An athletic linebacker with natural instincts and the physical tools to shut down ball carriers, Schwesinger quickly earned the respect of Browns fans and the league as a rookie, racking up 156 tackles – good for sixth in the NFL – including 11 for loss, 2.5 sacks, three passes defensed Football and 2 sacks, Pro 2. all NFL linebackers in 2025. He also proved to be an iron man, playing 97% of Cleveland’s total defensive snaps (956) and coming through a quadriceps injury in his final game of the season, a Week 17 win over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, before going down in Week 18 with an injury.
In the first two months of his NFL career, Schwesinger won the hearts of Browns fans who were quick to draw comparisons to another legendary Browns linebacker from the past, Clay Matthews Jr., a fellow Los Angeles native who joined the Browns as a first-round pick in 1978 after spending his college years at USC.
That’s a tall order for any linebacker, but given his rookie season performance, such comparisons are fair.
Schwesinger played a key role in Cleveland’s fourth-place defense and will look to build on his previous success in 2026 – this time with a new trophy in hand.