The Browns have spent most of Lamar Jackson’s career learning the same hard lesson: if he’s on the other sideline, trouble usually follows.
Jackson’s numbers against Cleveland tell the story. In 15 starts, he’s 10-5 against the Browns with 2,737 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, plus 770 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground. He’s also riding a three-game winning streak in the series after sweeping Cleveland in 2025.
So when the NFL’s annual Top 100 Players list dropped him from No. 2 overall in 2025 all the way to No. 69 this year, it had the feel of the kind of slight that can linger. Jackson, who is now 29, may have just been handed a fresh chip for the season.
Over at FanSided’s The Ebony Bird, Connor Burke called the placement out in blunt terms:
"Whatever credibility the list had left was destroyed. Lamar Jackson’s placement has already been revealed, and he comes in at No.
- That’s absolutely horrendous … I understand the injury card that some people will play.
A variety of injuries definitely held him back in 2025. But Jackson still played in 13 games, accounted for 23 total touchdowns, and almost Superman’d a dreadful team into the playoffs in Week 18."
Burke also pointed to the possibility that the snub could end up working in Jackson’s favor:
"Luckily, this might actually be a good omen for Jackson and the Ravens. Following that drop on the list a few seasons ago, Jackson went on to win his second MVP and the team made the AFC Championship Game. If history repeats itself, the 29-year-old and Baltimore could be due for a major bounce-back."
The Top 100 list has long been offseason fuel more than anything else, but these rankings still have a way of getting under people’s skin. Rival fans notice. Players notice even more.
Jackson will get his first shot at the Browns in Week 6 in Baltimore, then he’ll head to Cleveland in Week 16, two days after Christmas. And this time, there’s no guarantee the Ravens will be resting him if the playoff picture is settled. If he’s healthy, Cleveland gets the full Lamar Jackson experience.
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On the practice field, Flaccos message to Sanders and Gabriel was less about fashion than it was about priorities, with the visor talk landing as a gentle warning against trying too hard to look the part. It fit the way Browns fans have come to know him over the years, and it also underscored the dynamic in a room where the youngest quarterbacks are still figuring out how to carry themselves while the oldest one keeps reminding them what matters most. [Read more 🡒]
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Now Ford is back in the kind of roster conversation that can turn quickly for a veteran running back, with his new team still sorting out the depth chart behind the top options. He is competing for a backup role in Washington, but the broader chatter has already started to circle the possibility of him being moved again if the Commanders decide they have enough at the position. For Browns fans, it is the sort of reminder that a once-promising draft pick can become trade fodder almost as fast as the league can reassign carries. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Rookie Tight End Could Become This Draft Class Surprise
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Royer is competing for the No. 2 tight end job behind Harold Fannin Jr., and that alone makes him one of the more interesting names to watch in camp. Cleveland has been looking for more juice from the position, and if Royers receiving skill carries over the way the Browns believe it can, he could quickly become one of the quieter surprises from this draft class. [Read more 🡒]