The Cleveland Browns have a very discussed rookie class. With Shedeur Sanders and all of the discussion that comes with him, the entire Browns team has been under a spotlight that’s unfamiliar to the franchise in recent years. However, all of the attention on the quarterback competition has led to rookies like Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Luke Floriea, and Gage Larvadain being highlighted.
Those are two mid-round picks and two undrafted free agents. Unless Gabriel and Sanders emerge as QB1, which is possible, no one from this group will be Cleveland’s most important rookie this season. However, the player who is the Browns’ most pivotal rookie is rarely talked about.
Dan Parr, in a recent piece on NFL.com, talked about that rookie while highlighting the most pivotal rookie on all 32 teams. For the Browns, the player named was defensive tackle Mason Graham.
Mason Graham named most pivotal rookie on Browns
Cleveland selected Graham with the fifth-overall pick, the team’s first pick in the 2025 Draft after trading back from No. 2, so it’s not surprising he’s the team’s most important rookie. Still, Parr did a good job of laying out why.
"I thought about including second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger here…but if Graham doesn’t do his job up front, Schwesinger probably isn’t going to be all that impactful. It all starts with defensive line for the Browns. They have arguably the league’s top defensive player in Myles Garrett and they’ve been searching for a consistent line-of-scrimmage disruptor to pair with him for years…If Cleveland is going to surprise some folks this season, a lockdown defense is going to have to lead the way, and Graham is now critical to the operation."Dan Parr (NFL.com)
Again, unless one of the rookie QBs gets into the starting lineup, Graham, and second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger are the two rookies currently in line to start and contribute the most in 2025. As Parr explained, the defensive tackle has an especially important role as he’ll be asked to anchor the middle of what Cleveland hopes is an improved defense.
Everything defensively starts with stopping the run, and stopping the run starts with the defensive line. If defenses are soft on the interior of the defensive front, they will be at the mercy of offenses. Graham will have to make sure that’s not the case for the Browns this season.
While he may not get much coverage during the offseason, Graham’s name will certainly be known if he shows up for the Browns like he did during his college career at Michigan. It’s a reason he was considered a lock to be a top-five pick in the draft as a defensive tackle, and Graham is ready to remind everyone of that reason.