The dust has officially settled on the 2026 NFL Draft. Like clockwork, the national media is rushing to put out post-draft power rankings to tell us who is a contender and who is a pretender. If you check the latest release from NFL Spinzone, you might want to look away. They have the Cleveland Browns sitting at 31st in the entire league, essentially placing them right next to the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals.
The justification? They claim the Browns do not have a "viable" quarterback situation.
It is the same, albeit accurate, narrative we see every single year. National outlets love "flash," and they love to bet against Cleveland simply because the quarterback room looks different than it does in Kansas City or Buffalo. But for those of us who have been paying attention to what Andrew Berry has actually done in Berea this offseason, this ranking feels like too much stock has been put into past performances.
The Browns’ offseason overhaul tells a much different story than the rankings
The quarterback narrative is lazy
It has always been fashionable in the media to ridicule the Browns due to their continued misses at the most important position. While the group is near the bottom of the NFL as a whole, there is potential upside in the room. While going through the general struggles that rookie quarterbacks tend to go through, Shedeur Sanders showed that he deserves the first crack at the starting position. With Deshaun Watson now healthy, he's now looking to turn back time and find a way to get back to playing at the Pro Bowl level. If Todd Monken is able to get top-15 to top-20 quarterback play from either one, the Browns may end up being one of the most improved teams in the league.
While no one should argue that Cleveland already has their franchise quarterback, a lot of people are ignoring the fact that Todd Monken is a coach who builds his system around his players rather than forcing players to fit a rigid, outdated scheme. The national media wants a single, shiny star to plaster on the front of their rankings. Since Cleveland is trying to build a competitive room rather than handing the keys to a single name, they choose to dismiss the entire roster. They are looking for a story, but they are missing the actual football team.
Substance over style
Even with the Spinzone article giving the organization its flowers when it came to the draft, the lack of mention of the additional off-season moves is baffling. While they are busy fixating on the quarterback room, they are completely ignoring the overhaul of the roster’s foundation. Berry has completed a total makeover on the offensive line, with the possibility of all five positions featuring new starters. The wide receiver room now looks formidable, and the running game should improve with Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson gaining a year of experience under their belts. This is not to mention the elite defense that added some key pieces to help maintain their top-tier status.
Andrew Berry did not just go for "splash" signings this offseason. He went for substance. He built a team that is designed to be physical, disciplined, and versatile enough to survive the AFC North. When you play in this division, you do not need to be the "sexiest" team on paper. You need to be the team that can move defenders at the line of scrimmage and control the clock. The Browns are clearly building for the second half of the season, not for a Week 1 power ranking article.
Let them sleep
Let the analysts keep the Browns at the bottom of their lists. Expectations in Cleveland are modest right now, and that is perfectly fine. This team is not necessarily trying to hang a banner in April. Instead, they are focused on establishing a new, physical identity under Monken. While nobody is booking playoff tickets just yet, this roster has the necessary components to be a much tougher out than the national media realizes.
Games are not won on power rankings or preseason projections. They are won on the field. If this coaching staff can maximize the talent on the outside and get competent production under center, the Browns have the other pieces to play the spoiler role throughout the 2026 season. It might be a year of transition, but it is also a year where Cleveland has a very real chance to surprise the league and outperform these basement-level expectations.
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