BREAKING: UCLA's Schwesinger Taken in Round 2 of NFL Draft

The UCLA Bruins send a new member into the NFL fraternity.
Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger (LB25) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger (LB25) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The UCLA Bruins have sent another player to the NFL as the Cleveland Browns selected All-American linebacker Carson Schwesinger with the 33rd overall pick of the NFL Draft, the first pick of the second round, on Friday.

Schwesinger missed the first round by one selection, and as expected, he was the second middle linebacker selected after Alabama's Jihaad Campbell.

Schwesinger joins a Browns defense that just selected defensive tackle Mason Graham with the fifth overall pick on Thursday and were able to retain Myles Garrett this offseason after the star defensive end requested a trade.

Schwesinger enters a great defensive situation under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, with Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson providing the help in the defensive secondary needed to excel.

In 2023, the Browns had the NFL's premier defense, and entering a linebacker room with talented individuals like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Mohamoud Diabate, he has the time to develop, considering his limited collegiate reps at linebacker.

There's a lot of veterans and players on one-year deals so there is a development plan already in place for him.

Schwesinger finished third in the nation in total tackles last season (136), making a big name for himself as a top linebacker. He earned four sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble in the final 12 games that he played with the Bruins in 2024.

An expected second-round pick, Schwesinger's floor provided the Browns the comfort to take him as high as they did. He is considered, at worst, a premier special teams player.

A few weeks ago, CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso recently compared Schwesinger to NFL veteran Kiko Alonso.

"Alonso, like Schwesinger was a highly active three-down linebacker who enjoyed some outstanding seasons early in his NFL career about a decade ago," Trapasso wrote. "Schwesinger plays with almost reckless abandon when tracking the football, and he has supreme athletic gifts. He's explosive and super flexible, just like Alonso was."

Alonso had certain traits and talents that made him very dangerous. He also had a temperament and a propensity to hit people that got him in trouble from time to time.

If Schwesinger has control of his emotions, something he has displayed, he could become a legend of the gridiron.

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Brock Vierra
BROCK VIERRA

Brock Vierra, a UNLV graduate, is the Los Angeles Rams Beat Writer On Sports Illustrated. He also works as a college football reporter for our On Sports Illustrated team.