Baron Browning
Arizona CardinalsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 15 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Comps
STM Take
Four career tier 8 STTM finishes across five years for a 3rd-round pick puts Browning in the structural rotational depth band. The Ohio State Big Ten 3rd-round origin plus the EDGE-LB hybrid usage gives him basic positional flexibility. The 2026 question is whether Browning holds tier 7 or better with Arizona or whether the role compresses to swing depth.
Browning came out of Ohio State as the Denver Broncos' 3rd-round pick (105th overall) in 2021 as a converted EDGE-LB hybrid. He bounced through the Broncos and now Cardinals across five NFL seasons. His STTM career runs tier 8 (#62) rookie, tier 8 (#77) in 2023, tier 8 (#66) in 2024, and tier 8 (#58) in 2025.
Strengths
- Ohio State Big Ten 3rd-round pedigree plus the EDGE-LB hybrid usage gives him rare positional flexibility.
- Five years of NFL survival across two systems gives him real plug-in linebacker veteran value.
Concerns
- Four career tier 8 STTM finishes confirms the structural ceiling has never climbed above rotational depth.
- Arizona's broader defensive identity around the multi-year rebuild compresses the structural support around Browning.
What to watch: Whether Browning holds tier 7 or better in 2026 with Arizona or whether the role compresses to swing depth.