Browns: Has Todd Monken Actually Fixed What Was Broken?

Todd Monken knew exactly what he was walking into. The quarterback situation in Cleveland has been a mess for years, and he took the job anyway.

Since he arrived, the vibe in Berea has noticeably shifted, with a different culture and energy showing up around the building. I’m not interested in relitigating the quarterback room here. We’ve covered that ground twice already, and honestly, the bigger story this offseason isn’t really about who’s throwing the ball.

It’s about whether there’s finally a roster around that quarterback capable of scoring points, no matter who ends up under center.

Start with the offensive line, because this is where the most dramatic change happened. Cleveland is set to roll out five new starters this season.

They traded for tackle Tytus Howard, signed guard Zion Johnson, signed center and guard Elgton Jenkins, and used the ninth overall pick on Spencer Fano to lock down left tackle. That’s not a tweak. That’s a near-total teardown and rebuild of a unit that was genuinely one of the worst in football a year ago.

I think this matters more than people realize, because it directly affects the other big storyline at this position group, running back Quinshon Judkins. He was actually one of the few bright spots on offense as a rookie, rushing for 827 yards and seven touchdowns behind that terrible line, before a gruesome ankle dislocation and fractured fibula ended his season in Week 16.

The fact that the Browns didn’t add a single meaningful piece at running back this offseason tells you everything about how much they trust him to be the lead back again. Monken himself said Judkins looked like he had his confidence and explosion back during minicamp.

If that line holds up even moderately better than last year’s group, Judkins behind it could be the single biggest year-over-year jump on this entire roster.

The receiver room got the same kind of real investment, not just lip service. For the first time under general manager Andrew Berry, the Browns drafted a wide receiver before the third round, then did it twice in the first 40 picks, taking KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

One writer covering the team called this the best Browns receiver room in decades. I’d push back on that a little, not because the additions aren’t real, but because the bar here has been sitting on the floor for years.

Cleveland’s wide receivers combined for just 1,467 receiving yards as a group in 2025. Their leading receiver wasn’t even a wide receiver, it was second-year tight end Harold Fannin. That’s how thin this position has been.

The drops have been a real, ongoing problem too, not a one-year fluke. Drops piled up across the receiving corps in 2025, and that same issue showed up in years past with other Browns pass catchers as well. When your tight end is outproducing every wideout on the roster and drops have been a multi-year organizational issue, it doesn’t take much to call something an improvement.

So yes, Concepcion and Boston represent real investment, and I think they’ll genuinely help. I just don’t think “better than what we had” is saying very much when what they had was this bad.

And then there’s the defense, which lost its centerpiece entirely. I’ve already written about how I feel regarding the return Cleveland got for trading Myles Garrett to the Rams, and I stand by that.

Jared Verse is a good player, but replacing a two-time Defensive Player of the Year with picks that won’t even arrive for another year or two is a real step backward for a unit that’s carried this team for the better part of a decade.

So here’s where I actually land on all of this. Monken inherited a roster with a genuinely broken offensive line, an unproven and now-injured rookie running back, and a receiver room that had nothing going for it beyond a low bar to clear.

In one offseason, two of those three problems got real, substantial investment. The receiver room is improved, even if the standard it’s being measured against was poor to begin with. The offensive line is completely rebuilt, for better or worse. The running back situation comes down to one health bet the front office is clearly confident enough to make without a backup plan.

What I’m not as confident about is the defense holding up its end after losing Garrett, and that’s a real concern heading into camp regardless of how the offense comes together. If this offensive overhaul translates to actual points on the board, and if that defense can survive without its best player long enough for Verse and the picks from that trade to pay off, I think this team takes a real step forward in 2026.

If either of those pieces falls apart, especially Judkins’ health or the new offensive line gelling slower than hoped, I think we’re looking at another frustrating year where the flashes of progress get buried under the same old problems. Monken inherited a real mess. Now we find out if the roster built around him can actually fix it.