Silver And Black Pride
The spotlight for the Week 12 matchup between the host Las Vegas Raiders and visiting Cleveland Browns is on quarterback Shedeur Sanders. And for good reason.
The rookie signal caller had plenty of buzz heading into the 2025 NFL Draft and the Silver & Black were one of the assumed potential suitors for the Colorado product. Instead, Sanders — the son of current Colorado head coach and takeaway artist NFL cornerback Deion Sanders — had quite the draft freefall before the Browns plucked him with the 144th pick in the fifth round.
With fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel (94th overall pick in the third round) out due to concussion symptoms, it’s Sanders who gets the starting nod and a full week’s prep of first-team snaps for the upcoming AFC clash in Allegiant Stadium this Sunday.
But Sanders is but one of many Cleveland rookies Las Vegas must account for. Outside of the late-round quarterback (Sanders), the seven prospects the Browns drafted this past April have all played between eight to 10 games. In comparison, of the 11 prospects the Raiders selected, four have played in all 10 games so far: Ashton Jeanty (sixth overall pick), wide receiver Jack Bech (58th overall), cornerback Darien Porter (68th overall), and linebacker Cody Lindenberg (222nd overall). Offensive lineman Caleb Rogers (98th overall) and quarterback Cam Miller (215th overall, practice squad) have not played in a game yet.
Of the rookies to play in Allegiant Stadium this Sunday, it’s Cleveland’s second-round pick that’s turning heads with a fine rookie campaign.
Linebacker Carson Schwesinger was a prospect I habitually had the Raiders taking in my various mock drafts leading up to draft day. The UCLA product was a special teams maniac before a full season as a linebacker for the Bruins and Cleveland took him with the 33rd overall pick.
Using his size (6-foot-3, 242 pounds) speed, agility, and football intelligence, Schwesinger is putting on a show in Year 1 as he leads the Browns in total tackles with 85 (38 solo). The 22-year-old also eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions as he’s flying all over the field as a rookie.
Rarely coming off the field — 569 snaps on defense, good for 96 percent of Cleveland’s total — Schwesinger is prone to rookie mistakes. Pro Football Reference charts the young linebacker with 17 completions on 23 targets (73.9 percent) for 211 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also charted with six missed tackles, but overall, it’s an impressive initial season in the NFL.
The Browns’ first-round pick — Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham — isn’t lighting up his statistics Year 1 like Schwesinger with 22 total tackles, four stops for loss, half a sack, and a trio of pass deflections as the fifth-overall pick. But playing against the Raiders’ offensive line, the 6-foot-4 and 315-pound interior lineman could see a breakout performance.
The Raiders defense must be in tip top shape to contend with Browns running...
