Stop us if you have heard it before: The Cleveland Browns have a lot of young players and a lot of good young players with upside on their roster. We know many of you have heard it before because we’ve covered it in a myriad of ways:
- 54 players on the Browns roster are 25 years old or younger
- GM Andrew Berry took the fast path to a young roster the last two years
- ESPN’s survey of coaches, scouts, and execs points to Cleveland having a talented young roster
- Browns under-25 roster ranked in the Top 5
For lifelong Cleveland fans, the hyperbole is a little overwhelming. Yes, the 2025 NFL draft class performed very well, and the 2026 draft class has been graded very highly, but the latter is fully unproven, and the former must be consistent before it can be fully trusted.
LB Carson Schwesinger, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, may be the best player on the Browns roster and the one you’d want to build your franchise around. He’s also the lone Cleveland under-25 player to make The NFL Network’s “All-NFL team” of young players:
A former walk-on at UCLA, Schwesinger has routinely overcome long odds to find success on the gridiron. He arrived in Cleveland without much of a national reputation but quickly won the hearts of Browns fans with his relentless motor, which saw him tally 156 tackles (11 for loss), nine QB hits, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions in 16 games. Schwesinger proved himself as a versatile, athletic, three-down linebacker capable of leading a defense by example, then earned a permanent place in Browns lore with his performance in a Week 17 win over the rival Steelers, a 13-6 triumph that leaned heavily on Cleveland’s defense and required Schwesinger to play through an obvious injury before calling it a season shortly after the victory. When it came time to choose a Defensive Rookie of the Year, debate was minimal: Schwesinger took home the award with 80 percent of first-place votes, capping a fantastic rookie season with some hardware for his trophy case.
Now, with DE Myles Garrett playing for the Los Angeles Rams, Schwesinger has a chance to take another step forward as the leader of Cleveland’s defense.
TE Harold Fannin Jr., DT Mason Graham, and RB Quinshon Judkins would be the next players that would have been considered for this list.
Do you think other Browns players deserve to be on the under-25 “All-NFL team,” or is Schwesinger the lone top guy among the roster?
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