The Cleveland Browns made the bold decision to trade out of the No. 2 pick and sacrifice the rights to two-way phenom Travis Hunter. While extra ammunition will help accelerate the rebuild, the Browns are under even more pressure to hit on defensive tackle Mason Graham, whom the team took fifth overall.
As such, it is imperative that the Browns put Graham in a position to succeed. High-level talents can stay afloat on their own, but amplifying them can lead to dominance. Fortunately for Cleveland, Graham is entering a promising offensive line, headlined by superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett.
On Wednesday, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz revealed how Garrett could shape Graham’s rookie season.
“Myles sees a lot of double-team chips,” Schwartz said, via team transcript.” But a thing that goes a little bit unnoticed is he sees so much center slide too, which lets the tackle overset him because the guard is there to play all the inside moves. So, in essence, a lot of times you can be triple-teamed on those plays. And the best way to combat that is (to) have a pass rusher that’s on the opposite side that can make offenses pay for singling up a defensive tackle on a guard…
“But there’s only a few ways you can really combat a defensive tackle. And one of those is the center slide. And if the center’s always slide into Myles, that provides a lot of opportunities for a player there. We have to take better advantage of those situations than we did last year.”
Schwartz’s scheme, famously, asks its four linemen to penetrate quickly, rather than reading, reacting, and ultimately protecting the linebackers. That will be a transition for Graham, but it lends itself to better pass-rushing production.
Cleveland drafted Graham because of his nuanced feel for shedding blocks and his blend of size and athleticism. He has exceptional upside as a pass rusher, without having to be taken off the field for early downs. Armed with the league’s best edge rusher and Schwartz calling the shots, Graham may quickly exceed expectations in the box score.
“I do think there’s a lot of meat on the bone as far as his production, and we can see better production from him than even we saw, and he had outstanding production and college,” Schwartz said. “But I think there’s some meat on the bone that he can even have a chance to make more plays here.”
Between Schwartz’s history with productive defensive tackles and the help Cleveland can give him, it’s easy to see why the Browns thought he was a slam dunk, especially with the additional picks in tow.
