The Cleveland Browns took one of the most notorious risers in the NFL draft.
Not many people had UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger on their radar until the last couple of weeks leading up to the draft.
And while some thought the team reached when they took him with the No. 33 pick, it’s hard to believe he would’ve been available for much longer.
At least, that’s how Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated feels.
Talking on the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” Breer revealed that multiple teams were extremely high on the playmaking linebacker, up to the point where he could’ve been gone in the first round:
“An executive for a team, not the Browns, said to me a day or two before the draft, ‘I’m not sure if [Carson Schwesinger] is going in the first round.’ But that guy made so many plays that it was difficult to evaluate the other defensive players at UCLA. He was so all over the tape that it was hard for me to get a good read on the other guys on that tape because of him,” Breer said.
The #Browns drafted Carson Schwesinger with their first pick in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. NFL Insider @AlbertBreer discusses what stood out about him during the evaluation process. #DawgPound | https://t.co/nAH8W4RbuN pic.twitter.com/xS9kfDTD37
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) May 14, 2025
The Browns may have landed a first-round-caliber player early in the second round, and he will have plenty of opportunities to prove that right out of the gate.
The team placed Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list, effectively ending his 2025 season before it even started.
That leaves the door wide open for Schwesinger to have a big role right out of the gate.
He’s one of the most athletic players in this class, and his speed also gives him a huge edge in zone coverage.
He’s also very good at reading the quarterback’s eyes and anticipating their moves.
His lateral quickness helps him cover a lot of ground, make swift adjustments, and change directions right away.
He has the potential to be a sideline-to-sideline kind of stopper, and despite not being the most experienced linebacker in college, he showed strong flashes as a pass rusher.
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