Cleveland Browns had dramatic 2025 draft. How does rookie class look?

USA Today

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Cleveland Browns had dramatic 2025 draft. How does rookie class look?
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Shedeur Sanders not feeling pressure from his doubters
After sliding in the NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders explains why he's not bothered by his many doubters as Browns career begins.
Sports Pulse
The Cleveland Browns' trades and selections became the story of the 2025 NFL draft (and beyond).
In addition to drafting a pair of rookie quarterbacks – Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, the biggest name in the draft – two rounds apart, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry traded the No. 2 overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a future first-round pick and the fifth overall spot, which they used to take defensive tackle Mason Graham (the Jags drafted two-way player and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at No. 2).
Cleveland also picked up a second- and fourth-round pick to supplement their draft class, which also featured a pair of running backs and preceded the departure of fan favorite Nick Chubb.
USA TODAY Sports analyst Nate Davis gave the Browns an "incomplete" for their draft grade – better to judge a year from now after the Browns use that extra first-round selection.
But we can offer some insight into the current rookies on the roster after three days of minicamp, which did not feature full pads or anything close to resembling game speed.
Fighting through an embarrassing situation
Mason Graham, on the second day of rookie minicamp in May, went viral for appearing to lose his lunch as he prepared for a drill.
What people didn't talk about, defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire said, was that the Michigan product finished the rep.
'Here's a kid that, every day, he got better," Cesaire said. "Every day he came out here running to the ball as fast as he could.'
Graham has been working on his pass-rush moves since transitioning to the professional ranks and has also spent a lot of time understanding what is expected of him now that he is an "attack" defense rather than a "read and react" defense deployed by the Wolverines.
Cesaire noted that the coaches actually have a say in the Browns' pre-draft process. The more Graham tape he watched, the more he realized Graham was capable of playing in Cleveland's scheme.
'I think he's hungry," defensive end Myles Garrett said. "He's pretty quiet but I see him watching a lot. He's learning. He's really inquisitive, staying near to make sure that he hears every detail and just picking up on things, taking things from the meeting room to the playing field.'
Former walk-on makes it to the Browns
With the first pick of the second round, the Browns kept addressing the defensive side of the ball by taking Carson Schwesinger, a former walk-on with the UCLA Bruins.
But don't count him out as an option to wear the "green dot" and be the person who communicates defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's play call to the defense – even as a rookie.
Linebackers coach Jason Tarver said Schwesinger is wired for the job because he's an intelligent player who wants to do everything correctly. But he also understands that when plays break down, it's time to run to the ball and put the ballcarrier on the ground. That's all part of his "unique feel," Tarver said.
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'I think just how he's wired and how he approaches problems and solving problems is really unique," Tarver said.
What also impresses Tarver is how well Schwesinger takes care of his body for a younger player. Schwesinger is "incredibly flexible" which is combined with his strength and ability to keep his feet.
But as far as first impressions go, he's demonstrated that he's focused on making the next rep his best one.
'That's usually where a rookie will struggle, where he's worried about what he just did and hangs onto it," Tarver said. "He figures it out, asks great questions, runs to the ball.'
'We all out here in pajamas'
As running backs coach Duce Staley noted, any first impressions have to be taken with a grain of salt at this stage in the offseason.
"We all out here in pajamas,' Staley said. 'When we put on some armor I'll let you know.'
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With the 36th overall pick, the Browns took Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins. Fresh off winning a national championship, Judkins has a durable build and looks primed to punish defenders with physicality. Cleveland's fourth-round choice at the position, Dylan Sampson out of Tennessee, is another young player doing "an awesome job," Staley said. He's been working with passing game coordinator Chad O'Shea to become a factor through the air.
"Just being able to take his game and expand it," Staley said.