Heading into the offseason, there were some concerns over the Cleveland Browns defensive line.
The organization decided to cut veteran tackle Sheldon Richardson, while Larry Ogunjobi signed elsewhere in free agency.
Cleveland also let veteran defensive end Olivier Vernon walk, so Myles Garrett was the remaining starter left on the d-line.
Despite that, general manager Andrew Berry did an incredible job of quickly rebuilding the Browns defensive line this offseason.
He did such a great job that Pro Football Focus ranked two of the Browns edge defenders in the top 32 in the league.
Myles Garrett
It comes to no one’s surprise that Garrett landed towards the top of this list.
The 25-year-old has been playing excellent since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Browns in 2017.
He has two Pro Bowl selections under his belt and nearly 45 sacks recorded since joining the league.
Garrett is a dangerous player and someone who is almost impossible to stop on the field.
Surprisingly, there were three other edge defenders that actually ranked higher than Garrett on the PFF list.
They ranked Khalil Mack, T.J.Watt, and Joey Bosa as the top 3 edge defenders in the league.
That puts Garrett in the four spot, but at least Pro Football Focus gave a good reasoning for it.
“Garrett finds himself at the top of almost every significant pass-rush grade category since entering the league as the No.1 overall pick back in 2017. He ranks in the 98th percentile in pass-rushing grade, pass-rush grade on true pass sets and pass-rush grade without play action. Garrett is one of the position’s best athletes and can win his individual matchups in various ways.”
There can surely be a case made that Garrett should be in the top 3, but Browns fans will certainly take fourth.
The young edge rusher has recorded 10 or more sacks in each of the last three seasons.
It’s also worth noting that Garrett was able to put up 10-plus sacks per season while not playing a full 16-game campaign in each of the last two years.
The former Texas A&M product seemingly continues to get better each season and it’ll be exciting to see what he is able to do in 2021.
Jadeveon Clowney
PFF did rank Jadeveon Clowney in the top 32 despite him coming off two straight injury-riddled campaigns.
The former No. 1 overall pick has not looked like the same player that made three Pro Bowl appearances earlier in his career.
To be fair, Clowney has been injured each of the last two seasons, but should not be taken lightly when he’s on the field.
.@clownejd takes down Drew Lock. #Titans
📺: #TENvsDEN on ESPN
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/aNyMPaWyG0 pic.twitter.com/DdMktkHzZT— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2020
Clowney is coming off a 19-tackle season with four passes defended in nine games with the Tennessee Titans.
Obviously, those aren’t the type of numbers that Clowney wants to be producing.
The fact he has struggled has dropped him to No. 20 in the top 32 edge defenders.
Cleveland gave Clowney a one-year deal that is heavily incentive-based, so he needs to play well in order to get paid.
On paper, Clowney and Garrett together make for one of the most dangerous pass-rushing duos in the league.
“Clowney’s stock across the league is seemingly at a low point as he comes off two injury-limited seasons with Seattle and Tennessee. It’s worth remembering that Clowney is still one of the most disruptive edge defenders in the league when healthy, though.”
Now it’ll be about keeping Clowney on the field, but fans should expect a bounce-back campaign, assuming Clowney can stay relatively healthy.
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