The Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition is a disaster. The offensive line overhaul looks like a mess. Myles Garrett is no longer on the roster.
But, despite tons of bad news in headline-sized font, there's a lot to like in the small print. Deshaun Watson, the league's 47th-best quarterback in 2024 who was accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as "predatory behavior," and Shedeur Sanders may put a cap on an offense that will be responsible for several negative plays. Lost in the wash are a cache of young prospects who can set team ownership up with a promising fresh start it in no way deserves and, if history is any indication, will almost certainly squander.
The Browns are a storm cloud, replete with
silver linings. Let's look at both sides of that.
Key addition: WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston
A rookie lifted Cleveland's passing game in 2025. Now two dynamic top 40 draft picks will join Harold Fannin Jr. and try to do the same in a receiving corps where no wideout recorded a catch rate over expected (CROE) last fall.
Concepcion is a shifty run-after-catch stud. Boston is a beefy downfield savant with great ball tracking, contested catch and adjustment skills. They'll try to lighten the load for whomever is throwing passes this fall (and limit Browns' fans frustrations with Jerry Jeudy. Additionally, the offensive line rebuild is important, if weirdly executed).
Key departure: EDGE Myles Garrett
Jared Verse is a very good player who has the unenviable task of replacing one of the best sack artists in NFL history. Verse will now inherit Garrett's double-teams, as no full-time pass rusher on the roster last fall recorded a pressure rate above 10.4 percent.
Potential 2026 breakout player: WR KC Concepcion
We've been hitting Concepcion and fellow rookie Denzel Boston pretty hard in these previews, but it's for good reason. The Browns' awful quarterbacks badly need someone who can turn a short target into a big gain, especially after overhauling 80 percent of their offensive line. That's Concepcion, who has remarkable wiggle and averaged 7.2 yards after catch per reception his final season at Texas A&M. He can be an even more effective version of Harold Fannin Jr. this fall.
Position ranks
- QB rank (expected points added per dropback, via RBSDM.com): The highest number, which we all know is 24.It's actually 37 of 37 if you zoom out enough to include Shedeur Sanders. It's 49 of 49 if you go back to Deshaun Watson's 2024.
- WR corps rank: 30
- RB corps rank: 26
- TE corps rank: 24
Will they improve in 2026?
There are nice young pieces here, so while the headline will be Garrett's departure and however Watson decides to embarrass himself this time, Cleveland could begin building the foundation of a revival. Which ownership will quickly ignore in order to build on a nearby swamp instead.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Browns 2026 season preview: Not as bad as you think (but still not good)
