Could the Cleveland Browns and defensive tackle Mason Graham be a match made in heaven in the NFL draft?
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler submitted his first mock draft of the season on Tuesday. He chose the Browns’ Michigan defensive lineman to pair with Myles Garrett in the pass rush. The Browns are currently slated to pick eighth overall.
For some, it’s a tad early for draft season but for others like the Browns, it’s like an early Christmas as certain teams look to add their next star in April’s draft.
Graham is a disruptive playmaker on the line who doesn’t need to come off the field with the pass rush savvy and lane discipline to clog the run game. On top of being a core piece of Michigan’s 2023 National Championship, he’s also been a first-team All-Big Ten and a second-team All-American. Graham won’t turn 22 until the start of next season, so you’re getting an incredible blend of youth and experience with this selection.
The Browns have needed some firepower alongside Garrett for a while now. They had signed Za’Darius Smith who filled in the pass rush on the opposite side admirably but they would trade him and his contract at the deadline.
Otherwise, Smith had been a part of a trend of finding fill-in pass rushers to compliment Garrett. Over the past five years, this has included names like; Smith, Jadeveon Clowney, Olivier Vernon, and Sheldon Richardson, none of which surpassed double-digit sacks.
Brugler used current draft standings, leading to the Browns taking Graham at nine overall. Notably, the Browns pass on wide receivers like Tetairoa McMillan and Luther Burden in his mock, as well as another Michigan defender in cornerback Will Johnson. If upgrading the pass rush is the goal this draft for the Browns then they’re in luck, Brugler had three edge rushers going right before then which led to Graham dropping. There should be plenty of high-level options to bolster the defensive line.
Assuming the Browns don’t trade out of the first round entirely, this will be their first-round selection since Greg Newsome in 2021. Cleveland currently owns 10 picks next year from several different trades, so we could see an aggressive draft with all the excess ammo they possess.
