Three rookies the Browns will need to rely on in 2026

The regular season is here, and for many NFL teams, that means hope springs eternal. After all, in the NFL, you can easily turn around your team's fortune with just one good, if not great, offseason. Every one of the 32 teams can find that kind of success. Except, it seems, for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns are once again looking down the prospect of yet another losing season. It's very likely, especially with the quarterback position being up in the air. All is not lost, however. The Browns may be able to find some life, especially with what looks to be a solid rookie draft class.

However, after watching the preseason practices and games, it's clear the Browns are going to need certain guys to step up more than others. Here are three players that the Browns need to step up as rookies.

This one could go for all of the rookie offensive linemen the Browns drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft: Spencer Fano, Austin Barber and Parker Brailsford. The Browns' offensive line in 2025 was atrocious. To rebound from that, the they will need their rookie o-linemen to step up, none more than Fano. The left tackle will need to keep the quarterback upright, something the last first-round left tackle, Jedrick Wills, failed to do. Fano needs to cement himself as a stud early, especially if the hope is to compete with this roster.

Just like with Fano, the goal of this selection is to see improved play from the quarterback position. Fano is the one who'll block for the QB, while Concepcion is the one who will track down passes and help advance the ball. Much like with Fano, it's not really Concepcion we're hoping for big things from, but either of the rookie wide receivers, Concepcion or Denzel Boston. It's not important which of the two rookies makes the big splashy plays, just that one of them does. Considering Concepcion is the first-round pick, and the Browns' history under Andrew Berry of drafting wide receivers, it seems imperative that Concepcion is a hit. Browns GM Andrew Berry can't afford another bust at that position.

Joe Royer, the former tight end out of Cincinnati, would have been expected to fill this role, but he's out of commission due to a "non-football illness". So now the Browns are leaning on Blake Whiteheart and rookie Carsen Ryan to back up Harold Fannin Jr. The Browns are likely to run a lot of two-tight-end sets, and depth at the position remains important for this version of the squad. Someone like Ryan could end up finding himself to be very valuable to the Browns as a versatile, catch-all type of tight end.