The expectation around the league for the 2025 NFL Browns is not very high, as most outlets have the Browns as one of the five worst teams, with the idea that they will again contend for the top pick. Most of the doubt surrounding Cleveland stems from the quarterback situation, considering Joe Flacco is 40 years old and not a top-tier option at this point in his career.
NFL Spin Zone's Sayre Bedinger continued on that trend, ranking the Browns 30th in his Week 1 Power Rankings.
Browns continue to rank near the bottom of NFL power rankings
Bedinger cites the quarterback situation - understandably so - among the biggest reasons for the low ranking going into the year. The floor is undeniably higher with Flacco under center, which is where the Browns' have the best chance to outperform this ranking.
"The Cleveland Browns are in a major state of transition as a franchise right now, and unfortunately for them, we’re only in the beginning stages of the current renovations. Everyone in Cleveland is undoubtedly frustrated about the team whiffing on the window they just had where they could have stuck with Baker Mayfield, but they didn’t. And they are paying the price in QB purgatory. The floor is slightly higher with Joe Flacco, but the ceiling is extremely low for this Browns team. "NFL Spin Zone's Sayre Bedinger
Taking a look back at Flacco's five-week stretch in the 2023 season (where the Browns went 4-1), the offensive line was incredibly beat up, with Geron Christian and James Hudson getting every start during his tenure here. On top of that, Nick Harris and Michael Dunn saw plenty of reps in that same span as Joel Bitonio and Ethan Pocic dealt with injuries. The offense did have Amari Cooper as a go-to playmaker, but Jerome Ford still led the running back room.
With that, the point is this Browns' roster is pretty comparable - if not better - than what they had during Flacco's successful 2023 run. Admittedly, Cleveland didn't have the toughest opponents in that stretch, and it appears to be the complete opposite heading into the 2025 season.
The first six games of the year feature five playoff teams from 2024, and the Browns will need to win at least two of those games if they want to surpass expectations this year. A quarterback change to a struggling rookie after a slow start would make all these low rankings come to life, but if the Browns can find a few early wins and/or get solid play out of rookie quarterbacks, they could exceed expectations in 2025.