Sportsbooks Show Little Faith in Browns After Full 2026 Schedule Reveal

Cleveland may be ushering a new era under head coach Todd Monken, but betting lines point to same old Browns' results.

Aug 3, 2023; Canton, Ohio, USA; A Cleveland Browns helmet with Oakley visor on the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL regular season might still be a little less than four months away, but some sportsbooks don’t seem too optimistic about the Cleveland Browns’ chances under new head coach Todd Monken.

As a matter of fact, one online betting house has the Browns favored in just two of their 17 regular season games for this year. 

Right after the NFL announced its full 2026 regular season schedule, DraftKings went live with odds for every one of the 272 games over all 18 weeks. The Browns appear as underdogs in 15 of them.

According to DK's betting lines, the Browns are only favored to win their Week 12 contest (-2.5) against the Las Vegas Raiders, coming off a bye week, and their Week 14 tilt (-1.5) against the Atlanta Falcons, both at home. Cleveland appears as the betting underdog in all other 15 matchups.

Week	Game	Spread	Total	Venue
1	@ Jaguars	-7.0 JAC	40.5	EverBank Stadium
2	@ Buccaneers	-5.5 TB	41.5	Raymond James Stadium
3	Panthers	-1.5 CAR	39.5	Huntington Bank Field
4	Steelers	-2.5 PIT	40.5	Huntington Bank Field
5	@ Jets	-1.5 NYJ	39.5	MetLife Stadium
6	Ravens	-6.5 BAL	44.5	Huntington Bank Field
7	@ Titans	-2.5 TEN	40.5	Nissan Stadium
8	@ Steelers	-5.5 PIT	39.5	Acrisure Stadium
9	@ Saints	-3.5 NO	41.5	Caesars Superdome
10	Texans	-4.5 HOU	38.5	Huntington Bank Field
11	BYE	BYE	BYE	BYE
12	Raiders	-2.5 CLE	39.5	Huntington Bank Field
13	Bengals	-4.5 CIN	45.5	Huntington Bank Field
14	Falcons	-1.5 CLE	40.5	Huntington Bank Field
15	@ Giants	-4.5 NYG	40.5	MetLife Stadium
16	@ Ravens	-9.5 BAL	43.5	M&T Bank Stadium
17	Colts	-1.5 IND	43.5	Huntington Bank Field
18	@ Bengals	-7.5 CIN	43.5	Paycor Stadium

While the same sportsbook has the Browns season win total set at 6.5 with the over paying +105 and the under paying -125 -- meaning a few underdog wins are also expected -- the Browns’ odds at making the playoffs are at -550 for no and +475 to yes.

To make things worse, the Browns have the longest odds, by far, to take the AFC North, standing between +1600 and +1800 at most online betting sites.

Which other bets are available regarding the Browns?

As far as Browns players are concerned, superstar defensive end Myles Garrett is really the name to follow here. Garrett is the favorite to take another Defensive Player of the Year Award (+500), with Micah Parsons (+750), Maxx Crosby (+750), Will Anderson Jr. (+800) and Aidan Hutchinson (+850) not too far behind.

FanDuel has some faith in Deshaun Watson at +2000 to become this year’s Comeback Player of the Year, but that’s really an outlier, as other betting sites have him further behind between the +6000 and +6600 range.

In terms of Defensive Rookie of the Year, which was taken last year by Browns’ linebacker Carson Schwesinger, second-rounder Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is the player with the best odds on Cleveland’s roster to achieve this recognition, at +4000, with a dozen or so players showing shorter odds.

As far as Offensive Rookie of the Year goes, wideouts KC Concepcion (+3000) and Denzel Boston (+3500) are fringe Top-10 candidates. This is more or less the same range where Todd Monken’s odds (+2200) place him in the race for Coach of the Year.

The Browns’ player with the shortest odds to take home the Most Valuable Player Award is quarterback Garrett at (+25000). After him, Shedeur Sanders stands at (+30000), which puts him in the same ballpark as Joe Flacco and Tua Tagovailoa. Watson’s odds are much longer, at (+50000), putting him in line with the likes of Trey Lance and Jacoby Brissett.

Cleveland’s quarterback competition could be an interesting wager, with Kalshi showing Watson as the current favorite at -194, followed by Sanders at +156.

It's important to remember that betting lines are very fluid, especially considering how far out from the beginning of the regular season we still are. However, optimism doesn't seem too high for the Browns in 2026, despite the fact that several calendar quirks seem to smoothen out the road ahead.

In any case, it’s important to remember that turning a franchise around takes time, and the Browns still have lingering questions at the most important position in all of sports. Making a 180° in Monken’s first year with this quarterback room would certainly qualify as shocking.

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
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