Let’s call it like it is: the Cleveland Browns are a dumpster fire of an NFL franchise. While they technically have had more recent success than the New York Jets, but not by much, the Browns have long been the NFL’s most cursed team. The Jets made it to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and, at the very least, have a Super Bowl title in their trophy room. The Browns? They have Myles Garrett and a two-time Coach of the Year in Kevin Stefanksi. That about sums up their accolades for the past two decades.
While Cleveland had a sliver of hope heading into the 2025 NFL season, thanks to a solid rookie class and a top 10 defense, that small sliver closed up almost immediately. The Browns traded away Joe Flacco, who’s thriving in Cincinnati, have one of the worst offenses in the NFL, and are dealing with arguably the worst cap situations we’ve seen in quite some time.
While it won’t bring any solace to Browns fans, we decided it would be quite the undertaking to attempt to rebuild Cleveland into Super Bowl contenders in Madden 26.
How The Cleveland Browns Can Win The Super Bowl In Madden 26
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Deshaun Watson. It has already gone down as perhaps the single worst contract in sports history, and that dubious title will continue to haunt the Browns until Watson’s guaranteed money is fully off the books. The contract might look a tiny bit better if Watson were actually on the field, but he’s been mysteriously injured for the better part of three years.
Your first job as the GM/owner of the Browns in Madden 26 would be to unload Watson’s contract in any way you can. This almost certainly means eating a majority of the guaranteed money attached to the contract, but until Watson is free and clear of Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland will have a difficult time reaching contender status in the NFL.
The best way to get rid of Watson would be to trade him to a quarterback-needy team or another team that is also looking to offload a bad contract. In our eyes, the most optimal Watson trade would be sending him to Atlanta and, in return, getting quarterback Kirk Cousins. This trade allows both Cleveland and Atlanta to wash their hands of bad QB deals, and both teams would likely eat a chunk of the guaranteed money for their original player. Still, with Cousins actually physically able to play, he could be a bridge quarterback for the Browns.
This leads us into our next rebuilding block, which is finally finding the long-term answer at QB in Cleveland. Before you say it, no, Shedeur is not the answer, and neither is Dillon Gabriel. In our current scenario, Kirk Cousins would be the starting quarterback for the Browns at the beginning of the 2026 season. However, this scenario would also include a rookie quarterback who’s waiting in the wings behind Cousins.
The 2026 rookie quarterback draft class doesn’t feature a true number one stud like other classes have in the past. However, with the current standings projections, the Browns would likely be in line to draft Oregon quarterback Dante Moore Jr. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza could also be in play, depending on how the college football season ends and how the NFL Combine goes.
Neither of these QBs is a slam-dunk prospect, but both have proven themselves to be capable and NFL-ready players. If you let them develop behind Cousins for a few games or a year, they should be able to lead the Browns and steadily improve over the course of two or three seasons.
With the QB situation mostly solved, you’ll want to pick up some offensive weapons for the Browns. Running back isn’t an issue, as Quinshon Judkins looks like a future 1,500-yard back, and the number one tight end spot is likely filled by Harold Fannin Jr. That leaves you with finding some core wide receivers.
Jerry Jeudy is a fine number two option since he’s already signed for the next couple of years, but he’s not going to be a number one option on a Super Bowl team. A receiver like Chris Olave is an enticing option that shouldn’t cost much, especially if he’s a free agent. But you could also go after guys like Garrett Wilson or Tee Higgins, depending on how future seasons go for the Jets and Bengals, respectively. Receiver is one area where you can afford to give up some draft picks in compensation, as top options simply don’t come on the market too often.
You could also aim to address receiver in the draft, but you’ll likely want to use Cleveland’s second first-round pick in 2026 for that position. Receivers such as Jordyn Tyson or Carnell Tate could fall to the Browns, or you could trade up for them in the draft.
Finally, let’s cover the defense. We’ll begin by saying that trading Myles Garrett is absolutely not on the table. He’s a generational talent who’s going to be a future Hall of Famer, and you simply don’t trade players like him when they’re locked into massive deals.
As such, we’ll need to build around Garrett, but Cleveland already has a decent defense. Denzel Ward leads the secondary, and rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger seems like a homerun pick by the Browns. The area the Browns need some help in is the interior defensive line and safety. Pairing a number two cornerback with Ward would also be ideal.
You wouldn’t need to pull off a massive trade to make improvements to the defense, as it’s already solid. However, adding the right role players in the correct positions will be key, especially through the draft.
So, to sum up, the Browns can become contenders by offloading Deshaun Watson’s contract, using a bridge quarterback to give a rookie quarterback time to grow, acquiring a number one receiver, and making moderate improvements to the defense that’s led by Myles Garrett. With Cleveland’s cap situation, this won’t be an easy task until Watson’s money fully clears the books, but it’s certainly doable in Madden 26. In real life? Not so much.
