The Cleveland Browns made an incredibly bold move atop the 2025 NFL Draft when they opted to pass on drafting two-way superstar Travis Hunter with the second overall pick. It’s the kind of move that can easily get a GM fired, but a year later, Andrew Berry is looking quite smart for trading down from that spot to take Mason Graham instead in a move that also netted the Browns KC Concepcion in the ’26 draft, among other assets.
Graham didn’t stuff the stat sheet in 2025, but he immediately became an anchor for this defense and was a big reason why Myles Garrett was able to operate more freely en route to piling up an NFL record 23 sacks. Graham consistently put a ton of pressure on opposing offenses, yet there are plenty of casual fans who aren’t believers in him to this day.
Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com shared why the team feels so strongly about its defensive tackle on the site’s YouTube channel recently. She highlighted how much pressure he put on quarterbacks last season and made sure he got plenty of credit for being so disruptive in aiding Garrett’s record-setting season.
“If you’re looking for a reason to be optimistic about Mason, if you’re wondering why are we always so optimistic. He had more pressures than any other rookie D-tackle last year. He had 36. And the only guys that had more than him were two edge rushers. It was Abdul Carter and James Pearce Jr. That’s a lot of pressures. He’s going to have to keep doing that to help Jared Verse as well. It is kind of like a chicken or the egg. Were they so disruptive because so much attention was on Myles Garrett, or was Myles Garrett able to do the stuff he did because those guys were creating so much havoc up the middle?” Bastock said.
Graham’s numbers at Michigan weren’t eye-popping either, but there was no question how impactful he was. He is often the guy setting up his teammates to make plays by doing all the dirty work, but defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg will be tasked with finding ways for Graham to become that guy who not only creates plays with his pressure, but also finishes them.
He lived in the backfield as a rookie but only had half a sack in 17 games. He had just nine in three years at Michigan, but with the amount of consistent pressure he applies, he is capable of doing a lot more in that department.
With Garrett gone, Graham is going to be looked at as someone who needs to take a step forward and become everything he is capable of being. He can be one of the best at his position, and he got off to a great start as a rookie despite what some doubters have said about him.
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