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NFL Honors 2026: Carson Schwesinger named Defensive Rookie of the Year

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax02/06/26BarkleyTruax

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.

As a unit, the Cleveland Browns defense held teams to 283.6 yards per game on average — the fourth lowest in the NFL this past season. The Browns also ranked third in the league in sacks with 53.0.

Despite Schwesinger’s success, the Browns finished the 2025-26 NFL season with a 5-12 record. Cleveland finished in last place in the AFC North for the second straight season. This comes after the Browns enjoyed an 11-win season in 2023 that included a trip to the playoffs.

The other candidates enjoyed similar success to Schwesinger. James Pearce totaled 10.5 sacks for the Falcons during his rookie season. Abdul Carter finished with 23 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles. Watts finished with 96 tackles and 11 pass breakups from the safety position. Finally, Emmanwori starred for the Super Bowl-bound Seattle Seahawks and finished with 81 tackles, 11 pass breakups and 2.5 sacks in 14 games.