass protection at ton throughout the years. That has been a key thing for me. That is the most important part in the NFL is keeping your quarterback clean, and that is something that I have been improving on and strive to improve on every year and every game. That is something that I have huge confidence in and something I take strides every day to try to get better at.”
On why he likes the zone scheme so much and if has talked with Head Coach Kevin Stefanski about the offensive plan:
“The zone scheme is just the marriage of the pass and run is what a lot of teams call it. It is the cohesion when you are able to run the ball and create and make such and emphasis on that. I love running the ball. That is my favorite thing to do. Put it to the defense. I think that is really by running it that is when you break their back. There is not better feeling than when you are putting defenders on their back and you can see the quit in them by the time the fourth quarter comes around. The great thing with the zone offense is that you can still get those aspects of the run with the pass. Once you start getting that run going, your play action is going to look exactly the same as the runs. That is when you start getting those bombs. That is when you start getting those 70-yard downfield passes and you get these wide open receivers. It really just becomes fun because you are really not changing a whole lot of what you are doing scheme wise, especially as an offensive lineman with how it looks. That is kind of the fun of the science of it behind it is you are trying to make all of it look the same. It takes a while to get used to it because it is a little bit different. There are a lot of times, especially as an offense lineman, where they call a pass and you get worried about selling a run a little bit because you are worried the defense is not going to fall for it. That is sort of the fun of the science behind it and just sort of the fun of getting used to it and realizing that you can really trick some people, and that leads to a lot of fun plays and a lot of great memories. Going forward, I have talked to coach a little bit about it and just about the fun that we are going to have with it. I am just really excited to be able to run this offense with everyone on this team offensively. It is going to be a whole lot of fun.”
On the Browns roster and other moves the team has made this offseason:
“You look at the roster, and it looks fantastic. It is the NFL. You have great guys on every team. I believe this team has a roster that is up there with the best. It was an easy choice. You look at the team, and you can see the guys and you can see the playmakers. Free agency, it looks great, but I am just a right tackle. I just have to try to do my job, and I am sure all of the other guys will try to do their jobs to the best of their ability. It is exciting. I think the hype and the attention around it with free agency and the possibilities of what we can do here could be very fun, but we have a lot of work to do and it is going to take some time. It is going to be a lot of fun building those times and going through the downs and the ups to create this time I believe we can create.”
On his familiarity with G Joel Bitonio and C JC Tretter and what he expects from the Browns offensive line room:
“I have not met them. I have talked to them through text message and talked to other guys I know about them. They sound like extremely great guys. I have watched them play just throughout the years of playing. They are great players. From what I can tell and from what I hear, they are two great leaders and they are great guys you want to build an offense around. I am excited to come in and be a part of that room, learn from them and be a part of what gets this offense going.”
On his emotions leaving the Titans, who drafted him and went to the AFC Championship Game last year:
“Obviously, you are drafted by a team and you spend four years there, it is a little strange to leave. You spend about the same time in college, but the NFL is different. There is a business part of it. I am looking at it as a very fun experience. You get to go be on a different team and experience a whole new city, experience a whole new team and a new fan base. When I look back at it, it was an extremely awesome time being in Tennessee, being able to play there for four years, being drafted there and we had quite a bit of success while I was there. I learned a lot about this game and a lot about who I was and what type of player I could be. I look back on it as good times, but moving forward, it is all about the Browns. I am extremely excited about being in Cleveland and really excited about the opportunity I have.”
On lessons returning from injury for 2019 and putting together a successful season with the Titans:
“It was just more grit. Being down as low as I could after tearing my ACL and not having quite the season I wanted coming back from that and then realizing I could get stronger, I could get faster and having an injury is not something that is going to be something that defines me. It is going to be something that I can grow from and be better from. I think having the injury has really helped me become a better pro. Before that, I was a kid coming from college. I didn’t understand the professionalism of all of the stretching and taking all of the smaller things as seriously as I probably should have before, but It is something I have learned to now. I am taking every part of it and making my game better. Learning about the different things I can do in the offseason and during the season to stay healthier, do things healthier, grow muscles or understand my body more to help prevent further injuries in the future. Really, just learning about how my body works. I think that has helped me become a much better football player. It has really helped me with recovery after games, understanding the different approaches I can take to get my body back and get my body feeling as good as possible for the next week. Hopefully, all of these steps will help prolong my career and make me a better player along with it.”
On reaching the playoffs with the Titans last year and if he hopes to help provide leadership for a Browns team that has not made the postseason recently:
“Definitely. I will be the new guy. Still being pretty young, I will still have to figure out my way with the team, but I want to be a leader. I want to be a guy that guys can look to, especially like you said having a taste of that playoff experience. I think the biggest thing that I hope to take to this team is just to show them what is in front of the team every week is the lows really. It is how every team handles a loss. It is the NFL. What? Has it been done once that a team has gone undefeated? You are going to lose. I think the thing that [defines] teams better every year from the good and the bad are the teams that progress every week. Every week, The teams that really start hitting their strides and start looking good, it is in December and November. It is not teams that are looking at their losses in September or October. It is just building and building and taking as much as you can from the losses and not dwelling on them but learning from them and transferring that over to the wins. Then it is building confidence and momentum throughout the year. I think it really comes down to that, and that is what you see of the best teams is they just keep building confidence and momentum. Once December and November rolls around, they are starting to really hit their stride. I hope to be able to show guys a little bit of what it takes, help keep guys up, be a positive guy and help guys learn as much as possible, as well as learn from them as much as I can.”
On if it is ironic to be blocking for the 2019 NFL rushing title winner with Titans RB Derrick Henry last year and now blocking for RB Nick Chubb, who finished a close second:
“Yes, definitely. It is an exciting time to have Derrick back there and to have such a special back last year and to be able to switch teams and have a guy who is just as good and be able to have an opportunity to go win that record again next year. That is my goal. I want to help us get there and help Chubb reach that goal and win that next year. That is just one of the fun things I look forward to. It is ironic, but it is a very positive ironic.”
On if Henry gave the Titans offensive line a gift after winning last year’s rushing title:
“Yeah, he did. He got us all Rolexes. Pretty sweet.”
On if he would relish the opportunity to take a young player under his wing knowing what it is like to be high draft pick, in the event the Browns select a LT in the first round:
“It would awesome. It would be an awesome opportunity. If that were the case and if that is what happens, I would relish that opportunity to help him, being able to help him and hopefully teach him the things that I learned going through the same process. It would be awesome. As a guy who is new to the team, to be able to take in another guy who is younger and help with his progress, I think that is what really comes down to being an offensive lineman. I think that whole group you find throughout the NFL is a bunch of good guys who are just going to try to help younger guys alone. We understand that for a team to get good, we have to really be working together as a group of five. When we can do that, who knows what the team can do? In that case, yes, I would try to step up, be a leader, help be a mentor to him and do everything I can to help him get along and get through all the pieces of the NFL, whether it is playing or just the mental state of everything.”
On how much teams’ QBs played a role in his free agency process:
“It did play a small piece. For me, I was more looking at scheme. It is a lot easier to move to a scheme that I am used to and that I know works so that was a huge thing. I am a big fan of Baker. That definitely was an easy choice for me. Having him back there, there was no question about what I think he can do and whether I want to be a part of an offense with him at the helm.”