Mason Graham had an impressive stint with the Michigan Wolverines before entering the 2025 NFL Draft. From being a Freshman All-American to earning the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP in 2023, his entire time in Michigan was filled with awards and recognitions.
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He finished his final year of college football with 45 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. The Orange County native entered the draft as the No. 1-rated interior defensive lineman in the class. And all that has now paid off.
The DL was drafted to the big leagues as the Cleveland Browns picked him 5th overall. And he’s coming to the NFL guns-a-blazing. Graham knows what he brings to the table, and he’s also not afraid of taking on the established greats of the league.
“I just feel like Cleveland is getting one of the best players, if not the best player in the draft. I feel like I can do everything, and I can play anywhere along the front,” Graham said after getting drafted.
In a pre-draft interview with Kay Adams on her show, Up & Adams, Graham was asked about making the transition to the NFL. Specifically, which offensive linemen he was looking forward to matching up against the most.
“I would just say, Trent Williams, I wanna see like maybe a base block, or I wanna have a run block against him. See what it really feels like, everyone talks about it so I want to see for myself,” the 21-year-old said.
There was no hesitation in Graham’s answer. It was evident that he had thought about that question before. But his answer was still a shocker, especially to Adams, who was beside herself after hearing Graham name arguably the scariest offensive lineman in the game today.
Michigan DL Mason Graham is coming for Trent Williams when he gets to the league… 😤@heykayadams | @MasonGraham_55 pic.twitter.com/86Zgr5ddrx
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) April 24, 2025
Williams’ strength is legendary. And while he had an injury-riddled 2024 season that kept him off the ballot, he’d been a First-Team All-Pro in each of the previous three years.
While Graham is an interior defensive lineman, he’s not a nose tackle. He lined up in the B gap on 75 percent of the snaps. However, he split those snaps pretty evenly between the right and left side of the line, showing his versatility.
Lining up in the B gap as a 3-tech would mean Graham generally goes up against a guard. But if he lines up as a 4i on the tackle’s inside shoulder, he could definitely come across Trent Williams, who plays left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.
It is indeed likely that he would take on Williams due to the fabled Browns-49ers rivalry. We predict more than a few scuffles.
