After winning their last game of the 2025 NFL season, a Week 17 game against the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns finished 4-12 on the year. This victory changes their draft positioning outlooks heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. Entering that last game, their odds of getting the No. 1 overall pick were 24.2%. They faced a robust 88% chance of getting a top-five pick. Their new success has raised their political odds. Now, they’ve got a 55% likelihood of landing a top-five pick, per ESPN Analytics.
The Browns have had a rough go this season with the NFL’s worst quarterback rating at 24.7 and three different QB1s on the season. Yet, they are undaunted in their desire to cultivate a competitive spirit. The team signed quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round. Their goal is to set themselves up for a long-term future at quarterback with these selections. They came into training camp with a wide open competition that included veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
Myles Garrett, one of Cleveland’s defensive anchors, said that he would never stop competing regardless of the record and this set the stage for what was to come. He stated, “No one signed up to lose. No one signed up to lose at all.” Garrett emphasized that players are driven to win every game, stating, “So I don’t care what the situation is with the record…I’ll be damned if I’m just going to go out there and lay down to another team just because we want some more draft picks.”
Veteran offensive lineman Joel Bitonio agreed with Garrett’s sentiment. It struck a nice balance between addressing fans’ concerns about the future direction, yet doubling down on players’ commitment to owners’ craftsmanship. “I’ll tell you what, I do not blame the fans for thinking about the future,” Bitonio said. He added, “As players in this locker room…you have to put your best foot forward when you go out there.”
That’s going to be big for morale in that locker room after a great win by the Browns against the Titans. For one, it underscores a core part of their identity as a team. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski remarked on this resilience: “The win is just the Cleveland Browns’ DNA.” This quote sums up the team’s determination to create a winning culture in the midst of their struggles.
Moving forward to the upcoming draft, there are still unknowns for the Cleveland Browns and how they’ll be using their future roster. The team’s strategic choices and player development will be critical in shaping its trajectory moving forward. Though with a slight outside chance of landing a top-three pick, they too continue to prioritize on-court play into growing their young foundational core.
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