Last week, Gil Brandt of NFL.com posted power rankings before teams begin training camp in about a month. It does not look like Cleveland will be getting very many favorable reviews from people in the media who are not named "Warren Sapp." While Brandt has the Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals ranked 8th, 9th, and 15th, respectively, he has the Cleveland Browns in the basement at No. 30 overall. The only teams ranked worse than Cleveland are the Colts and Jaguars.
After Indianapolis and Washington, Cleveland is the next most likely team to start 2012 with a rookie quarterback behind center. The key to Brandon Weeden's success in the passing game is receiver Greg Little, who showed flashes as a rookie last season. Rookie running back Trent Richardson will also make an instant impact on the offense. They have some nice young talent on defense, but Phil Taylor's torn pectoral muscle really hurts.
The review itself does not go into detail as to why Cleveland is ranked so low; in fact, the Ravens and Steelers probably have more negatively-toned write-ups with the number of key players they have injured or aging. Taylor's torn pectoral muscle will hurt Cleveland, but other teams have found late-round gems at defensive tackle; maybe the Browns will get the same fortune with Hughes or Winn.