The Browns’ route to the top of the AFC North may not be nearly as complicated as it once looked.
For years, Cleveland has been treated like the punchline of the division, and often the league. That reputation has been hard to shake because the Browns haven’t exactly stacked enough strong seasons to rewrite the story. But the landscape around them is shifting, and that opens a door.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi sees a realistic path for Cleveland to win its first AFC North title, and it starts with one thing: quarterback play.
"They get above-average quarterback play," Oyefusi wrote of the potential path. "That would be a huge leap in production for a team that had the lowest QBR in 2025.
There are fair questions about Cleveland's defense, too, after trading Garrett and the resignation of Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator (the team hired former Falcons assistant Mike Rutenberg, who is a first-time DC). The defense, though, still has elite talent on all three levels and is replacing Garrett with two-time Pro Bowler Jared Verse.
The impact of serviceable QB play with a retooled supporting cast in Cleveland can't be understated."
That’s the whole equation in a nutshell. The Browns don’t need a quarterback to carry them. They need one who can stay steady, avoid the back-breaking mistakes, and keep the offense on schedule.
With Todd Monken calling the shots, better pass protection, and a running game plus supporting cast that give the offense real structure, Cleveland is positioned to ask less of the quarterback than a lot of teams do. That matters. In a division where the Ravens are dealing with uncertainty around a rookie head coach, the Bengals keep finding ways to trip over themselves, and the Steelers are leaning on an aging roster with real questions at quarterback, competence alone can go a long way.
Cleveland also has the kind of roster that makes the idea of a leap feel less far-fetched than it used to. The Browns are building with the future in mind, and the argument here is that they may already be closer than people think to the rest of the AFC North.
In that sense, they’re not waiting for the division to open up someday down the line. It may be opening now.
There is still uncertainty, of course, with Deshaun Watson taking first-team reps. But if he or Shedeur Sanders can play within themselves, avoid unnecessary risks, and keep the chains moving, the Browns have a real chance to surprise people in 2026.
In Other News...
Browns Fans May Hate Why The Myles Garrett Trade Matters
Clevelands Myles Garrett trade is the kind of move that only makes full sense if youre thinking years ahead, not weeks. The Browns chose to reset around draft capital and a young pass rusher, a sign Andrew Berry is still building with patience and keeping the quarterback picture flexible instead of forcing a short-term answer.
The logic is hard to miss: Berry is preserving options for a bigger swing at the position down the road, with the 2027 draft looming as the more obvious target window. For a fan base that would rather be talking about wins now, it is a sober reminder that this season is being treated more like a bridge than a destination. [Read more 🡒]
Two Browns Line Moves Are Raising Eyebrows Despite Offseason Praise
Even with the shock of trading Myles Garrett and the lingering uncertainty at quarterback, the Browns have mostly come out of the offseason with decent reviews for the way theyve tried to shore up the roster. ESPNs Seth Walder went as far as giving Cleveland a B+ grade, which says plenty about how the broader picture has been viewed, even if not every move has drawn equal enthusiasm.
The offensive line tweaks are where the questions start to creep in. Walder was not sold on the pricier Zion Johnson signing, and he also raised a red flag about Tytus Howard after a rough recent stretch in both pass protection and run blocking. For a team that should know how much the line matters to everything else it wants to do, the additions may help, but they do not automatically erase the concern that the unit still has something to prove. [Read more 🡒]