With the preseason dress rehearsals about to get underway, the Cleveland Browns revealed a couple of interesting nuggets in their first unofficial depth chart of the 2026 season.
While he may have gone unnoticed to most fans last season, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold 's name on the depth chart definitely stood out. Somewhat surprisingly, he was listed as a starter in Mike Rutenberg's base 4-3 defense.
The former undrafted free agent is ahead of the likes of Nathaniel Watson , Winston Reid , and rookie LB Justin Jefferson , at least for now. That's a big change for a player who played a grand total of 12 defensive snaps last season.
The Browns signed Mascarenas-Arnold as an undrafted free agent out of USC shortly after the 2025 NFL Draft. Unlike fellow rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger , a second-rounder and eventual Defensive Rookie of the Year honoree, he had to fight just to make the roster.
Even so, he got the bulk of his playing time on special teams, playing 262 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Now, with Schwesinger out with a minor injury, he's made the most of a clean slate and an extended opportunity under Rutenberg.
Standing at 5-foot-11 and 227 pounds, Mascarenas-Arnold led the Trojans with 95 tackles, five tackles for loss, and three sacks in his final season in college. He also showed promise in coverage, logging a couple of interceptions and one pass breakup.
Entering training camp , it looked like Reid had the inside track to start as the off-ball linebacker on the weak side, with Schwesinger carrying the green dot in the middle and Quincy Williams as the strong-side linebacker. While that could still be the case, Mascarenas-Arnold should now be considered almost a lock to make the 53-man roster.
Conversely, that's probably not great news for Jefferson. He was always a bit of a project and would probably need to bulk up to make an impact in the pros. He will now most likely be the odd-man out on defense and spend most of his rookie year on special teams.
Clearly, Mike Rutenberg and the Browns' coaching staff value hard work over pedigree and experience, and Mascarenas-Arnold might just be the team's next big discovery.
This article was originally published on www.dawgpounddaily.com as Former Browns afterthought may have fought his way into the starting lineup .
