2025 NFL Season Preview: Cleveland Browns

2025 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
QB Joe Flacco, QB Kenny Pickett, FB Troy Hairston, WR Diontae Johnson, OT Cornelius Lucas, G Teven Jenkins, DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, DT Maliek Collins, S Damontae Kazee, S Rayshawn Jenkins.
Draft Picks:
DT Mason Graham, RB Quinshon Judkins, LB Carson Schwesinger, QB Dillon Gabriel, RB Dylan Sampson, QB Shedeur Sanders. Browns Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Jameis Winston, QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, WR Elijah Moore, OT Jedrick Wills, OT James Hudson, C Nick Harris, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Maurice Hurst, CB Mike Ford, S Juan Thornhill, S Rodney McLeod.

2025 Cleveland Browns Offense:
The Browns are often not an intriguing team, but they have a preseason appeal because of their four-way quarterback battle. With Deshaun Watson sidelined for the year, four players will compete for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland.

The favorite to start is Joe Flacco. While he just turned 40, Flacco had a great 2023 season in Cleveland when he led the team to the playoffs. Flacco’s play dropped considerably last year, however, so Cleveland fans shouldn’t be too excited if he ends up winning the job. The Browns also have two rookies, spending third- and fifth-round picks on Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. The two should have been flipped, as Gabriel is not a serious pro prospect because he’s only 5-foot-10 and doesn’t have real NFL tools. Sanders does, but fell in the draft because of several reasons. He doesn’t have much upside, but no one should be surprised if he starts some games this year. Kenny Pickett also has a chance to start, but he’s not a serious football player.

Cleveland also has a competition for the other starting job in the backfield. Long-time Brown Nick Chubb is no longer on the team, as he was a shell of his former self last year when he tried to return from a gruesome knee injury. With Chubb gone, the Browns used a second-round pick on Quinshon Judkins, who trampled the competition last year during Ohio State’s championship run. The Browns also used a fourth-round choice on Dylan Sampson, so might have a chance to be the primary runner as well. To begin the year, there should be some sort of committee, with incumbent Jerome Ford mixed in as well.

While there are some major changes at quarterback and running back, the receiving corps remains the same. Jerry Jeudy will return as the No. 1 option, while Cedric Tillman, who had some strong performances while Jameis Winston was at quarterback, will also be in the starting lineup. It’s unclear what Cleveland will get out of Jeudy, given how incredibly inconsistent he is. Jeudy sometimes looks unstopable. In other instances, he drops everything in sight. Cleveland also signed Diontae Johnson, but he’s a disruptive head case, albeit a talented one. There’s also tight end David Njoku, who had some great performances with Flacco in 2023.

The offensive line is much like the receiving corps. The one change from last year is that left tackle Jedrick Wills is gone, but Wills did not perform well last year. Wills, a former first-round pick, had a solid start to his career, but struggled before getting benched last season. Replacement Dawand Jones is even worse, so left tackle is a big liability. Right tackle has no issues, however, with Jack Conklin manning the position.

Cleveland’s interior blocking is terrific as well. Joe Bitonio and Wyatt Teller form one of the best guard duos in the league. Center Ethan Pocic isn’t as good, but he’s a mediocre blocker.



2025 Cleveland Browns Defense:
The Browns were able to finish with an 11-6 record in 2023, thanks to their incredible defense. Cleveland’s stop unit was ranked at the very top of the chart in EPA. It was first in yards allowed. The unit was much worse in 2024, however, ranking 19th in yards surrendered.

It seemed as though things would get much worse for Cleveland’s defense when Myles Garrett declared this offseason that he would be playing for another team. Garrett said he wanted to go to a winner, but was convinced to stay when the Browns offered him a huge contract. He and his 14 sacks will now return for 2025. Thanks to Garrett, the Browns had the third-best pressure rate in the NFL last year, and yet, there wasn’t even a great bookend to complement Garrett for half the year. Za’Darius Smith logged five sacks in nine games, but was dealt to the Lions, who needed to replace the injured Aidan Hutchinson. Ogbo Okoronkwo saw an uptick in production after the trade, but he didn’t produce very much, logging only three sacks.

The interior of the defensive line was a big problem for the Browns last year, as they had to rely on an aging Dalvin Tomlinson. The Browns made some big upgrades in this area. They initially signed Maliek Collins and then used the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Mason Graham. Collins produced five sacks last year, while Graham is an exceptional talent with great potential. There’s also 2024 second-rounder Michael Hall, who missed half the season with an injury and then drew some mediocre starts late in the year.

Another major problem last year was linebacker play in the wake of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s devastating injury suffered against the Ravens in the middle of the season. The talented linebacker was having an amazing season, so he was sorely missed down the stretch. He will also miss all of 2025, which would explain why the Browns used a second-round pick on Carson Schwesinger. The UCLA product will play alongside Jordan Hicks, who has been a quality linebacker over the years. The problem is that Hicks is 33, so there could be some regression in the near future.

Cornerback play was also below expectations last year, though the Browns didn’t do anything about this situation. Denzel Ward had a down season, though he didn’t play too poorly. He should rebound, as should at least one of Greg Newsome or Martin Emerson. It was odd to see both players, who had performed well in the past, suffer such struggles all throughout 2024. Emerson’s regression is worrying because he has gotten worse in each of his three seasons.

Cleveland’s safety play was at least better than what it saw out of the cornerbacks. Ronnie Hickman performed on a high level, while Grant Delpit was solid. Some depth was added here with Damontae Kazee and Rayshawn Jenkins being signed over from the Steelers and Jaguars, respectively.



2025 Cleveland Browns Schedule and Intangibles:
Dustin Hopkins was excellent in 2023, going 33-of-36, including a perfect 8-of-8 from beyond 50. He regressed last year with an 18-of-27 season.

Corey Bojorquez finished 18th in terms of net punting average last year, but he did a great job of pinning the opposition inside the 20.

Cleveland has a fourth-place schedule, but it doesn’t seem like one. The Browns begin with the Bengals, Ravens, Packers, Lions, Vikings, and Steelers. They also have to play the 49ers and Bills later.



2025 Cleveland Browns Rookies:
Go here for the Browns Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.



2025 Cleveland Browns Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching