The Cleveland Browns have had a rough go through the first four weeks of the season, culminating in Sunday afternoon's 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. The team has its fair share of struggles on the offensive side of the ball; however, a silver lining has been a defensive unit that is one of the best the NFL has to offer, and a big reason for that has been the play of a certain rookie.
Cleveland selected linebacker Carson Schwesinger out of UCLA with the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 draft, and the early returns have been very promising. The 23-year-old defender continued his strong rookie year on Sunday by racking up eight more tackles, bringing his total on the season to 23 stops to go along with one sack.
Browns LB Carson Schwesinger Already Looking Like a Budding Star
While it isn't the most important statistic when it comes to evaluating NFL players, Schwesinger's Pro Football Focus grades are rather impressive for a player who is just a handful of games into his professional career. Entering Week 4, PFF had the Browns' linebacker ranked as the fourth-best rookie, regardless of the side of the ball they play on.
"Schwesinger now has 14 tackles, seven assists, and eight stops on the season. His 70.0 PFF tackling grade ranks second among rookie linebackers, behind Jihaad Campbell (84.3)," PFF's Lauren Gray wrote on Tuesday. "He also boasts a 20.9% positive play rate in run defense and leads all rookie linebackers in PFF run-defense grade (77.8). Despite the touchdown against Green Bay, Schwesinger still holds a 72.0 PFF coverage grade."
Unfortunately, Schwesinger's defensive contributions have been overshadowed by the Browns' offensive struggles throughout September. With no clear answer to those issues on offense in sight, Cleveland will be fighting an uphill battle most weekends, which will keep the former UCLA standout from receiving the praise he deserves.
All Schwesinger can focus on are the things he has control over, though. With the way he has stood out on defense thus far, the rookie is doing all the right things. As long as this continues, and there is no reason to think it won't at this point, the linebacker will establish himself as one of the foundational pieces on the front seven sooner rather than later.
Browns fans are picking up on this, and their collective voices are only getting louder on social media in support of Schwesinger. Regardless of whether he makes a push for Defensive Rookie of the Year, an honor that Cleveland fans are already campaigning for him to receive, the Browns should be confident that they have their man in the middle of the linebacking corps for years to come.