The addition of Jadeveon Clowney in Cleveland this offseason came bundled with the expectation the former No. 1 overall pick would help take pressure off Browns DPOY candidate Myles Garrett.
To get the most out of the pairing, the Browns won't always line them up on opposite ends, hoping whoever gets single-blocked will win off the edge. Instead, defensive coordinator Joe Woods wants to put them next to each other at times. Both Garrett and Clowney's ability to take snaps as a defensive tackle would provide issues for offensive lines.
One would imagine most snaps in which the first-round picks play next to each other would include Clowney playing inside. Offensive lines would have to decide whether to allow Garrett to go one-on-one on the outside, keep a tight end in to help, or leave Clowney mono-e-mono with an interior blocker.
Clowney is salivating at the idea of regularly facing guards.
"We love that matchup," Clowney said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. "We feel like they're the unathletic guys. That guard position, they're not real athletes down there. So they're just physical and maulers. But we try to get in there and create those matchups for certain guys, and hopefully, we get some wins.
"You've got to think different [on the interior]. Everything happens very, very fast down there. Those guys are much bigger down there. So, yes, your whole mindset has got to change in how you attack the quarterback, how you attack the guys down there."
The knock against Clowney is that he doesn't have the otherworldly sack numbers that his price tag generally calls for. But the pass rusher has always been a disruptor. He can crumble the pocket and stuff runners for lost yardage. Shifting him to the interior alongside Garrett in obvious passing situations makes all the sense in the world.
It won't be his every-down position, but in certain "NASCAR" formations, there wouldn't be a scarier one-two punch in the NFL for offensive lines to deal with than Garrett and Clowney on the same side of the line.
"He's very hard to block, so when it comes to game plans, I definitely feel like we need to move him some because he's a little bit lighter," Woods said of Clowney. "When it comes to rushing the passer with the guys we have up front, we can move him around and we can create one-on-one matchups with whoever we want. I'm happy to have that in my arsenal. It will be on display at some point."
