The Browns have signed journeyman pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. It's a move I've gone back and forth on; few players have gotten more mileage out of being a former No. 1 overall pick while seldom quite living up to expectations. But looking at all the various numbers, it ultimately looks like a worthwhile investment.
Clowney was drafted back in 2014, and although he was hurt most of that season -- and half of last season, with Tennessee -- he played in 71 of a possible 80 games in his other five years, so he's probably not quite as injury-prone as his reputation. If we presume he can stay healthy, the question is whether he can be a difference-maker in Cleveland's Myles Garrett-led defense.
If looking only at sacks, the numbers aren't great. Clowney had a couple of 9-sack seasons with Houston, but for his career just 32 sacks in 83 games. During his seven-year career, 53 players have had more total sacks -- not what you're hoping for when you select a pass rusher No. 1 overall.
But digging a little deeper, and using data from pro-football-reference.com, we see that Clowney supplemented those sacks by making a lot of plays against the run. In that same timeframe, he was credited with 75 tackles for losses. That ranked 15th among all players.
During his career, Clowney has averaged a combined 1.3 sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage per game. That's a top-20 number, among all players who played at least 50 games over the last seven years. (56 games would be half the time, but I wanted to sneak in Clowney's new teammate Garrett.)
| SACKS AND TACKLES FOR LOSS PER GAME, 2014-2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Sk | Tckl | TFL | Sk-TFL/G |
| J.J. Watt | 80 | 64.5 | 314 | 98 | 2.03 |
| Aaron Donald | 110 | 85.5 | 357 | 131 | 1.97 |
| Joey Bosa | 63 | 47.5 | 240 | 68 | 1.83 |
| T.J. Watt | 62 | 49.5 | 230 | 59 | 1.75 |
| Chandler Jones | 94 | 79.5 | 308 | 84 | 1.74 |
| Justin Houston | 91 | 71.0 | 285 | 83 | 1.69 |
| Myles Garrett | 51 | 42.5 | 152 | 42 | 1.66 |
| Von Miller | 95 | 71.0 | 324 | 79 | 1.58 |
| Danielle Hunter | 78 | 54.5 | 276 | 67 | 1.56 |
| Cameron Jordan | 112 | 73.0 | 369 | 101 | 1.55 |
| Khalil Mack | 110 | 70.5 | 448 | 97 | 1.52 |
| Michael Bennett | 90 | 46.0 | 230 | 89 | 1.50 |
| Ryan Kerrigan | 108 | 71.0 | 270 | 85 | 1.44 |
| Calais Campbell | 106 | 55.5 | 395 | 93 | 1.40 |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | 94 | 59.5 | 363 | 70 | 1.38 |
| Everson Griffen | 102 | 63.0 | 302 | 72 | 1.32 |
| Terrell Suggs | 79 | 44.5 | 219 | 60 | 1.32 |
| Jadeveon Clowney | 83 | 32.0 | 255 | 75 | 1.29 |
| Carlos Dunlap | 109 | 60.0 | 358 | 80 | 1.28 |
| Olivier Vernon | 95 | 48.5 | 300 | 71 | 1.26 |
| Ezekiel Ansah | 79 | 42.5 | 204 | 56 | 1.25 |
| Cameron Heyward | 101 | 50.5 | 361 | 74 | 1.23 |
| Brandon Graham | 111 | 47.5 | 339 | 89 | 1.23 |
| Yannick Ngakoue | 78 | 45.5 | 145 | 49 | 1.21 |
| Melvin Ingram | 93 | 47.0 | 311 | 65 | 1.20 |
| Clay Matthews | 87 | 41.5 | 274 | 63 | 1.20 |
| DeMarcus Lawrence | 96 | 45.5 | 300 | 69 | 1.19 |
| Willie Young | 50 | 26.0 | 114 | 33 | 1.18 |
| Matt Judon | 76 | 34.5 | 236 | 54 | 1.16 |
| Bud Dupree | 81 | 39.5 | 231 | 54 | 1.15 |
| Elvis Dumervil | 56 | 32.5 | 110 | 32 | 1.15 |
| Frank Clark | 91 | 49.0 | 202 | 55 | 1.14 |
| DeForest Buckner | 78 | 38.0 | 321 | 48 | 1.10 |
| Cameron Wake | 78 | 49.0 | 152 | 36 | 1.09 |
| Za'Darius Smith | 90 | 44.5 | 226 | 53 | 1.08 |
| Geno Atkins | 104 | 46.5 | 247 | 65 | 1.07 |
| Muhammad Wilkerson | 60 | 26.0 | 229 | 38 | 1.07 |
| Robert Quinn | 93 | 48.0 | 201 | 51 | 1.06 |
| Chris Jones | 76 | 40.5 | 172 | 40 | 1.06 |
| Gerald McCoy | 88 | 41.0 | 215 | 52 | 1.06 |
| Bruce Irvin | 93 | 42.0 | 251 | 56 | 1.05 |
| Mario Addison | 106 | 56.5 | 216 | 55 | 1.05 |
| Shaquil Barrett | 92 | 41.5 | 266 | 55 | 1.05 |
| Jamal Adams | 58 | 21.5 | 356 | 39 | 1.04 |
| Ndamukong Suh | 112 | 37.0 | 378 | 78 | 1.03 |
| Jurrell Casey | 95 | 35.0 | 346 | 61 | 1.01 |
| Whitney Mercilus | 96 | 41.0 | 273 | 56 | 1.01 |
| Cliff Avril | 52 | 26.5 | 110 | 26 | 1.01 |
| Markus Golden | 78 | 33.5 | 224 | 45 | 1.01 |
| Kawann Short | 83 | 31.0 | 250 | 52 | 1.00 |
| Dee Ford | 79 | 37.0 | 154 | 42 | 1.00 |
Clowney will need to stay healthy, of course, and fit in. The fact that he's with his fourth team since 2018 doesn't say a lot about his locker-room presence.
But if he can be the all-around player he's been to this point, the Browns will have two of the more disruptive line of scrimmage presences in the league in Garrett and Clowney. Pass rush (mediocre last year) should be better, and so should overall performance. I'll have some interest in Cleveland's defense in fantasy leagues.
--Andy Richardson