Jadeveon Clowney will move Seahawks to serious contenders
The Seahawks made the biggest splash on Cut Day by getting a player, not cutting one. Jadeveon Clowney puts them in serious contention.
Usually, the biggest news on Cut Day would be, well, roster cuts. The Seahawks already made news with some of those cuts, not the least of which was the release of DeShawn Shead. But the team turned the day of cuts on its head by getting Jadeveon Clowney from the Texans. He’ll go a long way to making Seattle an even stronger playoff contender.
This isn’t about a straight comparison between Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney. But if you insist, Clowney wins the battle. I’m not badmouthing Clark one bit. He’s an exceptional pass rusher and an excellent team-first guy. I hope he gets 20 sacks for the Chiefs this year (as long as half are against the Patriots). Clark may have better sack totals, but Clowney is close. And he’s better at everything else.
Clark had 2,473 snaps on defense in his four seasons with the Seahawks. In those four years, he accounted for 35 sacks and 72 quarterback hits. Clowney had 3,239 defensive snaps with the Texans. In his five seasons, he tallied 29 sacks and 67 quarterback hits. That’s a clear advantage for Clark. Clowney only had 143 snaps as a rookie due to a knee injury, so averaged 774 snaps while healthy. Clark averaged 734 snaps in his two seasons as a front-line player. Clark got to the quarterback more often than Clowney, even with fewer chances.
But Clowney wasn’t that far behind. And there’s no comparison between the two as run defenders. Clark is average, while Clowney is phenomenal. Clark has 136 combined tackles, 35 of those for a loss. Clowney totaled 205 total tackles with 64 of those for a loss. Pro Football Focus ranked Clowney ninth overall for 2018, while Clark was ranked 18th. They ranked Clowney slightly ahead of Clark against the pass, but he has a huge edge versus the run. Clowney was the second-highest rated edge defender versus the run, while Clark ranked 55th as a run-stopper.
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The thing to remember is this: Clowney isn’t replacing Clark. Ezekiel Ansah is taking Clark’s place. He has very similar stats; when he’s healthy, he’s a sack monster, but just average versus the run. Ansah got back onto the practice field last week and has been medically cleared for the season opener versus the Bengals.
Clowney is replacing Quinton Jefferson as a starter. Jefferson had three sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 25 tackles, five for a loss. Clowney had nine sacks, 21 quarterback hits and 47 tackles, 16 for a loss. That’s a huge upgrade. Now a former average starter, Jefferson, is a real strength as a backup. And that gives the Seahawks first overall pick L.J. Collier that much more time to get on the field.
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I expect Jefferson will still see a lot of time in the Bengals game, as Clowney will have one week of practice under his belt. After the Seahawks ate the league’s lunch at the 2019 draft, I wrote that Seattle’s defense could be even better without Clark. Lee Vowell zeroed in on this with his analysis of Collier. What we wrote about Collier’s potential and expectations is the proven reality of Jadeveon Clowney. The postseason looks even brighter in Seattle.