Jadeveon Clowney Is Already Loving His Time In Cleveland

An edge rusher known for "viral hits," former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney is ready to rebound to his Pro Bowl levels of production now that he's a member of the Cleveland Browns.

His fourth team since being draft by the Houston Texans in 2014, Clowney has yet to make a splash in the league after his much-anticipated debut. Whether it was the teams he played for, or a number of injuries that limited Clowney's availability, the 28-year-old edge rusher feels like he has finally found the right place after getting to work with Browns DE Myles Garrett.

A team familiar with Clowney's journey, the Cleveland Browns broke an 18-year playoff hiatus in 2020 when they finally made the postseason, going as far as advancing to the second round in a well-contested matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to Coach of the Year Kevan Stefanski.

After going 11-5 in Stefanski's debut year as HC, the play on the field surprisingly lived up to the talent on the roster, with the formidable Garrett posting 12 sacks and 33 solo tackles.

Clowney praised the young DE and spoke on his extraordinary play during training camps. “It’s funny, I haven’t run into many guys like that in the National Football League yet. It took me eight years to get here to find another one like that, on defense, anyways.”

Clowney's up to the challenge of getting through a healthy season based on rigorous offseason preparation, and with the potential of two No. 1 overall picks playing on the same defensive line.

“I proved to myself I’m feeling good coming off the knee injury,” Clowney said. “I’ve been training extremely hard this offseason, so I already kind of had a feel of where I was coming here. I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t healthy."

He added, “I felt great coming in. I feel great now. Hopefully I can continue it into this next phase and keeping being strong and faster and get ready for training camp.”

While chasing quarterbacks is one bullet point on the resumé for Clowney, stopping backfields will be the duo's biggest challenge ahead with the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals all boasting a solid rushing attack. Newcomer Najee Harris is a talent to look out for in the years ahead, while the dual-threat of Lamar Jackson doesn't fail to break ankles around the league.

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is already welcoming the sight of a Garrett-Clowney tandem knowing that their potentially dominating defensive efforts may create some ease for the offense to build momentum.

“My two tiny friends? I would not say it would be very fun to go up against them.”