The Cleveland Browns are closing in on a deal to sign Jadeveon Clowney but does this move put the team over the top as a legit Super Bowl contender?
Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns came painfully close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round last year but the addition of Jadeveon Clowney could close the gap.
The Browns are hoping to sign Clowney to a deal and that could be official as early as Monday, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS.
Pairing Clowney with Myles Garrett on a defense that made great strides last year and has already added reinforcements in free agency on top of getting Greedy Jackson and Grant Delpit back after missing their rookie seasons gives Browns fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Signing Clowney is all about getting past Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Yes, the Browns are legit Super Bowl contenders with Jadeveon Clowney
With Mayfield ascending after his best pro season, Odell Beckham Jr. coming back from injury, an offensive line coming together as one of the best in the AFC and Nick Chubb a candidate to lead the NFL in rushing and this team can go score-for-score with Mahomes and the Chiefs.
To get past Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Playoffs, they are going to have to get to Mahomes, just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to beat them in the Super Bowl.
While Clowney isn’t the pass-rusher he was projected to be when the Houston Texans made him the No. 1 pick in the draft, he can complement Garrett who is a perennial candidate to lead the NFL in sacks. Coupled with free agent addition Takk McKinley, a former first-rounder of the Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland has more ways to get to the quarterback.
What Clowney does as well as any defensive end is stopping the run, and that’s never not going to be a necessity in the NFL. While sacks are glamorous and result in big-time contracts, Clowney’s ability to stone the run game is why he’s a special talent and why this addition would make Cleveland’s Super Bowl candidacy that much stronger.
Heck, Cleveland is a Super Bowl contender without Clowney. But with him? They have a legit chance to de-throne the Chiefs as the kings of the AFC.