It didn’t take long for the Browns to settle into an ugly spot in the 2026 NFL power rankings. Heading into Week 2, Cleveland is basically parked at the bottom of the league, with most outlets slotting the team at No. 31 or No. 32 and the average ranking falling to 31.4.
The lone bit of wiggle room comes from a few sites that have the Dolphins, Titans, or Falcons in the mix as teams that could be worse. But when the dust settles, the Browns are still right there in the basement after one week.
CBS Sports placed Cleveland at No. 31 and kept it there, asking, "How much longer can they go with Deshaun Watson? He wasn’t the only reason they lost to the Jaguars, but he wasn’t good either."
ESPN had the Browns at No. 32, down one spot, and highlighted one of the few bright spots from the opener: WR Denzel Boston. ESPN noted the second-round pick’s two catches for 59 yards and a touchdown came in garbage time, but also pointed out that his 46-yard scoring grab on a deep post looked like the kind of play he’d been making all through training camp. He led Browns receivers with 47 snaps and 26 routes run in Week 1, which ESPN took as a sign of the role Cleveland has in mind for him.
NFL.com also pushed Cleveland down to No. 32, dropping the Browns two spots. The write-up made clear that this didn’t look anything like last year, when the defense kept Cleveland competitive in a bunch of games.
Instead, Week 1 showed a team that got overwhelmed. The offense was called horrendous with Deshaun Watson under center, the Browns piled up 11 penalties, and the defense was described as looking like “little more than a sieve” against Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars.
NFL.com’s verdict: it could be a long season on the shore of Lake Erie.
Sporting News kept Cleveland at No. 32, saying the quarterback situation is bad but that the running game and defense are even worse as the Todd Monken era begins. The outlet said the Browns were no match for Jacksonville and may have a hard time beating anybody for a while.
Yahoo Sports was a little higher on the list at No. 30, but still didn’t sound optimistic. Yahoo said the Browns’ defense is supposed to keep them in games, even with Jared Verse replacing Myles Garrett, but that wasn’t true in the opener.
The outlet added that Cleveland looked like it really missed Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator, noting Trevor Lawrence had four touchdowns and Jacksonville had 31 points with 12:08 left in the third quarter. Yahoo’s blunt takeaway was that if the defense is bad, there’s no hope for a respectable season.
Bleacher Report had Cleveland at No. 32, down two spots, and called it another long season at the Factory of Sadness. The outlet said Deshaun Watson’s numbers weren’t awful in the blowout loss to the Jaguars, but his lone touchdown pass came in garbage time and the Browns lacked a vertical passing game for most of the afternoon.
That left the NFL’s best run defense from last year free to attack Quinshon Judkins, who averaged less than three yards per carry. Bleacher Report also pointed to the defense as an even bigger letdown, noting that even with Myles Garrett gone, Jacksonville did whatever it wanted both on the ground and through the air.
The conclusion was as harsh as it gets: the Browns are the NFL’s worst team. Again.
USA Today ranked Cleveland at No. 31, down one spot, and threw in a line that Browns fans will know well: "Shedeur SZN (Week 3?) is surely almost here, Browns fans − particularly if Baker Mayfield finally exacts revenge on the franchise that dumped him in favor of Deshaun Watson four years ago."
For now, the bigger story is simpler than any one quote or ranking slot. Cleveland opened the season looking every bit like a team stuck near the very bottom of the NFL, and the national media wasted no time treating it that way.
In Other News...
Browns Offense Had One Bright Spot Fans Should Notice After Week 1
Week 1 against Jacksonville did not give the Browns much to celebrate on offense, but the snap counts at least showed where the structure of the unit is headed. Cleveland leaned heavily on its offensive line, which was on the field for nearly every play, while Deshaun Watson had a few encouraging moments amid an otherwise sluggish day. The running back rotation and receiver usage were mixed, and the tight ends were barely involved, leaving a clear picture of an offense still searching for a rhythm.
For a team that came away with so little production, the encouraging part is that the alignment of the personnel suggests the Browns already know which pieces they trust most. The challenge now is turning that stability up front into something more functional everywhere else, because the passing game and the skill-position distribution left plenty of questions after the opener. The snap chart offered one useful clue, but it also hinted at how much work still sits ahead for Cleveland. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Could Give Shedeur Sanders A Familiar Option If QB Plans Change
Jimmy Horn Jr. is suddenly available, and that alone makes him a name worth tracking for a Browns team still sorting out its young skill positions. The former Carolina Panthers receiver was drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, just after Cleveland took Shedeur Sanders, and the two already have built-in familiarity from their college days together at Colorado.
If the Browns decide to add more depth at wide receiver, Horn fits the profile of a low-cost, familiar option who could help a developing room. The connection becomes even more interesting if Sanders role changes and he ends up handling the offense, since Cleveland would then be looking not just for talent but for players who already know how to work alongside him. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Rookies Gave Fans One Reason To Watch After Week 1 Loss
The Browns opened on the road against the Jaguars with a first look at how several rookies might fit into the bigger picture, and there were at least a few encouraging signs amid the loss. Left tackle Spencer Fano had his hands full with the matchup, but he held up reasonably well for a young blocker, while wideouts KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston gave the offense some life with catches and a touchdown.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren also got into the mix on the back end, and right guard Austin Barber was another rookie who stood out in a way Cleveland can build on. Barber posted the highest offensive grade among Browns players in the game, which is the kind of early showing that can matter for a team trying to sort out which first-year players are ready to contribute right away. [Read more 🡒]