Several awards were assumed, and came through for the Cleveland Browns, with a bright future possible
The Cleveland Browns have problems winning on the field, but come the award banquets, they seem to clean up.
EDGE rusher Myles Garrett won his second “NFL Defensive Player of the Year” award as expected, and is only the second unanimous winner of the award. Second-round draft pick linebacker Carson Schwesinger took home the “NFL Rookie Defensive Player of the Year” honor.
Even former Browns consultant Mike Vrabel captured “NFL Coach of the Year” and will play for the league title in just a few days, leading the New England Patriots on the kind of turnaround the Browns hope to accomplish.
In addition, Garrett took home the “Deacon Jones Award” given out to recognize the annual leader in sacks.
Garrett broke the single-season record of most sacks in a single season with 23.0. His other stats included 53 pressures, 14 knockdowns, 39 QB hits, 60 total tackles, 33 tackles for loss, one batted pass, three forced fumbles, 14 hurries, and two missed tackles. His 33 tackles for loss also led the league.
In last year’s NFL draft, the Browns had the first pick in Round 2. GM Andrew Berry received a slew of calls from other teams wanting to trade for that pick. Often, many blue-chip players earmarked for the first round will fall into the second round. Berry is known as a good trader and had already made a big trade in Round 1.
However, Berry stood firm and selected Schwesinger out of UCLA. In all, Berry drafted three players who had led the nation in at least one category: Schwesinger – 90 solo tackles, QB Shedeur Sanders – completion percentage with 74.0%, and TE Harold Fannin, who led the nation in two categories: receptions (117), and total receiving yards (1,555).
Schwesinger finished in sixth place in total tackles with 156 in 2025. He missed the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals with a quad injury that landed him on IR.
Vrabel was on the Browns staff in 2024 as a coaching and personnel consultant after not landing a coordinator or head coaching job in the offseason. He was fired from his head coaching gig with the Tennessee Titans, a job he held for six years. In 2021, he won his first “NFL Coach of the Year” distinction. Vrabel owns three Super Bowl rings as part of the Patriots as a linebacker, the same team he now coaches.
Cleveland, like New England did last year, has a new, veteran coach leading the way. Monken’s journey and experience are different than Vrabel’s, but he still has a load of it. Garrett, Schwestinger, the 2025 NFL draft, the extra first-round pick in 2026, and Monken should give Browns fans reasons for hope moving forward.
NFL Honors was just a reminder of that.
Category: General Sports
