The Cleveland Browns drafted a defensive tackle with the No. 5 overall pick, which is not something you see very often.
However, 2025 NFL Draft pick Mason Graham doesn’t look like the average No. 5 selection.
The Michigan product is a physical specimen with a history of dominating the line of scrimmage, and he’s projected to be an impact player right out of the gate.
In fact, insider Tony Grossi believes Graham can be the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and even help Myles Garrett run away with his own award in the process.
“If [Mason Graham] is as good as the Browns suspect, [defensive coordinator Jim] Schwartz finally will have the elite interior pass rusher to groom into a Pro Bowl player. If all goes right, Graham could be a rookie defensive player of the year candidate and help Garrett to another NFL DPOY award,” Grossi wrote.
In college, opposing offensive coordinators and offensive line coaches had to game plan to stop Graham, constantly throwing double teams at him.
Of course, that took a toll on his statistics, and it’s not like defensive tackles have the most eye-popping stats anyway.
In the NFL, nobody will be able to afford that luxury.
Doubling Graham likely means leaving Garrett in a one-on-one situation, and that usually spells trouble for whoever is in front of him.
Commit to Garrett, and Graham should have a clearer path to the quarterback.
The Browns could have the most dominant one-two punch at the line of scrimmage in the NFL.
Graham will be under a lot of pressure to deliver, as the Browns could’ve taken Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall instead of trading down.
But if Graham is close to the player scouts think he can be, Cleveland will be a force to be reckoned with on defense.
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