Updated Cleveland Browns' 53-Man Roster Projection After Preseason Opener

Well, that wasn’t great.

The Cleveland Browns debuted in the 2026 preseason with a resounding loss on the road by a score of 34-10 against the Chicago Bears, in the first football game of the Todd Monken era.

Sure, these games don’t impact the standings, but they do count. They count for every player trying to make the 53-man roster, and they count for every coach trying to get players to buy in whatever they’re teaching.

Let’s take a look at how the Browns’ depth chart could look like when it goes down to 53, after Saturday’s sub-standard effort:

Quarterbacks

Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Taylen Green

Watson had the best game among passers, but not by much. He completed 11 out of 15 attempts for 126 yards, none of his passes travelling over 10 air yards, and turned the ball over on a sack-fumble.

Meanwhile, Sanders again looked a bit slow getting rid of the ball, and he threw a pick where he had an open receiver but just couldn’t layer the ball properly, going 6 for 11 for 79 yards. Dillon Gabriel threw an even worse looking pick to an area without any Browns receiver in the vicinity, as part of a 5 for 8 showing that netted just 23 passing yards.

Probably, no movement here at the top, with a sense Watson is being favored by the coaching staff to start Week 1, but hard to root for Gabriel sticking at this point.

Running backs

Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders

Ahmani Marshall and Davon Booth received a nice number of targets, and Marshall even made two tackles on the day. In the end, it looks like the order is set at the top with Judkins followed by Sampson, who ripped off a good looking 43 yard gain on a screen pass.

Wide receivers

Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Isaiah Bond, Luke Floriea, Tylan Wallace, Gage Larvadain

Browns fans have a lot to get excited about rookies Concepcion and Boston, with the former providing the teams only touchdown of the game via the ground game, plus some action in the return game. Bond has been looking consistently good, while Floriea has also been turning heads including a 35-yard catch today. He looks like the wildcard here.

Tight ends

Harold Fannin Jr., Blake Whiteheart, Jack Stoll, Carsen Ryan

Fannin is secure at the top, and he’ll possibly be followed by Blakeheart, who got a lot of reps in Chicago today. This group has a lot of bodies, but the quality of depth behind Fannin could become an issue.

Offensive line

Tytus Howard, Spencer Fano, Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins, Teven Jenkins, Dawand Jones, KT Leveston, Austin Barber, Parker Brailsfield

Starting five looks set for now, with Elgton Jenkins handling the center and Teven Jenkins at right guard. Dawand Jones and KT Leveston look like the top backups for now. Wypler might suddenly find himself on the outside looking in at center, though. Jeremiah Byers and Kingsley Eguakun received a lot of work alongside Jones and Leveston versus the Bears, with uneven performances.

Defensive line

Jared Verse, Mason Graham, Maliek Collins, Alex Wright, Julian Okwara, Mike Hall Jr., Kalia Davis, Khordae Sydnor, Spencer Fano, Adin Huntington

UDFA Fano and Sydnor received a notoriously high amount of reps versus Chicago, with the latter being noticeably active. Again, this is an area with a lot of bodies but a lot of questions regarding quality of depth, as well. Expect the Browns to keep making moves here over the next few days.

Linebackers

Carson Schwesinger, Quincy Williams, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Justin Jefferson, Winston Reid

Reid, Jefferson and Watson played a ton of snaps against the Bears, and for the most part, got pushed around a bit by the Bears second and third stringers. To be honest, they didn’t get too much help up front, either.

Defensive backs

Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell, Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Myles Harden, Christopher Edmonds, D’Angelo Ross, Michael Coates Jr.

Edmonds led the team in tackles, but that’s not saying he looked particularly good. UDFA Coates came away with a pick but had to leave the game due to injury, which is a situation worth being monitored. The backend, and all the defense in general, gave up a lot of plays to the second and third-stringers during the second half of the game.

Special Teams

Andre Szmyt, Corey Bojorquez, Rex Sunahara

No real changes here.

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