Mason Graham hasn’t generated many headlines since being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft, but that’s probably a good thing in the long run.
All reports indicate that the rookie defensive tackle is looking worthy of the No. 5 overall pick the Browns used on him, and he recently received an encouraging projection for his first NFL season.
Nick Baumgartner of The Athletic wrote that Graham will be an impact player for Cleveland, based on his performance in college.
“Graham was a top-five player on my board for a long time, not just because of his ability to consistently explode blocks to collapse a pocket but also because of his football IQ and performances in the biggest moments against the best teams,” Baumgartner wrote. “As a sophomore, Graham was arguably the best player on Michigan’s 2024 national title team. If he’s in shape, he’ll also be an instant starter.”
Making the jump to the NFL can be difficult for even the best rookies, so it will be interesting to see how Graham adjusts to the defensive scheme employed by coordinator Jim Schwartz.
At Michigan, Graham was tasked with occupying blockers, but Schwartz will ask him to get into the backfield to create negative plays.
Myles Garrett had almost no help chasing down quarterbacks last season, as Za’Darius Smith was the only teammate to record more than three sacks for Cleveland despite being traded away at the deadline.
Hopefully, Graham’s interior presence will mitigate that issue.
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