Browns veteran Maliek Collins, rookie Mason Graham 'building the chemistry' on defense

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BEREA — Peek at the Browns defensive line drills and you can't help but notice the teaching.
It's not just the teachings of defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire to his position group. It's also within that position group, the lessons being passed down from veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins to rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham.
The 30-year-old with more than 130 NFL regular-season games under his belt has taken the 21-year-old who was the No. 5 overall pick in April's draft under his wing. The teacher-student dynamic can be seen almost daily during camp.
"It's been fun," Collins said on Day 8 of Browns training camp Aug. 1. "I trained with Mason a lot this offseason, too. So working with him and seeing how he moves and just pushing each other to get better."
The foundation of the relationship started during the offseason. Graham spent the time away between the end of the offseason program and the start of training camp working out with Brandon "B.T." Jordan, who has been working with NFL defensive linemen since 2012, when he founded Trench Performance. Graham is only one of the latest proteges to come under his tutelege.
"I've been working with him the whole summer," Graham said earlier in training camp. "You know, when we're in, I was in Phoenix with him, Atlanta with him, and Houston with him. So we're kind of just, I was kind of just following him, you know, working out with, you know, Maliek Collins, too, in Houston, and we're just kind of getting some D-line work and then building the chemistry as well."
Both Graham and Collins were new to the Browns organization this offseason. While Graham was drafted by the organization, Collins was signed by Cleveland after he was cut by the San Franciso 49ers in March.
The two had worked together during the latter half of the offseason program, from mid-May to mid-June. Still, Collins acknowledged it was a pleasant surprise when he got the call from his new young teammate.
"He really suggested it," Collins said. "He was just like, 'Hey, bro, I'm pulling up.' So I was surprised, but I was happy to have him there."
Collins comes to Cleveland after a nine-year run that has taken him to four different teams: Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans and 49ers. He was part of the Texans defensive line from 2021-23 that was coached by Cesaire.
The 6-foot-2, 310-pound veteran had 11 of his 30.5 career sacks during those three years in Houston. That includes a career-high-tying five during the Texans' 2023 season that included an AFC wild card win over the Browns.
Collins has posted back-to-back five-sack seasons. The hope is that by pairing him with Graham, the duo can create the kind of interior pressure that can help ease the attention All-Pro defensive end Myles Garret receives.
"It just comes down to winning your one-on-ones," Collins said. "If you're winning your one-on-ones and having production out of it, that's obviously going to draw a guy from Myles or draw a guy from Mason or whoever else it might be. I think also schematically, [defensive coordinator Jim] Schwartz is an aggressive guy, aggressive playcaller. He'll dial up things and it creates one-on-ones for all of us across the board."
Which leads back to those teaching moments between the grizzled veteran and the baby-faced rookie. Those conversations could be critical to unlocking a return for the Browns defense to the top-ranked status it held in 2023.
So what does Collins hear from his younger teammate?
"He asks a lot of things, but we go in there, we have fun," Collins said. "We really just vibe off each other and just create our vibe how we want to rush together, how we want to play together, what type of swag we want to play with."
Chris Easterling can be reached at [e-mail]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Maliek Collins taking Browns rookie Mason Graham under his wing