CLEVELAND — Mason Graham’s rookie season was solid. Three games into Year 2, he looks like a different player.
The second-year defensive tackle already has four sacks, one in each of Cleveland’s first three games and two more than he recorded during the entirety of his rookie season. After finishing 2025 with just half a sack, Graham has quickly become one of the most disruptive players on a defense that has helped the Browns rebound from an ugly Week 1 loss.
His best game came Sunday against Carolina.
Graham finished Cleveland’s 21-18 victory with seven tackles and two sacks, including a fourth-down sack that helped preserve the lead. He also added three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, consistently creating problems from the interior.
Interior pressure changes everything for a defense. If anyone doubts that, ask the Bengals what Dexter Lawrence’s presence and interior push have meant to their defense.
Edge rushers can be chipped or redirected. Quarterbacks can step up in the pocket to avoid them. When pressure comes directly through the middle, those escape routes disappear much faster. Graham is beginning to give Cleveland exactly that.
He recorded one sack against Jacksonville in Week 1 and another against Tampa Bay in Week 2 before breaking through twice against Carolina. Through three games, he has 15 total tackles and four sacks, already dwarfing his pass-rushing production from his rookie season.
That is the kind of second-year jump the Browns hoped for when they selected Graham fifth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The encouraging part is that he is not simply collecting sacks. Graham has been stronger against the run, more explosive off the snap, and more consistent at collapsing the pocket even when he does not reach the quarterback.
Cleveland’s defense still has plenty to prove after allowing 34 points in the opener against Jacksonville. Since then, however, the Browns have held Tampa Bay to 19 points and Carolina to 18 while winning two straight, with Graham in the middle of it all.
There is still a long season ahead, and three games are not enough to declare anything finished. But Graham is already showing signs that he can become much more than a dependable starter.
He is starting to look like a player Cleveland can build a defense around.
