New ideas on what Clowney will be.
It has been said so many times that you may think it is true, but Jadeveon Clowney isn’t someone who is going to spend a lot of time grinding it out on 1st and 2nd downs.
Because he is so powerful, people tend to think that Clowney is someone who plays a lot of run downs and who kicks inside or comes off the field for better pass rushers on some/most 3rd downs.
In reality, Seattle used Clowney as a pass rusher who could play base downs sometimes, rather than someone who played base downs and who could also rush the passer sometimes. When they did use him as a run defender, it looked like the majority of his time was spent crashing gaps or setting the edge instead of using his power to stall blockers and allow him to read the blocks and make a play.
I want to put this out there because there is a misconception that either Clowney or Beasley might be able to come in and play 80% of the snaps like Harold Landry will, and that just isn’t very likely.
Last year, Harold Landry played 80% or more in 14 of 16 games, while Clowney and Beasley combined to hit that mark in 8 of 29 games last season. They are both rotational players that will be brought in to supplement Harold Landry, not the other way around.
Now, that may feel like I am throwing cold water on signing Clowney, but this is why I think it is more important than ever to sign Clowney now.