2026 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year revealed

by: Barkley Truax 23 hours ago BarkleyTruax

Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger has been named the 2026 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was given the award on Thursday during the annual NFL honors.

The finalists included Schwesinger, Seattle Seahawks DB Nick Emmanwori , Atlanta Falcons DE James Pearce Jr. , New York Giants LB Abdul Carter and Atlanta Falcons S Xavier Watts . Schwesinger was also named DROY by PFWA as well.

Schwesinger was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a successful career at UCLA . He’d go on to play in 16 games for the Browns before he was ultimately placed on injured reserve for the final game of the season.

He finished the season with 146 tackles, good for eighth-best in the entire NFL. 11 of those were tackles for loss to go with three pass breakups, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions. He scored double-digit tackle totals in seven of his 16 appearances on the season — the most of any rookie in the NFL.

Moreover, Schwesinger’s 146 tackles were the most ever by a Cleveland Browns rookie since returning to the league in 1999. For his efforts, he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in November.

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