Winning cures all, and if the Cleveland Browns were to ever start winning games consistently, the perception of them being a dysfunctional franchise might actually change. Until then, the Browns will never be taken seriously, even with the slate wiped clean entering a new season.
In a recent preseason power ranking of all 32 NFL teams, FanSided insider Jason La Canfora ranked the Browns in a familiar spot — near the bottom of the league at No. 30 overall.
"The Browns could make some strides and we think Todd Monken can salvage something of their offense, but that's just another team that isn't really trying to do anything in 2026," he wrote.
While the Browns' upcoming season is hard to project, the idea that the Browns aren't really trying to win games in 2026 is hard to take seriously.
We all know that the Browns have brought in new head coach Todd Monken to change things up after several seasons of inconsistent play, especially on offense and special teams. The last two seasons have been frustrating for fans, as their team couldn't build on the momentum of the 2023 playoff season. The Browns also had a postseason run back in 2020, but followed that up with similar unpredictable results.
Monken, who's never been a head coach at the NFL level, faces a tall task to steady the ship. There has been a resurgence of young talent drafted by the Browns in recent years, though, so there is definitely some hope.
National skepticism won't disappear until the Browns start winning again
The Browns overhauled their offensive line this offseason, highlighted by the team making Spencer Fano the No. 9 overall pick in the draft. That group could include five new starters this year and could need some time to jell.
Add in Cleveland's biggest roster change — trading future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams — and you can understand why the national media doesn't see a lot of positives for the Browns' immediate future.
It certainly doesn't help that the Browns still haven't identified a starting quarterback for the upcoming season. The battle between second-year player Shedeur Sanders and veteran Deshaun Watson is expected to continue well into training camp.
So is a power ranking of No. 30 fair for the Browns? At this point, it probably is, because they have played poorly over the last two seasons. With change comes opportunity, and for Cleveland, it's a chance to finally start changing the narrative.
That story is dictated by the wins that are to come — and hopefully it's a lot of them.
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