The Browns were busy on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, selecting four total players who filled major team needs and could all play key roles at some point in 2025 as rookies. Three of them stepped inside CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for the first time Saturday on the first day of their NFL careers.
LB Carson Schwesinger has a chance to become a crucial player in the middle of the defense, RB Quinshon Judkins could become a lead running back and TE Harold Fannin Jr. could blossom into a leading role next to David Njoku.
All three players met each other and their new coaches Saturday in Berea—and all of them took unique paths in their football journeys that have intersected in Cleveland.
For Fannin, everything about Cleveland feels like home, and that's because it always has been. The McKinley High School grad and Bowling Green product was raised in Canton and has been an imposing player at every level of the game, but it hasn't always been at tight end.
See photos of Cleveland Browns 2025 third-round pick Harold Fannin Jr. from his football career at Bowling Green and before entering the NFL.
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (44) catches a pass for a touchdown as running back Nick Mosley (5) watches during the Quick Lane Bowl NCAA college football game, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
National team tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (44), of Bowling Green, carries the ball during the second half of the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FILE - Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (44) throws a pass as Bowling Green offensive tackle Alex Wollschlaeger (50) looks to block against Minnesota during the Quick Lane Bowl NCAA college football game, Dec. 26, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Western Michigan at Bowling Green November 12, 2024 Doyt L. Perry Stadium Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Fannin has only played tight end for three years after playing mostly safety at McKinley, but he quickly became one of the most compelling tight ends in the country in 2024 by smashing records with the single best tight end season in FBS history. His 1,555 receiving yards paced all FBS receivers, and the Browns didn't want to let Fannin's overpowering style leave the state.
The Browns are going to use Fannin across their whole offense and won't limit to typical tight end positions, either. They already have one physically imposing tight end in Njoku, and Fannin, who is 6-foot-3, and 241 pounds, has the traits to be able to play wherever the Browns want him.
"(That plan) is definitely great," he said. "Just knowing that, the things I've done in college, I'm going to be able to continue to keep doing that at the next level."
Take a look back at Carson Schwesinger's football career from his days in college to becoming the Cleveland Browns' 2025 second-round draft pick.
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger participates in vertical jump at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster, left, talks with linebacker Carson Schwesinger, right, during the team's NCAA college football pro day in Los Angeles, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Schwesinger's path to the Browns was unconventional, too, and might as well have appeared impossible only a few years ago.
As a walk-on at UCLA, Schwesinger was largely used as a special teams player his first three years seeing the field, but he earned an opportunity to start at middle linebacker his junior year. Just like that, Schwesinger became the leading tackler of all Power 4 players, totaling 134 tackles and bringing ball carriers down at every level of the field with his speed and instincts.
But as his walk-on journey was beginning, Schwesinger was preparing for a career in bio engineering. Picking the right degree felt just as important to him as his football efforts, and it wasn't until his season in 2024 did the football dream come to higher fruition.
"Right now, that is kind of on the back burner," he said. "But I just kind of chose it. I grew up, with science and math and was good at it and enjoyed it. Starting as a walk on, you never know what the path is going to be, so you want to make the degree worth it."
Take a look back at Quinshon Judkins' football career from his days in college to becoming the Cleveland Browns' 2025 second-round draft pick.
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins, right, runs past Purdue linebacker Yanni Karlaftis during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (1) runs with the ball against Notre Dame during the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins runs in the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins plays against Western Michigan during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins participates in a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins plays against Tennessee the first-round of the College Football Playoff Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (1) runs against Texas during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (1) rushes while chased down by Texas defensive back Gavin Holmes (9) and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) during the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Unlike Fannin and Schwesinger, Judkins' pro prospects were strong from the start of his career at Ole Miss and were surging by the time he transferred to Ohio State for 2024. Judkins was a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his three college seasons, and his selection by the Browns fills a big need at running back as Cleveland searches for a potential bellcow rusher.
Judkins, though, will be surrounded by Buckeyes who can show him around. He is the seventh Ohio State player added to the roster and didn't need much time Saturday inside CrossCountry Mortgage Campus before he met another: Denzel Ward.
"I got to see Denzel when I first got in the building earlier, and just that feeling of being a Buckeye and getting the feeling of just staying home, that's important." he said. "You don't have to go out of state anywhere else and just getting to keep making my mark here in the state of Ohio."
That's the goal now for each of the players the Browns gave phone calls to on Day 2, but now the real work begins as they look to provide an immediate boost to a Browns roster that needs each of their talents.
"I'm just looking forward to getting back to football," Schwesinger said. "I think in the whole process; there's a lot going on and a lot of stress. So now knowing where I'm going to be, knowing where home is and getting back to every day, I'm just trying to get better at football."
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