Cleveland Browns. A force?

Many would scoff at the very notion, of course. After all, the Browns have been the laughingstock of the NFL since seemingly forever.

Just last year they went 0-16, to finally give the Detroit Lions company for the all-time worst season record. To boot, they're 1-31 over the last two years. As Charles Barkley would say -- turrible, just turrible.

Yet there may indeed be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. No, they likely won't give the Pittsburgh Steelers much competition in the AFC Central Division, much less get anywhere sniffing a Super Bowl any time soon. But at long last, there is hope. Maybe.

With draft picks galore, the Browns just traded a couple of them to get wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins. He's had over 400 catches in the last four years and is only 25. He'll join forces with Josh Gordon (if he can stay out of trouble -- no given), and former first round picks Corey Coleman and David Njoku, a pretty good tight end.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is generally considered the best overall player available in this year's draft, and the Browns hold the #1 pick. If, as expected, they snatch Barkley, they've got an instant feature running back to boot.

Ah, but they don't have a quarterback, you say? True enough. But the Browns also hold the 4th overall pick this year.

In no particular order, five college QBs are expected to go early in the draft. None seem to be particularly better than the other four, a stand-out if you will. They are....

Josh Rosen. UCLA

Sam Darnold  USC

Baker Mayfield  Oklahoma

Lamar Jackson  Louisville

Josh Allen  Wyoming

Wait a second. Wyoming doesn't play against stiff competition, so how did Allen get in here?

Not so fast.

Just last year many said the same thing about Carson Wentz coming out of North Dakota State. As a rookie for the Philadelphia Eagles, he was tearing it up, an MVP candidate, until he got hurt. So the really good ones don't necessarily have to come from a "power" conference.

If the Browns don't trade away either of these high picks, regardless of the teams drafting at the #2 and #3 spots, they'll still have at least three good quarterback prospects to choose from.

While not great, their defense and offensive line are decent, especially if starting left tackle (protecting the QB's "blind" side) Joe Thomas decides not to retire.

On top of all that, the Browns have over $100 million in cap space, far more than any other team. That's enough to pluck a handful of pretty good free agents off the market to bolster them elsewhere.

Taken as a whole, the future would appear to be quite rosy for the long suffering Browns and their fans.

This is in spite of head coach Hue Jackson still being there. The same guy that presided over the disasters of the last two seasons. Why in the world is he still there?

There was even talk about firing his staff but keeping him on. Which is ridiculous, of course. Wasn't Jackson the guy that hired that staff in the first place? Hello?

Yet one need only remember one thing.

It's the Browns. Like their hapless 0-16 partners in the kingdom of all-time losing -- the Lions -- Murphy's Law will likely come into play.

If there's a way to screw it up -- they'll find it.

Or something like that.

Close enough.