Tanking has presumably always existed. It's hard to believe that teams in the 60s, 70s, and 80s didn't realize that putting their worst players on the field towards the end of a lost season would do a lot to help them from repeating the same fate the following year. The incentive is obvious.
It does seem more recent, though — the advent of a trend where fans are actively rooting for their favorite teams to lose games as soon as they nope out of playoff contention. Whether it was the brazen rebuild of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers — dubbed "The Process" — or just a shift in conventional wisdom in the social media era, it's hard to find fans who want to see their team win once the losses have piled up to a certain point.
It's so prevalent that a piece on NFL.com in 2020 shamelessly ran a story detailing how then-Jets punter Braden Mann's touchdown-saving tackle led to him getting a flurry of angry messages — from Jets fans. See, the Jets were 0–13 and the fans were smitten with presumptive (and eventual) first overall pick Trevor Lawrence. A funny note is that they also won the following week against the Browns, effectively dropping them to second overall, where they settled on Zach Wilson. Ouch.
Myles Garrett just rejected the idea of tanking (and he’s right)
The disconnect will always exist between the fans and players and it makes a ton of sense if you think about it. Johnny Browns Fan wants the team to lose because he hopes the resulting draft pick will lead to winning in the future. Kevin Stefanski and his army of 53 hyper-competitive soldiers may not be around for the "future" that fans look toward longingly.
It should shock no one that when the Browns' undisputed best player — Myles Garrett — was asked about the concept of tanking in general, he wanted no part of it.
"I selfishly want to win, and I think everyone should be selfish in that manner. I think when everyone has that mindset, it becomes a team goal. So I want us all to share in that together."Myles Garrett
Garrett makes an astute point. The stink of losing is hard to get rid of. It permeates the walls, the uniforms, the stadium. It's exactly what Jarvis Landry was describing as "contagious" back in 2018 on HBO's Hard Knocks. The same idea was ostensibly on JuJu Smith-Schuster's mind when he made his now-infamous "the Browns is the Browns" comment.
Besides, if anyone knows that tanking isn't a magic cure-all, it's the Dawg Pound. The roster destruction of 2015, which ushered in the humiliating 1–31 era in Cleveland (2016–2017) hardly bore glory. Two playoff appearances and one measly win, were hardly worth the indignity and misery of that period of Browns football.
Yes, Garrett is a glowing example of a No. 1 pick who hit all expectations, but look at literally any NFL team (including the Browns) and you'll find an excellent player who went lower in the draft — or wasn't even drafted at all. So, regardless of where the Browns end up selecting in the 2026 NFL Draft, bear in mind that the key is selecting the right player, not selecting the first player.