The Cleveland Browns are so very close to the edge of glory. But in the moment of truth, Touchdown Wire left the Browns hanging just outside the top 5 in its preseason power rankings.
The Browns will have to settle at going gaga over being No. 6 in the poll. But in reading the explanation from analyst Doug Farrar, it seems more of a sorting preference than any indication the Browns don’t belong in the top 5,
Last season, the Browns posted an 11-5 mark, and made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Were it not for a few unlucky breaks in the divisional round against the Chiefs, it might have been Cleveland facing the Bills in the AFC Championship game.
The Browns did all this with a safety group filled with box guys and no deep erasers. General manager Andrew Berry endeavored to flip that script in 2021, signing former Rams safety John Johnson and anticipating the return of 2020 first-round pick Grant Delpit, who missed his entire rookie campaign to a torn Achilles tendon. Denzel Ward is a top-level cornerback, Johnson’s old Rams teammate Troy Hill should excel in the slot, and since Cleveland seems to have everything else in place (seriously — try to find a real weakness anywhere on the roster), we might be looking at the first Browns teams capable of competing for multiple championships since Whitesnake was relevant.
A win over the top-ranked Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 should catapult the Browns into the top five. Of course it will mean a lot more if Cleveland is one of the final four teams playing in the postseason next January.