As excited as Cleveland Browns fans are about the upcoming 2025 NFL season, the team also has a pair of first-round picks in the 2026 draft to look forward to after trading down from the No. 2 pick in 2025 to select Mason Graham with the fifth overall pick.
The 2026 class is projected to be a strong quarterback class, so one of the main goals the Browns need to accomplish in 2025 is to figure out if their franchise QB is already on the roster ahead of the 2026 season.
Overall, it’s never too early to look ahead, as the Browns were recently named a perfect fit for one high-profile linebacker prospect by Lance Reisland during a recent episode of The Orange And Brown Talk Podcast.
“I have [Harold Perkins Jr.] in the same boat as Anthony Hill, linebacker from Texas. That type of skill set … guys who can rush, guys who can play multiple positions. I always like linebackers, when they blitz, they get skinny and they don’t give you a lot of surface area. Perkins is a master of that,” Reisland said. “Would be interesting to see with Schwartz, by the way. That would be pretty perfect fit for him.”
Perkins could have been a high draft pick in the ’25 draft had things gone differently for him in 2024, but he unfortunately saw his junior year cut short due to a torn ACL.
He should be ready to go for this upcoming season and will look to pick up where he left off prior to the injury, when he racked up 147 tackles, seven pass deflections, 13 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and a pair of interceptions over his first two years at LSU.
Cleveland won’t have Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in 2025 due to the neck injury he suffered last season, and the unfortunate reality is that this front office has to start thinking about the fact that he may never return.
Perkins would be a huge weapon to add to this defense, and if JOK returns healthy in 2026, the idea of having those two alongside Myles Garrett and the two new rookies in Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger could give the Browns a formidable front seven for years to come.
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Analyst Makes Big Prediction About Browns In 2026
