CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns missed out on J.J. Watt when the former Texans defensive lineman signed a two-year, $31 million contract with the Cardinals. The good news for the Browns is there are still plenty of talented edge rushers out there if they’re looking to spend some money to upgrade the position.
Here are three edge rushers the Browns should consider with Watt off the board.
Trey Hendrickson
Trey Hendrickson sacking Patrick Mahomes could be something the Browns are interested in seeing next season. (AP Photo, Butch Dill)AP
Most Browns fans have eyes for Cleveland native Marshon Lattimore when they look towards New Orleans, but Hendrickson could hit the open market for the cash-strapped Saints.
Hendrickson turned 26 in December, so he’s in the age range of a player you would consider giving a sizable second contract to in free agency. There are two questions to answer regarding Hendrickson.
The first: Do the Browns want to hand out a contract like the one Spotrac.com sets as his market value, somewhere in the range of 3 years, $30.9 million?
The second: Can Hendricks repeat the 13-sack season he had in 2020, the first of his career where he had more than 4.5.
Consider this with Hendrickson. The profile is there for an elite edge rusher.
He ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at the combine in 2017, just behind Myles Garrett’s 4.64. Big deal, right? 40 times and edge rushers -- Who cares?
More importantly, his 10-yard split was 1.59 seconds and his 20-yard split was 2.68 seconds. Garrett, by comparison, came in at 1.63 seconds for 10 yards and 2.68 for 20 yards.
This isn’t to say Hendrickson is Garrett, but it points to a vital stat for defensive linemen -- his explosion. If the Browns look at Hendrickson and see one season of production in 2020 -- a really good season of production -- they might also see a player with a profile of continued production as a pass rusher if they dig into his history when he came into the league as a third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic.
Carl Lawson
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry throws a pass under pressure from Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carl Lawson in the second half. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
If the Bengals allow Lawson to reach free agency, he, like Hendrickson, fits into the category of a player worthy of a hefty second contract. He turns 26 in June and, like Hendrickson, boasted impressive 10- and 20-yard splits when he ran at the combine.
Those are mentioned here again because Lawson doesn’t necessarily have the sack production you’d expect for an expensive edge rusher. He has 20 sacks in four seasons, but there’s a profile of a player who might have the explosion off the snap to wreak havoc.
Pro Football Focus credited him with 64 pressures in 2020, fourth-most in the league and the most of his career, as well as 34 hurries, the second-most since his rookie season and 15th in the league. He was PFF’s ninth-highest graded pass rusher in 2020.
And, while the Bengals aren’t exactly knocking on the door of the Super Bowl in 2021, it’s always good to weaken a division rival, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Speaking of ...
Bud Dupree
Bud Dupree (48) hits Baker Mayfield during a Steelers win over the Browns. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Here’s the case for Dupree: If you want a super-motivated player, how about a guy coming back from a torn ACL whose old team let him go and that old team just happens to be your rival?
Dupree just turned 28 and has 19.5 sacks in the last two seasons, including eight in 2020 before his season ended in early December.
He tore the ACL on December 2 against Baltimore, so it will be difficult for the Browns to assess exactly when Dupree would be back and how long it would take him to be the player they would want him to be. However, if they’re confident he can return to 100 percent -- or close to it -- early in the season, there could be real value in a short deal for a player looking to prove people wrong.
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