Carson Schwesinger capped off his rookie season by winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The Cleveland Browns linebacker is now setting his sights on further development as he enters Year 2 under a new defensive coordinator.
Schwesinger made a strong impact in his first NFL season, recording 156 combined tackles, the sixth-highest total in the league. He also added 11 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and three passes defended in 16 games. His performance helped the Browns defense rank fourth in the NFL in total yards per game at 283.6.
Schwesinger spoke about the award and his goals moving forward during a recent interview. "Yeah, that was pretty cool," he said. "My whole family was there, which was cool to share that with all them and just to be able to see that's a great honor. But now I guess the mindset is just what's next? Keep building off of it."
Selected in the second round out of UCLA, Schwesinger quickly became a key piece of Cleveland’s defense. He played alongside star pass rusher Myles Garrett, who set a single-season sack record with 23 sacks and won Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2026 season will bring a change to Cleveland’s defensive structure. Jim Schwartz stepped down as defensive coordinator after three seasons, and Mike Rutenberg will take over the role for Schwesinger’s second year in the league.
Despite the coaching change, Schwesinger is focused on improving his game. "There's a lot of things to get better at, whether it's just the preparation throughout the week, game week and figuring out really what to watch, how to watch film and things like that," he said. "But even just at this time, whether it's improving the football knowledge football intelligence, right? Or just finding better ways to attack the ball and really get those punch outs."
Schwesinger also emphasized the importance of patience and film study. "I think that's something really going to work on this year. Just continuing to grow in terms of patience behind the ball and being able to see things and being ready by the snap."
The Browns will begin their official preparation for Todd Monken’s first season in Cleveland with organized team activities on May 19.
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