Getty The Baltimore Ravens still have room to sign a former first-round pick.
Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul are still on the market in 2023 NFL free agency, leaving the Baltimore Ravens short of an experienced edge-rusher. Fortunately, the team has room to add a former first-round pick to boost its pass rush and assist developing youngsters David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh.
Jadeveon Clowney remains available, and NFL.com’s Nick Shook believes the player drafted first overall in 2014 is the best fit for the Ravens. Clowney has been plying his trade for the Cleveland Browns the last two years, during which time he’s formed an effective tandem with defensive end Myles Garrett.
Shook believes Clowney could become one half of a new-look and deadly double act in Baltimore: “In the way Cleveland was once attractive because of Myles Garrett’s presence, Baltimore could seem like a favorable spot, with the likes of Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo playing off the edge.”
It’s a sound argument for a Ravens franchise with a strong history of recruiting big-name and productive veteran pass-rushers. This isn’t the first time Clowney has been linked with the Ravens, and general manager Eric DeCosta still has the time and resources to make a deal happen.
Ravens Need Another Proven Edge
Dipping into the veteran market for pass-rush help has served the Ravens well in recent years. Houston joined the team in 2021 and amassed 14 sacks in two years, including a team-leading 9.5 quarterback takedowns last season.
Despite his productivity, 34-year-old Houston hasn’t been brought back for a third campaign at M&T Bank Stadium. Nor has fellow 34-year-old Pierre-Paul, who was nowhere near as productive.
JPP mustered a mere three sacks in 14 games during 2022, including felling Joe Burrow against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, one of Pierre-Paul’s better games in a Ravens’ uniform, per PFF BAL Ravens:
Jason Pierre-Paul had an 80.3 pass rush grade vs the Bengals on Sunday.
The highest by any Raven in a single game this season 😤
While performances like this were rare, Pierre-Paul did at least support Houston in leading Baltimore’s pass rush at the expense of younger players who struggled. Injuries played their part, with Ojabo having his rookie season wrecked by a torn Achilles suffered at Michigan’s pro day. Meanwhile, 2021 first-rounder Oweh was inconsistent and notched just three sacks.
Adding a proven commodity like Clowney would give the Ravens the versatile edge-rusher they need to make their multiple-front defense work.
3-Time Pro-Bowler a Natural Scheme Fit for Ravens
Clowney’s never been a prolific pass-rusher, failing to log more than 9.5 sacks in any season of his nine-year career. Yet, he’s a disruptive force up front, particularly against the run, and a roving rusher who can play on either side of a formation.
It’s no coincidence fellow first-overall pick Garrett has enjoyed two career-best 16-sack seasons with Clowney on the other side of the Browns’ defensive line. When their double act worked, it often produced devastating results, like this sack against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from Week 12, highlighted by former Browns’ left tackle Joe Thomas for The 33rd Team:
In a pivotal moment of the game, @Flash_Garrett and @clownejd came up big for the #Browns
@joethomas73 illustrates how Tom Brady’s footwork in the pocket helped contribute to the big sack by Cleveland
Clowney can’t match Garrett’s numbers, but his disruptive qualities show up in other ways. Ways like registering 44 pressures, 19 hurries, 23 QB hits and 12 knockdowns, per Pro Football Reference. Clowney can still put heat on the pocket and hasn’t lost his knack for making other members of a front seven better.
Shook thinks replacing Calais Campbell would be the best role for Clowney to do those things in Baltimore, but there is a better fit at outside linebacker. Defensive end Campbell was released for salary cap reasons, but Clowney can be the partner Ojabo needs in his second year.
The former Michigan standout showed the potential that made him a 2022 second-round pick by sacking Burrow and forcing a turnover in the playoffs:
Pairing Ojabo with Clowney would give the Ravens the oomph along the front missing at times last season. As ESPN’s Matt Bowen put it back in February, “Clowney still has the physical tools of a straight-line power rusher,” tools that make him a fit for the Ravens.
DeCosta can make a deal happen because he has $6,973,427 to work with under the salary cap, according to Spotrac.com. The fee should help the Ravens fashion a team-friendly one-year deal for Clowney, who earned $1.25 million in base salary last season.