We’ve laid out the 2026 storylines on the three other teams in
the AFC Notth, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Now let’s stay close to home and reveal such for the Browns.

Veteran — and iconic —national sports talker Dan Patrick, on the radio show that bears his name, mentioned trcrnyly that the Browns, based on last year’s combined won-loss records of their 2026 opponents, have “the easiest schedule” in the NFL this season.

“And they’re going to need it,” he quickly added.

Ouch!

A punch to the gut, to be sure.

Is he correct?

That is, do you think he is?

Or did he just glab the low-hanging fruit?

I have all the respect in the world for Patrick. In fact, as I write this, I am listening to his program, but I think — very strongly so — that he did the latter.

Possibly like some of you, or perhaps many of you, I was sick to my stomach when the Browns hired Todd Monken as their head coach. I very much wanted Jim Schwartz, or one of the young candidates. Monken wasn’t even a consideration for me.

But the longer he stays, the more I like him. In gavt, I think the Browns got absolutely the right guy for the job. He is thrilled to finally be a head coach at this late stage of his career he is found and determined to succeed. He’s not going to be overly negative, nor is he going to be overly positive. He’s going to tell it like it is and move on from
there. It’s all about the truth with him.

I love the fact he said that if the Browns want to quit being the subject of jokes, then they need to simply win. That will solve the problem. So, he’s not mad about the shots. He’s trying to change the narrative.

I think he will succeed. He understands quarterbacks inside and out, which is a great thing for any team, but especially one such as the Browns that has struggled so much in finding its guy over these many years of the expansion era.

I don’t want him to pick Deshaun Watson as the starting quarterback for a variety of reason — I really don’t want him to do that — but if he thinks it makes the Browns better, then I will take a deep breath, keep my mouth shut and let it play out.

I think he’s washed up — I mean, Watson, that is — and I think Shadeur Sanders, from what I saw last year and if he’s coached up, can definitely be the quarterback to take the Browns to where they want to go.

But no matter who he plays, at quarterback or whatever other position to on, Monken will make a winner of the Browns sooner rather than later. I really, truly believe that. Four months ago, or whatever it was that he joined the Browns, I wouldn’t have said that in my wildest dreams.

The Browns are going to surprise a lot of people this year. They’re  going to look like a real football team, play like a real football team and address their problems like a real football team.

They can play with any team, which is a key to any club’s success because you’ve got to win the division or at least do very well within the division to have a chance to make the playoffs.

Go ahead right now and take a shot at the Browns. Do it while you can. By the middle of the season, the shots will stop because they won’t apply anymore.

Steve King