Analyst Makes His Pick For Browns’ Midseason MVP

As would be expected from a team that was once in first place and remains a playoff contender, the Cleveland Browns feature several players who are having very impressive seasons. They helped the team get off to one of the best starts in franchise history.

Rookie wide receivers Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion have emerged as big-play threats, and second-year pro Harold Fannin Jr. has solidified his standing as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. In addition, veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson has engineered five game-winning drives in his renaissance season.

But Cleveland’s best player is arguably on defense, and Bleacher Report analyst Alex Ballentine has named linebacker Carson Schwesinger as his pick for the Browns’ midseason MVP.

“MVP: LB Carson Schwesinger,” Ballentine wrote. “Simply put, the defense has been the reason the Browns have won five games and Carson Schwesinger is the engine of that defense. He already has 89 total tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles on the year. It’s hard to imagine what the defense would look like without his athleticism and instincts in the middle.”

Schwesinger is certainly a deserving choice, as the second-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft has followed up his Defensive Rookie of the Year season with another stellar campaign. Playing through multiple injuries, he leads the Browns in combined tackles through their nine games, and his total ranks third in the league.

He also has five tackles for loss, and one of his forced fumbles, by Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, led directly to Cleveland’s 13-10 win over their AFC North rivals in Week 6. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, dealing with wrist and ankle injuries, Schwesinger had a career-high 15 combined tackles and two sacks, and he helped thwart two red-zone opportunities by the Saints in a 23-22 overtime loss.

At his current pace of almost 10 per game, Schwesinger would finish with 168 combined tackles if he were able to play all 17 games. That would allow him to break the NFL record for tackles in a player’s first two seasons, giving him 323, which would surpass the mark of 320 set by Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers in 2012-13.

But for now, Schwesinger will try to continue to build on his strong season and help the Browns end a two-game losing streak with a victory against the Houston Texans on Sunday.