Hype around a Cleveland Browns defender has hit superstar levels before he even plays his second NFL season
The Cleveland Browns no longer have Myles Garrett, but they have another defender who is ready to hit All-Pro level in 2026. It sounds like the NFL agrees too.
Trading away Myles Garrett was the Cleveland Browns moving their cornerstone defender, whom they’ve built around for nearly the last decade.
Garrett is gone and they got a good player with Jared Verse to replace him. Still, the Browns are going to be a different defense without No. 95, though they can still play at a high level.
Cleveland has a budding star in LB Carson Schwesinger in the middle of its defense, and the hype around him has hit crazy levels heading into the 2026 season.
Carson Schwesinger receives a bizarre comparison that Browns fans will love
ESPN released its list of top off-ball linebackers in the NFL voted on by coaches, executives, and scouts around the league. Schwesinger has skied to No. 3 on the list only behind San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner and Baltimore Ravens’ Roquan Smith.
The comparison one executive had for Schwesinger after just a year in the NFL is one that’ll have Browns fans excited.
“He’s [Luke] Kuechly reincarnated,” a personnel executive with an NFL team said. “Elite speed, athleticism, instincts, ball skills.”
Schwesinger hit the ground running as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season after being selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Browns needed a stud linebacker with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah likely to never play again and they got it. Schwesinger made 156 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and three pass breakups for Cleveland last season in 16 games.
There was some skepticism by fans when the Browns made the pick, but it’s been the best-case scenario for Schwesinger since they did. He’s perhaps the best player on the defense now along with Verse and CB Denzel Ward. Schwesinger’s ability to read and react is elite, and he tackles everything that comes his way.
Being ranked the No. 3 true linebacker in today’s NFL is lofty hype being placed on a player entering his second season. It just goes to show what the league thinks of the player in the middle of Cleveland’s defense.