The Cleveland Browns enter the 2026 season with plenty of uncertainty up front, and the latest rankings from Pro Football Focus does not do much to ease those concerns. PFF’s Gordon McGuinness released updated offensive line rankings ahead of Sunday’s opener against the Jaguars, and Cleveland landed near the very bottom of the league. With five new starters lining up together for the first time, the group is being viewed as one of the weakest units in football before a single regular season snap has been played.
McGuinness explained why the Browns landed at No. 30 overall in his rankings.
“The Browns are starting four new players on their offensive line this season, and there should be some hope for the future with the selection of left tackle Spencer Fano early in the 2026 NFL Draft. Center Elgton Jenkins is the best player in this group for now. With a PFF pass-blocking grade above 67.0 in each of his seven seasons in the NFL, the veteran should give Cleveland a strong presence in the middle of the line,” McGuinness wrote.
Fano headlines the projected starting five after being selected ninth overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, and McGuinness is careful to note that patience will be required with a rookie learning left tackle at the professional level.
Jenkins gives this line its one proven building block. Seven straight seasons with a pass blocking grade above 67.0 is not a flashy resume, but it represents the kind of steady, reliable play a rebuilding offensive line needs at center. Zion Johnson, Teven Jenkins and Tytus Howard round out the rest of the group, veterans brought in to provide experience around Fano as he adjusts to the speed of the league.
The Browns are clearly being disrespected in the rankings at No.30. Cleveland is not replacing proven starters with unknowns across the board. Johnson, Jenkins and Howard have all graded out as solid to above average starters elsewhere in the league. The issue on paper is that they have zero snaps together as a unit, not that any of them are bad players.
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