Three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney, recently accepted a contract proposal from the Baltimore Ravens.
Clowney most recently spent time on the Cleveland Browns but has also been a part of the Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. It was with the Texans when Clowney was most impactful.
What Jadeveon Clowney Means for Baltimore Ravens
Jadeveon Clowney’s Career to Date
Clowney was drafted by the Texans with the first overall pick in 2014. Since his rookie season, Clowney has been named to three Pro Bowls and was also nominated a second team All Pro in 2016.
The 30-year-old was once one of the league’s most dangerous pass rushers in Houston and in Seattle. However, a major injury in 2020, when on the Titans, halted Clowney’s upward trajectory. He did not manage a sack in eight games that year.
Since 2020, Clowney has been on the Browns as second fiddle to Myles Garrett. He has been quietly effective but has yet to re-ignite his status as a household name. Despite only managing three sacks in 2022, Clowney still earned an impressive 75.8 PFF grade.
Over his 109-game career so far, Clowney has amassed 43 sacks and 13 forced fumbles. Through his two-year stint in Cleveland, the 30-year-old managed 11 sacks, three forced fumbles and 65 tackles through 26 games.
Here is every sack + TFL by Jadeveon Clowney in 2019: pic.twitter.com/JkbmGwEfXU
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) July 1, 2020
Jadeveon Clowney’s Fit on the Baltimore Ravens
Play Style and Scheme Fit
Clowney is an excellent fit for Baltimore. He brings an established skillset and seems to be a good scheme fit.
Mike MacDonald currently runs a versatile defensive scheme that mostly uses a 3-4 front. In this scheme, Clowney will be deployed as an outside linebacker. He will find himself mostly with on-ball duties, whether that be pass rushing, playing contain or run stopping.
This is a good fit for Clowney as he has excelled as an outside linebacker in a similar role before. On the Texans, he found a lot of success as an outside linebacker, complimenting J.J. Watt on the other side.
However, Clowney is a very versatile edge defender. He has also played in 4-3 fronts as a defensive end too. His diverse skillset has allowed him to align as a traditional 4-3 defensive end but also as a ‘wide nine’.
MacDonald’s Baltimore defense has found success in versatility. Kyle Hamilton’s immensely varied abilities come to mind as a hybrid safety-linebacker. However, players like Brandon Stephens, Roquan Smith, Odafe Oweh and Geno Stone have all been used in multiple different positions to disguise rushers and coverages.
Clowney’s versatility gives MacDonald another versatile piece to play with. On most downs he will be used as an outside pass rusher. However, he can also be deployed in 4-3 fronts and may also kick inside in clear passing situations.
There is also something to be said for Clowney’s intel on the Browns. Being division rivals, Cleveland and Baltimore will have to play each other twice in 2023. Clowney will have good information on Cleveland’s gameplan and playcalling, which could assist Baltimore in their push for the AFC North title.
Baltimore Ravens Pass Rusher Depth Chart
Clowney is now Baltimore’s top pass rusher entering Week 1 of 2023. He is an established star who has found a lot of success at the NFL level.
Behind Clowney are Oweh, David Ojabo and Tyus Bowser. Despite Clowney’s arrival, these young pass rushers will still be relied on in the rotation. The likely situation is that Clowney will play the most snaps of the quartet, but MacDonald will opt for a rotation (as he did in 2022 with Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul).
While Oweh and Ojabo enter 2023 vowing to be “dominant”, the extra help from Clowney will not go amiss. Clowney’s veteran presence will likely aid the development of Baltimore’s young pass rushers, and his arrival also takes some of the pressure and attention off the young players.
Could Clowney’s arrival spell the end for Bowser? Perhaps, but unlikely. Bowser would be a surprise cut given how thin the Ravens are at outside linebacker coupled with the fact that Bowser has a little more experience than both Oweh and Ojabo.
Despite Clowney’s arrival, there is a chance that Baltimore could opt to add another pass rusher due to the lack of established depth. Melvin Ingram, Vince Biegel and Robert Quinn could all be names to watch. However, reports coming out of camp have suggested that undrafted rookie Malik Hamm could earn some rotational reps too.
Jadeveon Clowney with the strip sack AND fumble recovery! #Browns
📺: #NYJvsCLE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/bDdH0uvRfp pic.twitter.com/GT7KtXdpVl— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2022
Main Photo: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
