Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Cleveland Browns remain at bottom of ESPN’s NFL power rankings

By Steven Kubitza

Jan 24, 2017; Mobile, AL, USA; South squad head coach Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns directs his players during practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2017; Mobile, AL, USA; South squad head coach Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns directs his players during practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Cleveland Browns remain the team with the most to prove this season in order to get out of the basement of the NFL power rankings.

It is no secret that the Cleveland Browns must earn respect as an NFL franchise. Years of losing and incompetence has set the team up as a punchline in the national scope, but fans in Cleveland believe things may be heading in the right direction.

Regardless, the Browns can be found at the bottom of ESPN’s latest NFL power rankings.

This is no surprise, and it is fair given how last season ended. The Browns wanted to start over, and as the only team openly rebuilding, the bottom is a fair spot to begin 2017.

Add in the loss of Terrelle Pryor in free agency, and the lack of a legitimate and definitive starting quarterback, and it remains clear that the front office has a lot of work to do before this team will be considered competitive for the upcoming season.

Related: Comparing Garoppolo to Osweiler is unfair

The key for the Browns is to draft well, which is the route the team wants to go when building this team. Getting Myles Garrett and potentially a starting quarterback in the first round may not change the power rankings, but it will at least bring some talent to town to help the Browns improve upon that hideous 1-15 record from a year ago.

Even avoiding the quarterback position and focusing on the defense sets up the team to improve, as Brock Osweiler or Cody Kessler can manage the offense. With an improved line and perhaps some more offensive talent brought in via the draft, things can only get better after last season.

Next: Top 30 moments in Browns history

Fans should never get too worked up about preseason power rankings, but they do serve as a good measure of where a team stands as of right now. Browns fans may be optimistic, but these rankings show there is a long way to go.

Home/Browns News