Browns $19 Million Addition Predicted to Underachieve in 2023

The Cleveland Browns have taken a handful of huge personnel swings this offseason, and some of them are bound to miss the mark.

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo had a career year in 2022 after the Houston Texans moved him into the defensive end position. The pass rusher amassed five sacks and 24 quarterback pressures over the final six games of the season, per Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire. Okoronkwo’s performance slotted him inside the NFL’s top-10 in both categories across that span.

The result was a three-year, $19 million deal in Cleveland that positioned Okoronkwo as a starter on the Browns’ defensive line until the team traded with the Minnesota Vikings for three-time Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith. However, that the Browns felt they needed Smith at all points to reasonable questions about Okoronkwo’s production projections for 2023.

Jake Rill of Bleacher Report predicted on Monday, June 12, that Okoronkwo will take a step back as an edge rusher in his first season with the Browns and finish the year with fewer than three sacks.

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Ogbonnia Okoronkwo’s Playing Time Will be Limited Due to Browns’ Trade for Za’Darius Smith

Okoronkwo is a physical specimen at 6-feet, 2-inches tall and 253 pounds who played his first three NFL seasons at the linebacker position. He will also play the entirety of the upcoming campaign, his fifth as a professional, at the age of 28. As noted previously, Okoronkwo also had the best season of his life in 2022 — another factor that points to the Browns’ new acquisition as a player still on the rise.

Rill’s argument for a turndown in Okoronkwo’s production in 2023 is less about his talent or trajectory, and more about the fact that the addition of Smith is likely to limit Okoronkwo’s playing time.

The edge rusher could still get considerable time on the field, but not nearly as much now that Smith is in the fold.

Okoronkwo doesn’t have a long track record. He … had only 4.5 [sacks] total in 33 games over the previous three years with the Los Angeles Rams. He also had never started a game until starting eight in 2022.

While [Okoronkwo] is a solid player, it’s going to be tough for him to get five sacks again in his first year in Cleveland, where [Myles] Garrett, Smith and the starting [defensive tackles] are all likely to get plenty. Because of that, his sack total won’t be nearly as impressive this upcoming season.

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Browns May Look to Add Another Pass Rusher in Yannick Ngakoue

Cleveland still has nearly $16.9 million in salary cap space available, which means that another edge rusher could potentially join Okoronkwo, Smith and Garrett on the defensive line.

Free agent Yannick Ngakoue makes the most sense, as a sack specialist from the defensive end position who is a natural fit with the Browns’ 4-3 base defensive scheme. Ngakoue will play next season at the age of 28 and has never finished any of his seven NFL seasons with fewer than eight sacks, per Pro Football Reference.

The Browns are relatively set on offense, unless they decide to add another wide receiver or a second-string running back behind Nick Chubb. If the team chooses not to add an offensive weapon, depth on the edge or at defensive tackle makes sense as a place to spend its remaining cap space.

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