The Cleveland Browns' future feels very up in the air.
They don't have a clear quarterback to lead them into a new era. And although they had a promising draft this season, it doesn't guarantee future success.
Likely, there's still a lot of building to be done on the shores of Lake Erie.
ESPN's Seth Walder thinks that rebuild will send away almost every offensive starter, including Jerry Jeudy in a trade, by 2027. He writes that only Dawand Jones will still be around that season among the returning standouts currently on the roster.
"The only Browns offensive starter from this list still in a starting role for the team at the start of the 2027 season will be tackle Dawand Jones," Walder writes. "Otherwise, we'll see a complete turnover as the offensive line ages out and the team looks for a new quarterback and at some point trades wide receiver Jerry Jeudy."
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That also implies none of the quarterbacks currently on the roster ever break through. Rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, along with Kenny Pickett, all could still be around in a couple years. But Walder suggests none of them will be starting.
It's likely that the Browns try to get their QB of the future in the 2026 NFL Draft. They have their own first-round selection and that of the Jacksonville Jaguars, acquired in the Travis Hunter trade. Those together should put Cleveland in position to angle for any quarterback somewhere in the top 10, even if a trade of those two picks is needed to move right up to the top.
If Jeudy is gone by then, hopefully the Browns will have also drafted well at wideout to give a solid welcome to the new quarterback.
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They might have their tight end of the future in Harold Fannin Jr., a Canton native who was a collegiate star at Bowling Green. He'll learn behind David Njoku for now.
It's a long way to go for the Browns. Their fans are used to it, at least.
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