The Cleveland Browns enter the 2026 season with more questions at quarterback than any team in the NFL, and the answer to those questions will determine everything about the direction of this franchise over the next several years. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox took a look at every offense in the league and laid out their best and worst-case scenarios heading into the season.
Knox did not dance around what the ideal outcome looks like for the Browns’ offense this year.
“Best-Case Scenario: Shedeur Sanders Takes the QB Job and Runs With It. With a rebuilt offensive line and new pass-catchers in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, the Browns could have an average or better offense if they can get competent quarterback play. In a best-case scenario, they’ll get it from Sanders. The Colorado product is just 1 year into his rookie contract, while Watson is entering the final year of his deal and, to this point, has been a total bust in Cleveland,” Knox wrote.
The Browns are sitting on 2 1st round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is shaping up to be one of the deepest and most talented quarterback classes in recent memory. If Shedeur Sanders wins the starting job, plays well, and gives this front office genuine confidence that he is the long-term answer at the position, Andrew Berry can redirect both of those picks toward other areas of need rather than spending premium capital on another quarterback.
But that best-case scenario requires a significant chain of events to actually fall into place, and none of it is guaranteed. Sanders first has to win the starting job in training camp, which is far from a foregone conclusion. Watson has looked healthier and sharper than anyone anticipated.
Even if Sanders wins the competition in camp, the real evaluation begins when the regular season starts and the defense schemes are real, the game speed is real, and the pressure of playing quarterback for a franchise starved for answers at the position becomes real. Sanders showed genuine promise in his rookie season, but promising is a very different standard than convincing an entire organization that you are the face of the franchise for the next decade. He would need to take a visible step forward in year 2, the kind of leap that erases doubt.
The supporting cast has legitimately improved. Spencer Fano anchors a rebuilt offensive line that should give whoever is under center more time and cleaner pockets than Cleveland quarterbacks have had in years. Concepcion and Boston give the offense weapons that can win at multiple levels of the field, and Harold Fannin continues to be one of the most reliable mismatch players in the league at tight end.
The pieces are there for something special if the quarterback question gets answered. Browns fans have been waiting a long time for that answer. This summer in Berea is where it either starts to take shape or gets pushed to the back of the line again.
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