Browns roster ranked by positional units

Yahoo

6 days ago

With veterans reporting to training camp shortly, the 2025 NFL season is just around the corner. While expectations aren't too high for the Cleveland Browns this year, it'll serve as a crucial season for player development as the youth movement takes hold of the depth chart.
Some positions are better off than others, as the team was forced to reset at some spots, bypass others, and added elsewhere. This looks to be a year where they will get youngsters on the field early and often and look to develop toward the future.
So, as we enter another season, lets take a look at how the Browns depth chart stacks up and rank it by the talent of the positional units
7. Quarterbacks
It's an awkward and confusing mess at quarterback and the future of the position is likely not on the team right now. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett will battle it out to be the sacrificial lamb to start the season, but odds are that the pair of rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, will see a bulk of the starting time as the team determines if either can possibly be a future starter.
The hit rate on mid-round quarterbacks is quite low, so odds of the third or fifth-round draft picks hitting is not in the Browns favor. While watching the young quarterbacks battle it out through the season should be fun, fans will mostly be watching how the 2026 quarterback class shapes up.
6. Linebackers
The writing is on the wall for linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who went down with a scary neck injury during the season. The reports and whispers from leadership have not been promising, but when the team drafted a similar style of linebacker, Carson Schwesinger, atop the second round of the last draft, it spells out what is expected out of Owusu-Koramoah.
It's a terrible cherry on top of an awful cake that has been the DeShaun Watson era for the Browns. Owusu-Koramoah was one of the team's emerging young talents and had been rewarded with a contract extension, but now fans and teammates alike have to hope we'll see him return to the field at some point at all after it was announced he won't be back for at least 2025.
It'll leave the Browns with plenty of questions at the position for this season. A lot will be on rookie Carson Schwesinger's plate to take up the role Owusu-Koramoah left behind. A pair of veterans, Jordan Hicks and Devin Bush, can take up snaps but won't provide much impact. Otherwise, it'll be up to Mohamoud Diabate to take the next step.
T4. [Tie] Pass Catchers & Defensive Backs
It was hard to determine which group will do the Browns better next season. From a team perspective, the secondary will get far more support from the pass rush than the receivers will from their quarterbacks. However, from a pure talent perspective, there's a little more upside to the receivers.
The secondary features the best player, Denzel Ward, holding down their top spot. Ward is elite enough to warrant giving the DBs an advantage, but behind him has been disappointing despite the high investments. Greg Newsome hasn't lived up to his first-round status, and Grant Delpit had a poor season after getting paid. There's some solid depth here from Martin Emerson and free agent Rayshawn Jenkins, but one safety spot will remain a question mark.
While the receivers may not have a player as elite as Denzel Ward, David Njoku isn't too far behind when healthy. He's been a bright spot in bad seasons, and showed what he's capable of when Flacco had his last run with the team. Furthermore, Jerry Jeudy has shown some of that first-round upside last season when a capable passer was starting. Those two, when paired with some upside behind Cedric Tillman, gives this group a little more versatility than Ward does alone.
Either way, it'll be nice to get some answers for both of these groups this season. They both feature pieces to build around, but need younger talent to step up to become mainstays.
3. Running Backs*
For a brief moment, there was significant hype around the Browns run game going into the season. It was likely that the return to Kevin Stefanski's scheme would allow the Browns to lean on a ground-and-pound approach behind a stable of promising running backs.
Then second-round pick Quinshon Judkins was arrested. An incredibly promising athlete, Judkins should have taken the lead back role, and while he still can, it'll come with far less enthusiasm from fans who've been through this plenty of times recently. There is still a contract and potential suspension to deal with, so there's no promise that we'll see a full season of Judkins right away.
Now, returning Jerome Ford at a reduced price seems to be a blessing even if expectations aren't too high. There is still Dylan Sampson, the lightning to Judkins' thunder and the team's fourth-round pick. Sampson was a strong prospect himself, but now may get the chance to lead the team.
Assuming Judkins still plays a majority of the season, there's plenty of depth and upside at this spot.
2. Defensive Line
With Myles Garrett championing the defensive line, this unit couldn't not be near the top. There's still some questions surrounding Garrett, but the team has youth and the ultimate advantage next to them. Garrett has continued to be his elite, All-Pro level self as he stacks seasons toward a first-ballot Hall of Fame nomination.
Adding Mason Graham to the interior with their first-round pick finally bolsters the unit with another high upside defender next to Garrett. Graham was typically seen as the next best pass rusher aside from Abdul Carter in the class, so while rookies are hard to project, the Browns landed a strong bet.
The team has a solid cast of youth and experience otherwise. Players like Maliek Collins, Shelby Harris, and Mike Hall Jr should be a reasonable rotation of talents to keep each other fresh. On the edge, there's a few young players in Isaiah McGuire and Alex Wright who hope to play themselves into mainstays across from Garrett.
This is a unit teeming with upside across from one of the league's elite players. You could certainly argue it's the team's best group, but…
1. Offensive Line
The teams' depth and continuity on the offensive line makes them the best unit in my eyes. There are still questions among this group, most notably at tackle with the status of Dawand Jones and the health of Jack Conklin. However, there's a chance both can play at their highest level this upcoming year.
The true strength is at guard where both Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller feature All-Pro upsides, while center Ethan Pocic has at least been a reliable starter. The guards make everyone's jobs a little easier, and can pave the way to make lesser talent more productive.
What's more exciting is that there's legitimate depth here. Third-round pick Zak Zinter awaits for this opportunity, while the team managed to get Teven Jenkins on a very cheap prove-it deal. Furthermore, bringing in swing tackle Cornelius Lucas who has plenty of starting experience on both sides is great versatility.
After the brutal hits the line took from injuries last season, any stretch of health would help. But, now the team is a little more prepared with capable players in backup spots, and a couple of elite talents in the middle.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns roster ranked by positional units