Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Mason Graham is starting training camp the same way he finished last season: in the backfield and causing problems.
That’s the early read from Browns reporter Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, who said Cleveland’s defense has been giving Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and the team’s new-look offense a hard time right away. Graham, the No. 5 overall pick, has been especially disruptive.
“Mason Graham has been living in the backfield the first two days of camp,” Oyefusi wrote this week. “Just had a (tackle for loss) on a Dylan Sampson carry right as he got the handoff.”
It’s a funny label for a player taken that high, but Graham has still flown a bit under the radar since last year’s draft. Cleveland, in effect, turned the No. 2 overall pick into Graham, running back Quinshon Judkins and 2026 rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion in its trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for Travis Hunter.
The national conversation has naturally centered on Hunter’s slow start in Jacksonville, but Graham’s rookie year gave Cleveland plenty to like. He started all 17 games in 2025, played 765 defensive snaps, and finished with 28 solo tackles and a half-sack, according to Pro Football Focus. With Myles Garrett hunting quarterbacks off the edge, Graham didn’t always get the clean chances to close.
That setup changes in 2026. Garrett is now with the Los Angeles Rams, and the Browns are shifting to a more deceptive defense under Mike Rutenberg.
Even before that transition fully takes hold, Graham’s late-season surge offers a clear hint of what could be coming. PFF’s premium stats show he produced 23 total QB pressures and 22 run stuffs over Cleveland’s final nine games last season, and he took off after Maliek Collins suffered a season-ending injury.
If the first two days of camp are any indication, Graham may be ready to become the name everyone in Cleveland keeps hearing.
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Todd Monken has made it clear that rookies, even highly regarded ones, have to win their jobs rather than inherit them, and that approach puts Fano in a delicate spot at exactly the wrong time. There are already questions from some scouts about whether his frame and the move from right tackle to left tackle will complicate the transition, but the Browns still need a real look at him against the starting offensive line before they can know what they have. [Read more 🡒]