We’re less than two weeks removed from the end of the NFL season.
That, of course, means that it’s time to start thinking of next season and, yes, power rankings as the Cleveland Browns face some basic questions. The main one being what does the hiring of coach Todd Monken do for their standing in the league.
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Of course, none of this matters in the here and now without knowing free agent statuses and final rosters, but America loves it some NFL.
Therefore, some experts have thoughts.
Todd Monken, new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, smiles as he talks about Myles Garrett during his introductory press conference at the team’s training facility, Feb. 3, 2026.
The Athletic is verrrry liberal with its rankings and sarcasm
Writers Josh Kendall and Chad Graff of The Athletic damn the Browns with faint praise with the highest ranking for the purposes of this roundup giving the team the No. 26 on their list for The Athletic.
They write: “It’s a shock, right? The Browns didn’t get to this spot in the power rankings, where they seem to have permanent residence, by being a well-run organization. After firing Kevin Stefanski and immediately making him one of the hottest candidates in the hiring cycle, they hired Todd Monken and made defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz so mad that he quit. A return to prominence feels unlikely.”
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Ouch! Yet, their ranking gives the team more props than others.
The Browns are the worst team in the NFL, according to ESPN
Daniel Oyefusi, who covers the Browns for the worldwide leader, reads the writing on the wall for the team – great defense, sucky offense. The rebuilding starts with latter which begins with Monken and wholesale personnel upgrades.
“The Browns need to add another playmaker at receiver and possibly replace as many as four starters on the offensive line,” he writes. “The quarterback position will also be a top priority again, as Cleveland searches for answers in free agency and the NFL draft.”
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Fox Sports is also generous with their ranking due to coach Todd Monken’s arrival
They’re No. 29! So says Fox Sports writer Ralph Vacchiano while heaping a lot on Monken’s shoulders.
“If anybody can fix their quarterback mess, it’s probably new coach Todd Monken,” Fox’s Ralph Vacchiano writes. “But with Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson as the options, there may be no winner in this game of quarterback roulette.”
By now, a lot of Browns fans believe only the Almighty can fix the Browns QB situation.
It’s not quite the bottom from NFL.com
It all hinges on Monken writes Eric Edholm, while ranking the Browns at No. 31 and mentioning the team’s need for a defensive coordinator – a situation remedied Feb. 16 with the hiring of the Atlanta Falcons’ Mike Rutenberg. Now, it’s up to Monken to raise the sunken offense.
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“Even if they likely won’t be landing their future QB at the top of this year’s draft, Cleveland is in excellent shape overall, with four picks in the top 70,” he writes. “If the Browns can have the same level of hit rate in 2026 as they did with last year’s draft, a turnaround might be closer than expected. But until quarterback is ironed out, there’s a hard cap on what this team can do next season.”
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NFL analysts put Browns near bottom of far-too-early rankings