In the eighth of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Cleveland Browns.
Key Off-Season Acquisition
The key move by the Cleveland Browns in the offseason was on defense, as they signed defensive lineman Maliek Collins of Kansas City, Kansas to a two-year deal worth $20 million. He is joining his fifth NFL franchise after four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2016 to 2019), one season with the Las Vegas Raiders (2020), three seasons with the Houston Texans (2021 to 2023), and one season with the San Francisco 49ers (2024). This past season with the 49ers, Collins had 33 combined tackles (20 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles), 12 quarterback hits, five sacks, five tackles for a loss and two fumble recoveries. The fumble recoveries came in a 32-19 49ers win over the New York Jets on September 9, and in a 30-13 49ers win over the New England Patriots on September 29.
Fantasy Stars
The Browns have no players ranked in the top 10 at any position in fantasy football.
Projected Finish
The Browns are the worst team in the NFC North. Quite frankly it is not even remotely close. While the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals could be in the Super Bowl mix, the Browns are the one team left out of the picture. One significant reason is the quarterback position is in a serious state of flux. While four Browns are at training camp battling for the starting job, troubled QB DeShaun Watson has been busy flaunting his yacht in the French Riviera with his supermodel fiancee! Good grief! The Browns quarterbacks who are in the process of reporting for training camp are 40-year-old Joe Flacco (who the Browns brought back at 40 years old and signed to a one-year deal worth $4 million), Kenny Pickett (who the Browns acquired in an off-season trade with the Eagles), and two quarterbacks the Browns drafted (Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders). The Browns are in a state of craziness, and don’t have stuff together.
