The Cleveland Browns surprised a lot of people when they traded down from the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to move down to No. 5 and select Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, while picking up a 2026 first-round pick in the process.
The team sees Graham as a foundational piece of its defense for at least the next decade, and nothing he has shown so far would suggest that isn’t well within the realm of possibilities.
He anchored the defense to a great performance in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, holding them to just 17 points and limiting Joe Burrow to just 113 passing yards, but Graham said during his press conference that he believes he left some meat on the bone and is capable of playing much better.
“I feel like I played alright. I feel like I missed some pass-rush opportunities that I wanted back, but that’s in the past now and just focused on Sunday,” Graham said.
#Browns Mason Graham on what he thought of his first NFL game. pic.twitter.com/vFrvs3jbJB
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) September 12, 2025
Graham recorded three assisted tackles in Week 1 in his 42 snaps, and while he may not have stuffed the stat sheet, he was consistently stout in defending the run and was a big reason why the Bengals mustered a paltry 46 yards on 23 carries, with no run going longer than eight yards.
Stuffing the run and crashing the pocket by swallowing up double teams were his calling cards at Michigan, but Jim Schwartz has been adamant that Graham’s role is going to be a bit different in the NFL, and he envisions him as more of an impactful pass-rusher than simply someone who clogs up space.
Graham will have his hands full in Week 2 going up against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but if this defense can repeat its performance from Week 1 and keep the Ravens’ devastating run game to even modest production, Cleveland may be in a position to pull off an upset.
NEXT: Marcus Spears Calls Out Browns Defender