Insider Calls For 2 Browns Defenders To Step Up In 2026

The Cleveland Browns have been rightfully praised for acquiring an immediate replacement in Jared Verse in their trade of Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. However, Verse won’t be able to do it all by himself.

That’s why the Browns will need improved performances from other players on their defensive line. While one player can’t provide the record 23.0 sacks Garrett did last season, a collective effort might be able to get Cleveland somewhere close to that number.

With that in mind, insider Dan Labbe is calling for two Browns defenders, Mason Graham and Alex Wright, to step up in 2026.

“Now, Mason Graham has to start converting some of those pressures into sacks. I think pressure is really important, but I also think sacks are important. I think you can have both. Mason Graham, let’s convert some of those pressures into sacks. Alex Wright, you’re making $11 million a year now. You’re paid like a No. 2 edge rusher. Let’s see you start to consistently create pressure,” Labbe said.

Graham, in particular, is expected to vastly improve on the one-half sack he posted as a rookie. It was an underwhelming pass-rushing season for the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, though he did fare well in other areas and played the final weeks of the campaign with a broken rib.

Unfortunately, Graham was not a standout pass rusher in college at Michigan, either, with 9.0 sacks in 39 games. While that may not have been his primary role, at least one scout believes fans should not expect much from Graham in terms of NFL sacks as well.

On the other hand, Wright has shown some promise, with a career-high 5.5 sacks in 14 games last season. He signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension while sidelined by a quad injury, so Cleveland surely believes he has some upside.

Verse’s sack totals also may not be indicative of an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Rams. He has 12.0 sacks in 34 career games, though he is projected to at least equal that total in his first year with the Browns.

There is a line of thinking that players on the Browns would defer to Garrett when it came to getting sacks to make sure that he set the single-season NFL record last year, so there may be many more to go around with the All-Pro no longer on the team.