The Cleveland Browns have a lot of production to make up for on defense after trading Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. The All-Pro defensive end set the NFL record for sacks in a season with 23.0 last year and has been one of the best pass rushers in the league for nearly a decade.
With Garrett getting to the QB more often than not, it did not leave many sacks for the rest of his teammates, something that reportedly was an issue at times. In 2025, the rest of the Browns defenders had just 30.0 sacks total, led by defensive tackle Maliek Collins, who had 6.5.
Fellow tackle Mason Graham, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, managed just one-half sack as a rookie, despite playing in all 17 games and in 72 percent of the defensive snaps. With Garrett gone, that just isn’t going to cut it this season.
That is why insider Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN is naming Graham as the biggest X-factor on the Browns’ defense, saying that Garrett’s absence may actually help him increase his sack numbers.
“Maybe the biggest X factor in replacing Garrett’s production could be a Year 2 leap from defensive tackle Mason Graham. As a rookie, he showed his chops as a pass rusher, ranking 20th in pass rush win rate as a defensive tackle (8.3%). Graham registered only a half-sack, in part because Garrett got to quarterbacks so quickly. Graham’s impact, though, was felt, and the next step for him will be turning his pressures into game-changing plays,” Oyefusi wrote.
Graham contributed in other ways as a rookie, and his presence on the interior of the line may have helped Garrett get as many sacks as he did. But despite his good pass-rush metrics, Graham also only had four quarterback hits among his 763 snaps.
In college at Michigan, Graham was not a noted pass rusher, either. He had just 9.0 sacks in 39 games, and one former scout is cautioning Browns fans that they should not expect his NFL numbers to improve greatly.
If not, Cleveland’s defense will have to turn to other players. They acquired younger edge rusher Jared Verse in the trade for Garrett, but he only recorded 12.0 sacks in 34 games with the Rams over the past two seasons despite his own excellent QB pressure stats.
The Browns’ number of sacks will be among their most-monitored statistics this season, as it will be interesting to see how they adapt without one of the best pass-rushers of his generation.
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