Cleveland Browns fans have seen their team draft better talent over the past two years. While that hasn't translated to more victories yet, the question is, will it in the long run? Recently, all 32 NFL teams' "young core" were ranked after the most recent NFL Draft by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, and while Knox expressed hope that Cleveland's "young core" could be one of the best, he still only ranked them at No. 25.
The Browns' ranking is higher than the Pittsburgh Steelers' (No. 31), the San Francisco 49ers' (No. 28), and the Kansas City Chiefs' (No. 26). That sounds like a good thing, but all three franchises have had far more consistent success in recent years.
Cleveland is still struggling to find a winning formula after decades of inconsistent results and losses that seem to pile up over the years. But the last two drafts by the Browns have felt a bit different. Having drafted players like Carson Schwesinger, Harold Fannin, Mason Graham, and Quinshon Judkins a year ago and then selecting potential stars like Spencer Fano, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in this year's draft, the team is developing a young core that might finally become the foundation of a winning core.
The Bleacher Report article spoke about the hope of the young Browns talent but pointed out why the ranking at No. 25 wasn't higher, and you guessed it...it has to do with the quarterback play.
“If Cleveland's 2026 rookie class, which is headlined by top-60 picks Spencer Fano, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, proves to be as good as last year's group, the Browns could have one of the best young cores in the league.
However, we're still talking about a team that won just five games in 2025 and has several aging stars on the roster, including Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward.
Cleveland's young core would rank much higher if Sanders had established himself as a reliable starter this past season.”
The Browns’ young core still won’t matter unless they solve quarterback
That "could be one of the best young cores in the league" thought is what has most Cleveland fans optimistic about what lies ahead for their team. And yet the other glaring concern for these same fans is that all this talent won't amount to much without fixing the problems at quarterback.
As for the rankings themselves from the Bleacher Report article, there are some oddities to this writer's selections. While he has the Seattle Seahawks ranked as the No. 1 young core team, followed by the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, he has some other teams ranked much higher than one might think. He ranked the New York Jets at No. 13, the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 12, and the New York Giants at No. 4. The Jets and Raiders only won three games, and the Giants only won four games a season ago.
While the Giants (QB Jaxson Dart) and Raiders (QB Fernando Mendoza) might have their answers at quarterback, and that's a big "maybe", the Jets don't have anyone at quarterback, so these rankings are very suspect.
While playing this ranking game can spark debate, there are still a lot of biased opinions in these selections. Outside opinions won't change about this Browns team until they can win and win a lot. Fortunately, that narrative could be changing with this new influx of talent, and that's something to get excited about.
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