Mason Graham recently shed some interesting light on his somewhat underwhelming rookie season with the Cleveland Browns. The defensive tackle revealed that he finished the season with a broken rib, an injury he suffered in Week 13.
It was already believed that bigger things were in store for Graham in his second season, after his limited production as the No. 5 overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft. The injury was now seen as another reason he should be able to improve his impact.
However, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly remains skeptical, and he said he isn’t buying the breakout hype for the Browns defender in 2026.
“Mason Graham is not poised for a breakout season. What you see is what you get with him. He was overhyped and overdrafted. He only produced 9 sacks in three seasons at the college level. His game film at Michigan never revealed he was going to be a big sack producer as an NFL projection,” Kelly posted.
Mason Graham is not poised for a break out season. What you see is what you get with him. He was overhyped and overdrafted. He only produced 9 sacks in three seasons at the college level. His game film at Michigan never revealed he was going to be a big sack producer as an NFL… https://t.co/YeMoRRKYRy
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) May 24, 2026
Even if Kelly is correct, and Graham is not able to produce sacks, he can contribute in other ways, as he was expected to coming out of college. It can already be argued that his ability to occupy blockers in the interior of the line allowed defensive end Myles Garrett to set the NFL single-season record for sacks last season, when he posted 23.0.
There are only so many sacks to go around, and with Garrett one of the best of all-time, and tackle Maliek Collins posting a career-high 6.5 last season, Graham was being counted on to do other things under former coordinator Jim Schwartz. Graham also may have freed up linebacker Carson Schwesinger to make a lot of his 156 combined tackles on his way to earning Defensive Rookie of the Year.
It will be interesting to see if first-time coordinator Mike Rutenberg implements any changes that could get Graham to the quarterback more often. Though he had just one-half sack last season, his 49 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and four passes defended were enough to get him named to some postseason All-Rookie teams. Graham also started all 17 games, which deserves to be appreciated based on the injury he was dealing with.
There is certainly room for Graham to improve, but it may not show up in the stats and notable plays that most fans can easily see.
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