The Cleveland Browns brought in an exciting rookie class from the 2025 NFL Draft, while also positioning themselves well for next year’s draft by acquiring a second first-round pick in 2026 by trading down from the second overall pick.
With the Browns coming off a disastrous 3-14 season that featured the worst offense in the NFL, the rookies are positioned to make an immediate impact on that side of the ball, but it’s the high draft pick on defense who is believed to also be “trending in the right direction” ahead of training camp.
Bleacher Report’s Damian Parson recently wrote an article pointing out a handful of rookies who are trending in the right direction, and he included No. 5 overall pick Mason Graham in his assessment.
“The Browns’ pass rush was undependable in sack production when you remove Myles Garrett’s 14 sacks and 84 QB pressures. [Mason] Graham was brought in to help take advantage of teams overcommitting to stopping Garrett,” Parson wrote. “The rookie is doing what the team has asked of him and learning a new defensive scheme and style. When the pads go on next month, coaches will be looking for consistent growth and impact from their top-five pick.”
One of the biggest adjustments Graham is going to have to make is going from a read-and-react type of defense at Michigan to Jim Schwartz’s penetration-style defense that will require Graham to blow up pockets and make plays on the ball more often than he did as a Wolverine, when he often prioritized eating up as many blockers as possible and filling lanes to free up his teammates to get to the backfield.
Cleveland could use another player capable of getting after the quarterback alongside Myles Garrett, and now that Garrett has signed a long-term extension, these two could anchor the defensive line for many years to come.
While Cleveland’s rookies on offense are generating most of the attention, don’t forget that the first and second-round picks were used on additions to the front seven on defense.
Graham could be a star in the making.
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