Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 1.
The roster is better, but how much better will they be? Is 2019 their season to make a playoff push?
Baker Mayfield appears to be the genuine article. He might be a rare talent, but surely was the rare important player to participate in Week 4 of the preseason, which generally features guys who could be working at a Renaissance Festival next month. On that note, the first-string defense looked to be as strong as those groups that helped Cleveland to three conference championship games in the late 1980s. Positive vibes aside, can’t go higher than 30 on a team that has lost 31 games the last two years. Not until they win one, anyway.
Josh Gordon could lead the NFL in receiving yards. He could have another absence, another suspension or some other off-field issue. I hope Gordon has a great career from here forward, but I’m not sure how you can predict what will happen.
A new-look passing attack highlighted by the addition of
Baker MayfieldTyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry and hopefully a full year of Josh Gordon pushes our predicted win total to slightly over 6.
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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| Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers | |
| CBS Sports | 14 | 29 | 15 | 8 |
| SB Nation | 19 | 28 | 17 | 6 |
| NFL.com | 21 | 30 | 16 | 7 |
| MMQB | 25 | 30 | 22 | 9 |
| Yahoo Sports | 22 | 32 | 13 | 8 |
| Pro Football Focus | 21 | 32 | 14 | 5 |
| Associated Press | 24 | 31 | 14 | 5 |
| Average | 20.9 | 30.3 | 15.9 | 6.9 |