5 Browns Midseason Award Winners (MVP, Top Rookies and More)

The Cleveland Browns have officially reached the second half of the 2023 season. Things haven't been easy for this group, with multiple obstacles being put in their path, but they've persevered to record an impressive 5-3 start after missing the playoffs last year.

There's plenty of work to be done to get back to the postseason, but it's worth taking some time to reflect on this team's success to this point.

With that in mind, here are five midseason awards to hand out in Cleveland for the first half of this campaign.

Browns Defensive Rookie of the First Half: Cameron Mitchell

Cornerback Cameron Mitchell is the choice for Defensive Rookie of the First Half partially because the other rookies simply haven't played enough to contend for this award. Both Siaki Ika (2023 third-round pick) and Isaiah McGuire (2023 fourth-rounder) are still looking to make their NFL debuts, while undrafted rookie Ronnie Hickman's only appeared in two contests.

However, that also speaks to how much Mitchell has impressed this staff in a short amount of time. The fifth-rounder out of Northwestern has appeared in each of the team's first eight games, seeing some decent run on defense (25% of snaps played) while taking on a featured role on special teams (54% of snaps).

Mitchell is even coming off of his best game of 2023 in Week 9, when he set a season-high with four tackles and recorded his first NFL pass breakup.

Now firmly settled into his first year as a pro, Mitchell could get even better down the stretch.