The Cleveland Browns have not had much go right during the 2025 season.
The wide receivers continue to be non-existent, with Jerry Jeudy leading the group with 43 receptions, while Cedric Tillman, Isaiah
Bond, Jamari Thrash, Malachi Corley, and Gage Larvadain have combined for just 60 more.
The run game, which had stalled since the game against the Las Vegas Raiders, finally caught a break on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills and their No. 30-ranked run defense, only to see running back Quinshon Judkins go down with a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula.
The quarterback situation has gone from bad with Dillon Gabriel to … just as bad with Shedeur Sanders, whose minus-0.24 EPA/dropback is the lowest of any quarterback since TruMedia began tracking such things in 2000, according to The Athletic. (Hey, don’t shoot the messenger here!)
The defense has shown the strain of having to carry the water for the woeful offense, especially when it comes to defending the run. In the past three games, the Browns have allowed seven rushing touchdowns and 490 rushing yards.
There are two bright spots, however, in addition to defensive end Myles Garrett and his pursuit of the NFL record for sacks in a single season, that need to be celebrated: tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
Fannin had a pair of touchdowns on Sunday against the Bills, one rushing and one receiving, and leads the Browns in receptions (70), receiving yards (701), and receiving touchdowns (5). His 70 receptions are now the franchise record for catches by a rookie, surpassing Kevin Johnson’s 66 receptions in 1999.
In the five games since Sanders took over the starting quarterback role, Fannin has averaged 5.2 receptions and 55.8 yards per game. If he matches those the numbers the rest of the season, he would finish with 80 receptions, tied for No. 11 with Jordan Cameron and Braylon Edwards for most in a season by a Browns player, and 812 yards, which will just barely inside the franchise’s Top 50 list, would still represent a nice rookie season.
As for Schwesinger, he finished Sunday’s game with 12 tackles, his sixth consecutive game with double-digits in tackles, tying him with Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers for the longest streak by a rookie since 2000.
Schwesinger, who leads all rookies in tackles (148) and tackles for loss (11.5), now has seven games with at least 10 tackles, tied for the fifth-most by a rookie since 2000. And in a season where injuries have hit the Browns hard, Schwesinger has been on the field for 96 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
Add it up, and it is clear to see why Schwesinger is the favorite to win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
It has been another lost season for the Browns, but at least they have been able to count on their productive rookie duo of Fannin and Schwesinger to shine a bit of light on the darkness.
