THE BROWNS ARE BUILDING A JUGGERNAUT - SCORE MEDIA & GAMING INC

Heading into week 7 of the NFL season, the 2,802 snaps played by the Cleveland Browns 2025 and 2026 draft classes was the second most by any team. The only team with more? The Miami Dolphins. One of those teams just picked up their first win of the season on Sunday. The other is 5-2, leading the AFC North seven weeks into the season for the first time since 2014. Like it or not, believe it or no, the Cleveland Browns are building a juggernaut. I know what you're thinking. Ain't no way I'm buying it after a win over the Tennessee Titans. This is the same team that lost to the New York Jets two weeks ago, right? You're right. The thing is, Cleveland thought that their future was, well, their future. But as their future keeps showing out each week, that timeline continues to shrink. So just how good is this youth movement? they actually be playing meaningful games in January? Why on earth am I using the word juggernaut to describe a Deshaun Watson-led football team? We'll dive into all of this, but first, if you enjoy NFL content like this, hit that like button for me. It's the best way to let the guys upstairs know you enjoy hearing from the No Timeouts crew every week. Four and a half years ago, the Cleveland Browns made one of the most debilitating trades in not just NFL, but sports history. acquiring Deshaun Watson amid a myriad of sexual assault lawsuits and a sixth-round pick. In exchange, they gave up their 2022 first and fourth-round selections, their 2023 first and third-round collections, and 2024 first and forth-round elections. Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of his Cleveland career, and everything that's happened since has been about as well-documented as any story in the National Football League the last half-decade. So, instead of telling you the same story you've heard a million different times, let's talk about how that mistake, completely unrelated to Deshaun Watson's play or lack thereof, has made this return to relevance so damn impressive. Following the deal, the next two years Cleveland didn't make a selection until the third round of the draft. In 2024, they made their first selection at pick 54 in the second round. Over that three-year span, they made 22 picks. Only six of those players have played a snap for the Browns in 2026. Just two of them, Isaiah McGuire and Miles Harden, are starters. A 21-30 football team over that three-year span basically had no way to improve their roster. But here we are just two drafts later and Cleveland's talent cupboard couldn't be more full. They're 5-2 with the same quarterback they signed to a crippling $230 million fully guaranteed five-year contract that created the blockade keeping this team from developing new talent. So where do we start to explain it? How about the decision to trade the number two pick in 2025? The reigning Heisman winner was basically considered two players in one. Seemed like a great fit for Cleveland who had a roster much more than one player away from completing a rebuild. Jacksonville certainly saw two players in one pick, but what they didn't expect was for the Browns to turn Hunter into four players and three starters of their own. Mason Graham, the defensive tackle who has started his sophomore season with four sacks in five games. Quinshawn Judkins and Dylan Sampson, the running back duo that became Cleveland's one-two punch in the backfield almost instantly as rookies. But don't forget, not only did the Brown's turn Hunter in to those three picks and eventually players. They also turned their own selections in the 2025 draft into some of the biggest steals of the class. Carson Swessinger, the reigning defensive rookie of the year linebacker, was the first selection of round two. Harold Fannin Jr. entered the draft with his name all over the college football record books, setting the single-season record for a tight end in receptions and receiving yards in his senior year. The Browns nabbed him with their third-round pick, and in return, Fannon gave them 72 receptions, and six touchdowns as a rookie, adding five instant impact players and four starters with seven picks in one draft class is already a job well done from GM Andrew Barry. But he may have done even better with this year's rookie class. Casey Concepcion, the final piece of the Browns-Jags draft day pick swap in 2025, and Denzel Boston were the fourth and seventh wide receivers selected in April. Already that evaluation from the rest of the league looks off base because each of their former college programs, Texas A&M, and Washington are completely lost without their former No. 1 receivers. Not only that, but the only other receiver duo that is featured in the top 25 for yards after the catch this season are Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams. On Sunday, Concepcion joined Odell Beckham Jr. as the only rookie since 2000 to post 8-plus receptions and 125-plus yards in one half. According to the score bet, the Browns have a decent chance to have a rookie of the year winner in back-to-back seasons, which hasn't been done since Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley in 2014 and 15 for the St. Louis Rams. But it's not just the flashy skill position talent. Cleveland made left tackle Spencer Fano this year's ninth overall pick. Then, in the third round, selected Austin Barber, who they've converted from a tackle at Florida to their week one starter at right guard. The duo has combined to allow just two sacks so far this season. Safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was projected to be a potential first-round pick out of Toledo, much like fellow alum Quinion Mitchell. Instead, he turned into an absolute steal for the Browns as the 58th overall pick. He's allowed just three receptions on seven targets this season for 29 yards and three pass breakups. His 89.8 defense grade is the highest of any rookie this season, according to PFF. All five of Cleveland's selections in the first three rounds of this year's draft are significant contributors to an AFC North leading football team. And to think during this two-year time frame, this is the same team that picked three quarterbacks. Dylan Gabriel, Shadur Sanders, and Talon Green feel like throwaway selections at this point. Is the fourth youngest team in football a juggernaut right now? The short answer is likely not with Deshaun Watson. Mind you, his seven passing touchdowns are already his highest in any season he's played for the Browns. Same goes for his 7.1 yards per pass attempt and 64.8% completion percentage. He's also authored five game-winning drives going 21 of 27 for 229 yards and two TDs in those signature moments. But dive deeper and you can see there's no career renaissance coming. His deep ball was his calling card at his peak. This season, he ranks 28th of 35 qualified quarterbacks in adjusted completion percentage on deep ball pass attempts at just 32%. He's also had the third most turnover-worthy plays according to PFF. And yet, Cleveland doesn't need Deshaun Watson to rediscover his Houston form to make the playoffs this season. They've already banked five wins. A 5-5 finish would get them to 10-7, and a 10-win team has never missed the playoffs in the AFC in the 17-game season era. Painting the picture of how they do so with this last place schedule isn't all that hard either. If I gave them wins over the Saints, Raiders, Falcons, Giants, and Colts with losses to the Steelers, Texans, Ravens, and Bengals twice, would you call me crazy? They don't have to suddenly become one of the best teams in football to play meaningful games in January. Although when you have a roster full of starters in their first or second season and a first year head coach, improvement is a pretty reasonable expectation. But here's the part that should have the rest of the AFC paying attention. Cleveland is competing for a playoff spot this season, and it isn't even done using the resources meant to build its future. Because we haven't even talked about the Miles Garrett trade. Trading the best player in franchise history certainly didn't suggest this team expected to be leading its division seven weeks into the season. Even more unlikely when the player they got back in the trade, Jared Verse, has yet to record a sack for them. Now imagine what could happen when Andrew Barry gets another two swings in the first round, thanks to the Rams handing Cleveland a second 2027 first. Maybe that's how the Browns eventually find their long-term answer at quarterback. Maybe they, like Jacksonville in 2025, make it all in trade to move up and get their guy. Either way, they have options, and that's what makes this so different from the last time Cleveland thought it had built a contender. The Watson trade left them waiting years to make another first-round pick. This team could make the playoffs and still make two. So no, the Cleveland Browns aren't a juggernaut yet. But if you're waiting for Deshaun Watson to look like a superstar before taking this roster seriously, you're watching the wrong players. The future is already winning games, and Cleveland hasn't finished adding to it. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, hit that subscribe button and turn on the notifications bell. And don't forget to follow the score on all your social platforms.