It is Week 1, and that means it’s time for another season of week-long features, including where the Cleveland Browns fall, on average, in the national power rankings. With the Browns finishing last year 3-14, it’s understandable that they are starting from the bottom (an average ranking of 30 this week) and have to work their way up. With that said, quite a few of the projections noted that there are some very talented players on the Browns roster, and that they agree with the team’s decision to start Joe
Flacco.
Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.
Joe Flacco will open as the quarterback, which is the right move. He gives them the best chance to win, but they look like the last-place team in their division.
Who’s under the most pressure: Coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry
Owner Jimmy Haslam has preached patience and has said he’ll give his coach-GM pairing time to turn things around after a 3-14 season. But Haslam also said the team needs marked improvement in 2025. For the Browns, that means not only fielding a much more competitive team but possibly finding a long-term answer at quarterback.
As lower-ranked teams go, the Browns are pretty darned interesting, starting with the thorny QB situation. Joe Flacco will take the wheel early, but I won’t be shocked if both rookies behind him see the field at some point, even if it feels obvious Cleveland is more comfortable with Dillon Gabriel than Shedeur Sanders at this moment. Similar to the Saints below them, the Browns must come out of this season knowing what they have in those two QBs prior to next year’s draft cycle, when they’ll possess two first-round choices. The offense was so bad last season, it severely corrupted even a defense featuring elite talents like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. That can’t happen again if the Browns want to escape the AFC North basement.
The Browns messed up their 2025 draft with no real rookie QB answers for Week 1 and their running game is also in transition behind an aging line. Myles Garrett and the defense can do only so much to help.
The Browns’ runout to start the season (vs. Bengals, at Ravens, vs. Packers, at Lions, vs. Vikings, at Steelers) is rough. Joe Flacco might not be the starter by the seventh game. That would give the Browns a look at rookie Dillon Gabriel, who looked very good in the preseason.
The Cleveland Browns shouldn’t be as bad as they were during last year’s 3-14 campaign. They have some legitimate playmakers on each side of the ball. They also have a coaching staff that has proved it can get results when it’s not being weighed down by a disastrous quarterback situation. But that opening schedule is brutal. With six 2024 playoff teams in the first six weeks, Cleveland could have only one or two wins at the Week 9 bye. If the Browns haven’t gotten a look at Dillon Gabriel and/or Shedeur Sanders by then, that will probably be the pivot point.
There are some good players in this lineup. Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders isn’t one of them … and that will almost surely be the story until he gets in.
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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|
|
|
|
|
Bengals
|
Browns
|
Ravens
|
Steelers
|
|
| CBS Sports |
11
|
30
|
5
|
18
|
| ESPN |
9
|
30
|
4
|
16
|
| NFL.com |
10
|
31
|
2
|
16
|
| Sporting News |
12
|
31
|
3
|
17
|
| Yahoo Sports |
12
|
30
|
2
|
20
|
| Bleacher Report |
13
|
30
|
3
|
14
|
| USA Today |
17
|
30
|
2
|
10
|
| Average |
12.0
|
30.0
|
3.0
|
15.9
|
What do you think of the Browns’ ranking this week?
