Assessing the Browns' strength of schedule in 2026 | Schedule Release

With the 2026 NFL schedule set to be announced on May 14, the Browns will officially know the order in which they will face their opponents this season.

Ahead of the official schedule release, the NFL also released the strength of schedule for all 32 teams. Based on opponent's win percentage for 2025-26, the Browns have the easiest strength of schedule – ranking 32^nd among all NFL teams with a .429 opponent win percentage for the 2025 season.

Cleveland's opponents for the 2026 season had a combined record of 124-165 during the 2025 season. However, multiple teams saw numerous changes during the offseason, including head coaching changes for the Falcons, Giants, Raiders, Ravens, Steelers and Titans.

Last season, the Browns finished with a 5-12 record, winning three games at home against the Packers, Dolphins and Steelers, and two on the road against the Raiders and the Bengals. In 2026, the Browns will face three teams that finished with a winning record in 2025 – the Steelers, Texans and Jaguars.

The Browns also saw major changes following the end of the 2025 season. They conducted a head coaching search, hiring Todd Monken as their new coach in January. Monken brought in three new coordinators in Travis Switzer as offensive coordinator, Mike Rutenberg as defensive coordinator and Byron Storer as special teams coordinator.

Cleveland also overhauled its offensive line during the offseason. After six of their offensive linemen became free agents when the new league year began, the Browns worked to re-build the offensive line by acquiring T Tytus Howard in a trade with the Texans, re-signing G Teven Jenkins and signing G Zion Johnson and C/G Elgton Jenkins. Their new additions joined a unit that also features young players like T Dawand Jones, C Luke Wypler and G Zak Zinter, as well as depth pieces in C Kingsley Eguakun, G Jack Conley, OL Kendrick Green, OT Jeremiah Byers, T KT Leveston and T Tyre Phillips.

They made other key additions to different position groups, including LB Quincy Williams and DT Kalia Davis, and brought back depth for their secondary in CB Tre Avery and CB D'Angelo Ross.

Then in the draft, the Browns continued to address the offense, taking eight offensive players out of their 10 total picks. They added three offensive linemen, including OT Spencer Fano as the ninth overall pick, as well as OT Austin Barber and C Parker Brailsford. They filled out both their receiving corps and tight end room with the selections of WR KC Concepcion, WR Denzel Boston, TE Joe Royer and TE Carsen Ryan. They also rounded out their quarterback room with QB Taylen Green. On the defensive side of the ball, they filled out their linebacker unit and safety room with the picks of S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and LB Justin Jefferson.

The official schedule for the 2026 season is set to be released on May 14, with Cleveland's full schedule exclusively revealed on the team's official website and social media platforms at 7:30 p.m. ET. Single-game tickets will also go on sale at that time. Live reveal and analysis of the entire NFL schedule will begin at 8 p.m. on NFL Network and ESPN2.

With the additions the Browns made both in free agency and through the draft to address the offensive side of the ball, they have an opportunity to start the first year under Monken on a positive note with their 2026 schedule.