Mason Graham (born September 2, 2003) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

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(NFL). He was a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

playing

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for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, including

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

honors in 2024. In 2023, he won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

and was the Rose Bowl defensive

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. Graham was selected by the Browns with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

Graham was born in

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...

on September 2, 2003, the son of Allen and Kimberly Graham. He attended

Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

and was a two-way starter for his football team, playing on the defensive line and as a tackle on the offensive line. He was also a star wrestler at Servite. In December 2021, he was selected by the ''

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'' as the High School Football Player of the Year and named an

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

. As a senior, he recorded 60 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks on the season. Graham was rated as a four-star recruit, and ranked as the No. 162 overall player in the country. After watching

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

play

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in Ann Arbor on September 16, 2021, Graham committed to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

College career

Freshman season (2022)

Graham enrolled at the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and saw extensive playing time as a true freshman. Graham appeared in all 14 games, totaling 27 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His first career sack came in his first career game, versus Colorado State on September 3, 2022. After the season, he was named to the True Freshman All-America team by

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Sophomore season (2023)

In 2023, Graham was named as a second-team All-American by ''

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'', and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. He appeared in 13 games for the Wolverines, totaling 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Graham was named the Defensive Player of the Game in the

2024 Rose Bowl The 2024 Rose Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2024 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Ro ...

, following a four-tackle performance in the victory against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The following week, Michigan won the

2024 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship (officially known as the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game that was played on January 8, 2024, ...

in a 34–13 victory over the Washington Huskies.

Junior season (2024)

Entering his junior season, Mason Graham was ranked as the best interior defensive lineman in college football by the media. He was widely considered to be an early first round pick in the

. In week four against the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, Graham recorded six tackles and his first sack of the season. In week five against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, he followed up his performance with four tackles and a career high two sacks. In week six versus

, Graham blocked a field goal, had two tackles and his third straight game with a sack. Graham finished the season with 45 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. In November 2024, Graham was named as a finalist for the

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

, given to the best defensive player in college football, and the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

, given to the best interior lineman (offensive or defensive). He was the fifth player in Michigan football history to be a finalist for the Nagurski and the sixth for the Outland. Graham also received

honors, named to the first-team by each of the five officially recognized

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

selectors. He was the 29th unanimous selection all-time for Michigan Wolverines, and the 27th individual player. On December 10, Graham declared for the 2025 NFL draft, forgoing the

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and his senior year. Graham finished his three year career at the University of Michigan with a 35-6 team record, two Big Ten championships, All-American honors twice, a Rose Bowl MVP, was a national champion, and finished 3-0 against both rivals,

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. He appeared in 39 games, starting 27 times and recording 108 career tackles, 18 tackles for a loss and nine sacks.

College statistics

Professional career

Graham was selected with the fifth overall pick by the

in the first round of the

. The Browns traded down three spots with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

before selecting him. Graham was the first defensive tackle taken in the draft (second defensive lineman).

Notes

References

External links

Cleveland Browns profile

Michigan Wolverines profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Mason 2003 births Living people American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Anaheim, California Servite High School alumni Michigan Wolverines football players All-American college football players Cleveland Browns players