Browns season clearly focused on 2026 draft now

 Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

You can argue which team needs the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft more, but the Browns drew closer to it by losing to the New York Jets on a rainy afternoon in MetLife Stadium.

By losing their 13^th consecutive game on the road, the Browns fell to 2-7 on the season. The Jets are 2-7, also, after their second win in a row, but the Browns have a weaker strength-of-schedule, which is the tie-breaker for draft position.

The Browns started the day in the No. 7 draft position. By the end, though, they moved up to No. 4 on the strength of their loss and wins by the Jets (2-7) and Dolphins (3-7). The current top four are Tennessee (1-8), New Orleans (2-8), Giants (2-8) and Browns. New Orleans should be in the QB draft market; Tennessee and the Giants are not.

If you think this Browns season isn’t about the 2026 draft, then you are being delusional.

The trade of Joe Flacco by GM Andrew Berry after the fourth week was an emphatic statement about the direction the organization was pursuing. It left Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff with two rookie quarterbacks drafted in the middle rounds. They are also playing 12 other rookies.

They weren’t the culprits in the loss to the Jets, however.

The Browns scored first on a 95-yard touchdown drive engineered by rookie QB Dillon Gabriel and then were bludgeoned with Jets touchdown returns on consecutive special teams plays – a 99-yard kickoff return by Kene Nwangwu followed by, after a Browns’ three-and-out offensive series, a 74-yard punt return by Isaiah Williams.

They were the second and third touchdown returns given up by Bubba Ventrone’s special teams in nine games.

“It’s unacceptable, really,” said safety Grant Delpit. “I was out there for both of those plays, so it’s not like there wasn’t anyone on defense out there.”

If you’re still keeping track, the Browns can’t make up a deficit for long. So even though they battled to tie the game at 14-14 and 17-17, the uphill battle caught up with them in the fourth quarter.

The play of the game was turned in by New York quarterback Justin Fields and running back Breece Hall – a 42-yard catch-and-run when defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz called an all-out blitz on second-and-17. Fields (6 of 11 for 54 yards, one interception) was awful most of the day, but he managed to release the ball under pressure to Hall and Hall did the rest. He navigated the Browns’ defense to the end zone without being touched.

“Yeah, we were just in cover zero. You all saw the play,” Delpit said.

“It was a perfect play call,” said Fields, who beat the Browns for the first time despite his arduous afternoon.

It was another game in which the Browns played well enough on defense to deserve a win -- except for the Hall play.

The Browns yielded only 12 first downs and 169 yards total offense to the Jets. And even though the Browns won the turnover battle (plus-1), they became the first team in 226 games since 1950 to lose despite holding an opponent to 175 or fewer yards and not committing an offensive turnover. Chalk that up to the two Jets return touchdowns.

A 24-17 deficit with almost a full quarter to go shouldn’t be insurmountable, but you have to understand how difficult it is for a rookie quarterback to win on the road. 

One of Gabriel's worst plays was taking a sack on a fourth-and-1 Stefanski gamble at the Jets' 34 with 10:20 to go. It was Will McDonald's fourth sack of the game.

On the next play, Hall -- him again -- ripped off a 30-yard run, leading to a Nick Folk field goal and 27-17 deficit. 

Gabriel managed to tack on a field goal, thanks to some uncharacteristic keeper runs, but a last chance to pull out the game was submarined by mistakes by non-rookies.

A Devin Bush holding penalty on a Jets’ third-down failure with 1:50 left kept the Jets on the field, and then a mind-numbing neutral zone infraction by Cam Thomas with the Jets in punt formation ended the proceedings. Finding a way to lose has become par for the course as the Browns lost for the 21st time in 26 games.

“We win as a team, we lose as a team,” said Stefanski.

The silver lining of this Browns’ defeat was the nominal improvement in Gabriel under the direction of new play-caller Tommy Rees.

Gabriel (17 of 32 for 167 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) had his bad moments of wayward passes. He also took six sacks. But he and the offense seemed energized by Rees’ aggressive play-calling and the effort to get the ball to Jerry Jeudy (6 of 12 targets for 78 yards and his first TD). 

"Yes [it was a point of emphasis]," said Stefanski, "and it should be an emphasis every week, really."

Gabriel also was receptive to using his legs to make plays (five runs for 54 yards) and that helped on the last field goal drive.

Gabriel’s touchdown throws to David Njoku and Jeudy were on play-action passes from under center. Rees also created throwing lanes by moving Gabriel out of the pocket on occasion.

“It's versatility,” said Gabriel, who appeared pleased with his improvement. “And you want to have that, you want to move launch points, you want to keep the defense off balance. It helps the run, it helps the O-line, it helps me, it helps everyone involved. But I think that, in general, it helped us throughout the day.”

Stefanski said Gabriel would remain the starting quarterback for the next game against the surging Ravens at home.

Jeudy, for one, was pleased.

“I think Dillon’s confidence is growing each game,” he said. “All a quarterback needs is opportunity and consistency. So him being out there and getting more reps builds his confidence. I see him growing each week. The more we work together the more chemistry we have.”

With eight games left, Shedeur Sanders will get his opportunity to play. But Gabriel’s improved game forestalled Sanders' inevitable season debut for another week, at least.