With Myles Garrett no longer part of the Cleveland Browns’ defensive front, a lot more is going to be asked of Mason Graham, who did not fully live up to his status as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft as a rookie. While Graham fulfilled his unglorified role in the interior of the line, he will have to come up with increased production this season.
The Browns certainly are counting on more than the one-half sack Graham managed in his first NFL campaign. How much he improves could be key to Cleveland maintaining its status as one of the league’s elite defenses.
Positive signs are coming out of training camp, with head coach Todd Monken saying the young Browns defender has been “disruptive,” which is causing some issues for Cleveland’s offense at practice.
“Well, I mean, talk about ball get off. What I didn’t know is I always saw him as maybe an undersized inside guy with great ball get off, that’s disruptive. He’s not only that, but he’s more, because he really understands football and he anticipates what offenses are trying to do to him. He’s fun to watch. It’s hard as an offensive head coach. Every now and then you can be a little bit whiny when they’re disruptive, but it’s awesome for us,” Monken said.
Graham was seen as something of a coup coming out of last year’s draft, as the Browns were able to trade down from No. 2 overall and still land the highly regarded prospect. The 22-year-old went on to post 49 combined tackles, and he impressively started all 17 games despite suffering a broken rib in Week 13, an injury that was not revealed until long after the season was over. It was a courageous performance that should bode well for him and the Browns moving forward.
With Garrett dominating the pass-rush duties from his defensive end position in pursuit of the NFL single-season sacks record, teammates may have deferred to him in that area. Graham had just four quarterback hits in almost 800 snaps at defensive tackle, a number he will have to improve on, even if fans are looking for a higher sack total.
At 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, Graham is a bit undersized for an NFL interior lineman. But as Monken said, he can make up for that with his quick burst and ability to diagnose plays.
Working against the Browns’ rebuilt offensive line in practice is one thing, so Graham has to show he can be that same kind of disruptive force against Cleveland’s opponents during the season.
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