Browns: 2025 Benchmarks in Review
Before the 2025 season kicked off, I came up with 17 ways to evaluate the performance of a team in transition. Now, we take a look at how those many of those goals were met.
As anticipated, the 2025 Browns were a tough watch for the most part. The quarterback situation was bleak, the offensive line struggled, special teams were a wreck, and the year was capped with a coaching change. Still, there were some things to feel optimistic about. The Brows defense was among the best in the league behind another superstar season from Myles Garrett. The rookie class made huge contributions. A few veterans cemented themselves as 2026 starters.
Before the season, I tried to come up with some ways that success or failure in 2025 could be fleshed out beyond wins and losses. My original piece can be viewed at the link below, but I’ll restate all 17 goals as I run through them.
Overall, the win-loss record again my benchmarks is probably a little too rosy. The Browns hit 11 of their benchmarks and failed on 6. Like an actual game, some of these were outright wins, some were wins that felt like losses, one was a loss that felt like a win, and a couple were down right embarrassments.
1) A Pair of Breakouts
Benchmark: Two players finish the season with a 70th percentile PFF grade for the first time in their career (must be among players who make up 80% of snaps at their position)
This one felt like a clear win. Edge rusher Alex Wright was graded in the 80th percentile during a year where he signed a three-year extension and defensive lineman Maliek Collins clocked in with a shortened season also in the 80th percentile, besting his previous best of 53rd percentile in 2022. Rookies Carson Schwesinger (79th percentile) & Mason Graham (66th percentile) posted strong grades as well. Ronnie Hickman was graded in the 68th percentile in his first full season as a starter at free safety. Expect to see all five of these players return to play key roles on the 2026 defense after breakthrough performances in 2025.
Outcome: WIN
2) Young RBs: Effective Early
Benchmark: Rookie RBs combine for positive Rushing Yards Over Expected (NFL Pro model)
Quinshon Judkins joined the team starting in Week 2 and immediately settled in as the go-to rusher for this team. After being knocked out with knee injury in Week 16, he finished the year with +69 rushing yards over expected. Undersized rookie teammate Dylan Sampson wasn’t able to demonstrate similar success. Sampson had some nice flashes when he could get in space, but was mostly ineffective on designed rushes, capping the year with -46 rushing yards over expected. I hope to see Sampson carve out a role under the new coaching staff, but seeing Judkins succeed is something to feel good about.
Outcome: WIN
3) Young QBs: Back(ups) to the Future
Benchmark: Rookie QBs record positive Expected Points Added on QB plays in at least two full games (nflfastR model)
This one was really close. Dillon Gabriel logged two games with positive EPA (Week 7 vs Miami & Week 10 vs the Jets) and Shedeur Sanders added two more (Week 12 vs Vegas & Week 14 vs Tennessee). None of these games were particularly impressive and I’m not sure they provided definitive proof that either of these two will be capable backup QBs down the road.
Outcome: WIN
4) Young DTs: Establish Presence
Benchmark: Graham + Hall combine for 60 pressures and stops (PFF charting)
Similar to Benchmark #2 on the rookie running backs, one player carried the load here. Mason Graham played a ton of football this year and compiled 36 pressures to go with 32 run stops. I felt that Graham made solid improvements as the season went on and is well positioned to make a big jump in his second season, which is enough to feel like this “win” is deserved.
It was a different story for 2024 second round pick Michael Hall. Hall began the year on the active roster, but would still go on to miss the first seven games due to the injury that he suffered in the 2024 finale. When Hall returned, he mostly played at the back end of the rotation and didn’t show any real flashes. Hall’s 2026 roster spot is likely not a lock.
Outcome: WIN
5) Schwesinger: Minimize Mistakes
Benchmark: Allow a first down reception or miss a tackle on <4% of defensive snaps (PFF)
Schwesinger’s season got off to a hot start when he played nearly every snap in the first four weeks while missing just two tackles and allowing only one first down reception in coverage. He came back to earth for the remainder of the season, but still was only charted with 21 first down receptions allowed and 17 missed tackles on a whopping 958 snaps, which is right about what should be expected from a starting linebacker.
Outcome: WIN
6) Jones: The Solution at LT
Benchmark: Play 10 full games at left tackle, end the season with a PFF grade above 70 (~40th percentile)
This one is by far the most painful loss. Dawand Jones started the first two games at left tackle, but rotated out a couple times during the second game. PFF graded Jones poorly in both of those games. In Week 3, Jones unexpectedly started at right tackle, but suffered a season-ending injury on the fourth play. He expects to return for OTAs next spring, but he is simply not a player that can be counted on for the Browns future plans. The team now faces an uphill climb to find a pair of capable offensive tackles for next season.
Outcome: LOSS
7) Tillman: Continued Development
Benchmark: Make 40 first down receptions (includes touchdowns)
Receivers with deeper route trees like Tillman are often the players who see their production affected most by young quarterbacks that can’t get through their progressions cleanly. Even without his four game stint on IR, Tillman, who made 13 first down catches in 2025, wasn’t likely to come even close to hitting his goal here. Poor QB play aside, Tillman failed to cement himself as a long-term answer in the WR room. He’ll have prove he belongs in the final year of his rookie deal in 2026.
Outcome: LOSS
8) Garrett: Remain Dominant
Benchmark: Record 95 pass rush wins (PFF charting)
Not much that needs to be said about this one. The newly crowned single-season sack record holder was charted with 118 pass rush wins. Myles Garrett remains at the peak of his powers heading into 2026.
Outcome: WIN
9) Ward: Stay Healthy & Avoid a Cliff
Benchmark: Play 80% of snaps in at least 9 games and allow a first down catch on less than 5% of coverage snaps
Truth be told, I don’t really feel great about this one even though Ward delivered on both conditions. While I try not to buy into the “injury prone” label, Ward always seems to find himself dealing with something. This season, Ward missed Week 15 & 16 with a calf injury and exited three other games early with injuries. Ward was listed on the injury report in Weeks 1-4 with a shoulder injury, but played through it. He was also listed multiple times with a hip injury that did not affect his availability. When Ward did play, he was fine. Ward was credited with a career low 4 pass breakups. Relevant to the goal I set him, Denzel Ward allowed 19 first down receptions on 452 coverage snaps. It was a good enough year, but one that makes me wonder if he’s approaching more serious age regression.
Outcome: WIN
10) Jeudy: Keep Getting Open
Benchmark: Earn 17 targets at least 10 yards downfield with 3+ yards of separation (NFL Pro tracking)
Jerry Jeudy was targeted 16 times in the situation outlined above in 2025, just one target short of his goal. In ESPN’s WR Open Score, Jeudy ranked 65th out of 106 WRs, a step back from his strong performance in 2024. His bigger problem this year was an inability to convert at the catch point. Jeudy caught just 49% of his targets and PFF charted him with 9 drops. Given that he’s due to earn a relatively low $13.5m next year, his starting role should be plenty safe in 2026.
Outcome: LOSS
11) Collins: Apply Pressure
Benchmark: Record 40 QB pressures (PFF charting)
This is probably the “loss” that feels the most like a win. Collins season ended midway through his 12th game, but he still delivered 28 pressures, which would have been right on pace for the target I set out for him. Notably, Collins recorded 6.5 sacks, a career-high. He’s going to be a great piece to bring back in 2026.
Outcome: LOSS
12) Make it to 3:15pm
Benchmark: Lead or trail by less than 7 at the start of the 4th quarter in 10 games
In the eight games before the Browns Week 9 bye, they trailed by more than a touchdown five times. After the bye, we saw a little more fight. The Browns were tied or held the lead in five of their last nine games and were trailing by seven or less in two other games. It would have been nice to closer games earlier on!
Outcome: WIN
13) A Few Moments of Relevancy
Benchmark: Win at least 3 games against the AFC North, NFC North, and Buffalo
This is a hard one to square as a true “win”. The Browns Week 3 win against Green Bay took some lucky bounces, although it was a true moment of relevancy in that it was an early sign of how good this defense could become. The team sealed the deal on this benchmark with back-to-back season-ending wins over Pittsburgh & Cincinnati. While it does feel good to beat AFC North rivals, particularly the Steelers who were trying to clinch a division title, losses in these two games would have handed the Browns the top overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Outcome: WIN
14) Keep it Respectable
Benchmark: Finish the year with a point differential better than -85
The Browns finished the season with a point differential of -100, 16 points from the target I set for them. This number feels like an accurate reflection of how much the team struggled in 2026. The Cardinals (-133), Raiders (-191), Titans (-194), and Jets (-203) each had worse point differentials.
Outcome: LOSS
15) Jaguar Watch
Benchmark: Jacksonville loses 10 games
2025 was a tremendous season for Jacksonville. The first round pick awarded from the Travis Hunter trade is still very valuable, just not as valuable as expected at the time of the trade. If the Jaguars lose their playoff opener, the pick will resolve to the 23rd or 24th pick.
Outcome: LOSS
16) Stay Out of the News
Benchmark: No arrests (or speeding tickets)
No news is good news here. The focus remained on football for the entirety of the season in Cleveland. Hoping to see the Browns extend their hot streak of citizenry deep into the offseason.
Outcome: WIN
17) No More Deshaun Watson
Benchmark: Watson does not appear on 48-man gameday roster in any game
Watson spent most of the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list. His 21-day practice window was opened in early December, but despite questions at QB, Watson’s window closed prior to the Browns Week 17 game against the Steelers without being activated. As of this writing, there are still questions about cap relief the Browns may receive from insurance for Watson missing the full season. Either way, there is no indication that Watson will under serious consideration to play in 2026, but I would expect him to remain on the roster until March 2027 when his final dead cap hit can be absorbed in the 2027 & 2028 seasons.
Outcome: WIN