BEREA — Carson Schwesinger’s playmaking has been on display throughout his spectacular rookie season.
A trio of snaps last week against the Ravens took it to another level, showcasing the linebacker’s versatility as a game-changer.
On Baltimore’s first offensive snap, Schwesinger fought off a Lamar Jackson stiff-arm on the option and dragged down the quarterback for a 1-yard loss. In the third quarter, after Shedeur Sanders threw an interception, Schwesinger got the ball right back by leaping and reaching over tight end Charlie Kolar for an interception.
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In the fourth quarter, with the Browns clinging to a three-point lead, Schwesinger met 250-pound running back Derrick Henry in the hole and dropped him for a 1-yard loss.
Rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham initially said the interception was most impressive of the three before settling on the tackle of Jackson.
“No, I’d say Lamar on the sideline probably, because it was straight open space and he’s one of the hardest guys to bring down, especially in open space,” Graham told The Chronicle-Telegram. “Felt like that was a pretty big play.”
Coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t argue with the choice.
“That’s going to be on my teach tape for how to play the zone read the way that we play it,” he said. “That’s exactly how you want to play it. And that’s not an average quarterback out there. That’s an open-field nightmare. You could just see Carson’s low blood pressure out there, took proper leverage, got off the block, started the game with that. They didn’t go back to it as the game went on, and I think that had a lot to do with it.
“There’s a lot of players over the next however many years that are going to see that play.”
Schwartz wasn’t done with the praise for Schwesinger, the betting favorite to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
“I gave him a big compliment on Monday because I was with Ray Lewis his first three years in the NFL,” Schwartz said of his time with the Ravens from 1996-98. “Ray’s obviously a Hall of Famer, maybe the best ever to play in the linebacker position, but the command that Carson has now in a lot of respects took until Ray’s third year in the league.
“Middle linebacker is hard, linebacker is a hard position to play for a young player. You have to have all of the run fits, you have to have the physicality to play there. You have to be a productive tackler. You have to know all the blitzes. You have to have all the coverage components. And a lot of times it takes guys sort of piecemeal to put all of that stuff together. He’s been right in the middle of it, and it’s been fun to watch because not only does he do all that stuff well, but he has great command. He’s a great leader for us. He’s our play caller, very rarely makes a mistake. When he does make a mistake, it doesn’t repeat, and he’s very productive on the field.”
Schwesinger was the No. 33 pick of the Browns after beginning his UCLA career as a walk-on and starting for only his last season. He leads the Browns and all NFL rookies with 79 tackles, including eight for loss. He has two interceptions, 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits for the NFL’s No. 2 defense.
“He’s playing crazy right now. So keep playing that way,” Graham said.
Safety Grant Delpit believes Rookie of the Year isn’t enough recognition, and that Schwesinger should be voted to the All-Pro team.
“It’s just the statistics of it. He’s playing at a really high level,” Delpit said. “And it’s no secret, everybody knows it.
“I saw it early, I ain’t going to lie. I saw early at camp, I think everybody saw. We knew that he was going to be around the ball a lot. I’ve been telling him to make a signature celebration, he still hasn’t done it yet. He’s around that ball, so it’s inspiring. Makes everybody else want to make plays, too.”
Schwesinger isn’t focused on awards but appreciates being mentioned.
“It’s cool to see, but it’s very easy to get caught up in things like that when really the focus is just, how do we go out there and win this week?” he said. “What do I have to do to be prepared for this week? So I understand the point and obviously I can’t just go and avoid it, but really it’s just trying to maintain focus on this week and what we’re doing.”
He’s also not looking around the league to see how he stacks up against more experienced linebackers.
“No, I wouldn’t say I compare myself,” Schwesinger said. “I think really when we come in and watch the film, I’m looking at what I could do better for myself and for my teammates and I’m really worried about what the guys in here think of me and what the coaching staff thinks of me and how I can improve in those ways.”
The list isn’t long. Since Day 1, he’s made plays all over the field.
“Some of it probably just comes from playing football for so long and I think another aspect is just always trying to find the football, run to the ball,” he said. “Good things happen when you run to the ball. The other part of it is when you play behind a front four and with the back end we have, it makes it pretty easy to just be able to focus on the ball and not have to worry about too much else.”
The mental acuity Schwartz loves allowed the coaching staff to trust Schwesinger to be the signal caller. The linebacker position was in a transition with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ruled out for the season with a neck injury and Jordan Hicks retiring at the start of training camp.
Schwesinger calmed the concerns.
“We got a lot of football to play and there’s a lot of plays left for Carson to make,” Schwartz said. “We talked earlier and you guys saw a lot of training camp, and you saw the interceptions and plays on the ball. And early in the season we weren’t seeing that. It was just a matter of time because the guy’s a magnet for the ball.
“And we’ve started seeing that recently. Game-changing plays like that. So really proud of his development. Really big hat’s off to him. Big salute to Coach (Jason) Tarver, who does a great job with the linebackers in general, but to get a rookie producing at that level is pretty significant.”
The three wow plays were part of another overall standout performance for Schwesinger, who had a game-high 10 tackles, including the aforementioned two for loss.
“That game definitely gave me the opportunities to show (versatility) and I think that’s really the goal going in every game is try and make any of the plays that come my way,” he said.
