Heading into the ever-so-exciting bye week, fans actually have something to cheer for this weekend still: the Cleveland Indians. I'll be rooting for the Tribe to take down the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 tonight at Fenway Park.
With the bye week here, I felt it was an appropriate time to rank the Browns players this year. The rankings are based on a few variables, including personal preference, this season's performance, and injuries. Let me know which rankings you agree and/or disagree with.
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| Rank | Player | Comment |
| 1 | Braylon Edwards | Edwards has silenced all of his critics, becoming the third overall pick the Browns were expecting. |
| 2 | Derek Anderson | After taking over the starting role in Week 2, Anderson has single-handedly convinced fans to want to wait on Brady Quinn. |
| 3 | Kellen Winslow | Playing through injuries again, Winslow is again among the league leaders in yardage among tight ends. |
| 4 | Eric Steinbach | Shaking off an injury in the preseason, Steinbach's presence can be expressed by the Browns' success and the Bengals' struggles. |
| 5 | Joe Thomas | The Browns would have regretted passing up Thomas with the third overall pick. No concerns about the most important position on the line. |
| 6 | Joshua Cribbs | His electric kick returns compensate for the defense's constant misfortunes. |
| 7 | Kevin Shaffer | Despite having Ryan Tucker cutting into his time, Shaffer's adjustment to right tackle has been fairly unobstructive. |
| 8 | Leigh Bodden | The first defensive player to crack the list, most of the plays Bodden gives up stems from a lack of pressure. Leads team with three picks. |
| 9 | Joe Jurevicius | Anderson must have studied how the Seattle Seahawks used Jurevicius back in their Super Bowl season. |
| 10 | Antwaan Peek | He's tipped balls, pressured quarterbacks, and made open-field tackles. Unfortunately, he can't do it all himself. |
| 11 | Hank Fraley | Anchoring the middle of the line, I don't even recall one penalty or blown play by the veteran center this season. |
| 12 | Seth McKinney | Although I consider him the "weak link" of the offensive line, that doesn't mean he hasn't held up his position well. |
| 13 | Jamal Lewis | Injuries have held him back; a 5.0 average is something to look forward to after the bye. |
| 14 | Kamerion Wimbley | He's on pace to get a fair amount of sacks still, but when will he contribute in stopping the run too? |
| 15 | Phil Dawson | Consistently making field goals, but don't his kickoffs seem shorter than the first half of last year? |
| 16 | D'Qwell Jackson | Leading the team in tackles, Jackson is starting to tackle better over the past few games. |
| 17 | Lawrence Vickers | Besides blocking well, his past few short-yardage attempts have resulted in first downs. |
| 18 | Robaire Smith | By far our best defensive linemen, but he's meant to make his impact with better linemen around him. |
| 19 | Eric Wright | Second on the team in tackles, Wright's coverage has progressively been getting tighter. |
| 20 | Jason Wright | We needing a running back to fill in if Lewis got hurt, and Wright did a fundamentally sound job overall. |
| 21 | Daven Holly | If the Browns could get pressure, Holly would probably lead our team in interceptions. |
| 22 | Willie McGinest | He has only just returned, but McGinest gives the Browns the flexibility of more rotations at outside linebacker. |
| 23 | Ryan Tucker | Also just returning, Tucker provides the Browns with one of the better backup guards/tackles in the NFL. |
| 24 | Leon Williams | He's been all over the field, but I'm still looking for tackles in the backfield rather than up the field. |
| 25 | Dave Zastudil | Barring his last game, we all know what Zastudil is capable of doing. |
| 26 | Ryan Pontbriand | Ranking the long snapper is hard to do, so I just slapped him a little below the middle of the pack. |
| 27 | Sean Jones | Without question, Jones is my disappointment of the year. He has been overmatched by too many below average tight ends. |
| 28 | Brodney Pool | I expected Pool to struggle, which is why I regret Brian Russell being let go and Gary Baxter not being ready to return. |
| 29 | Jerome Harrison | After just one game, Harrison showed the production he's capable of to change the pace of the ground game. |
| 30 | Tim Carter | He made a few nice grabs against New England, but I won't forget all of his drops prior to that. |
| 31 | Andra Davis | *Yawn* |
| 32 | Chaun Thompson | Why the Browns don't bring Thompson in the game to blitz more often is beyond me. I'd like to see him replace Davis inside at times. |
| 33 | Darnell Dinkins | Special teams is his game -- notice Ginn almost had a TD return when he wasn't in the game due to injury? |
| 34 | Lennie Friedman | After filling in relatively well during the preseason, I'm still confident in him being able to step in if needed. |
| 35 | Steve Heiden | This isn't a diss towards Heiden -- he's just not as important to our gameplan as he used to be. |
| 36 | Orpheus Roye | Wishing for a healthy Orpheus Roye is like wishing for Joey Harrington to be an NFL quarterback. |
| 37 | Shaun Smith | Youth, youth, youth. His hype from training camp really hasn't panned out much. |
| 38 | Ethan Kelley | He's started a few games over Ted Washington. I didn't really notice. |
| 39 | Ted Washington | He's been benched a few games to start off. Can we please get a nose tackle next year? |
| 40 | Simon Fraser | I wouldn't be too surprised if Fraser gets waived at some point to see what Melila Purcell or Chase Pittman can do. |
| 41 | Kenny Wright | At least we're not forced to play him as much as we did Ralph Brown last season. |
| 42 | Kris Griffin | Another case where it's hard to rank a special teams linebacker. |
| 43 | David McMillan | As good as he looks at linebacker in the preseason, we never actually play him during games. |
| 44 | Brandon McDonald | I almost forgot he was on the roster. I didn't even know he made his first two tackles of the season this past week. |
| 45 | Nat Dorsey | He's only kept around because he's "capable" of playing left tackle if needed. |
| 46 | Charles Ali | I haven't heard his name called once, even on special teams. |
| 47 | Mike Adams | As bad as Pool and Jones have played, Adams seems to give up a touchdown every time he's in the game. |
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| Rank | Player | Comment |
| NA | Brady Quinn | It's not out of the question that Quinn not only sits this year, but the following year. |
| NA | Ken Dorsey | Having Dorsey on the roster as a mentor is certainly better than keeping Frye around. |
| NA | Isaac Sowells | He'll remain inactive unless the Browns take some blows at the guard positions. |
| NA | Travis Wilson | How much longer will the Browns keep him on the sideline? Is Carter really that much better than him? |
| NA | Gary Baxter | I still anxiously await Baxter's return to the field. |
| NA | LeCharles Bentley | After what the offensive line has done, I'm not so anxious about Bentley. |
| NA | Louis Leonard | Mulligan all-around. |