The Cleveland Browns are heading into the season opener as healthy as they have been since the beginning of last season… with one exception, left tackle. The Browns appeared to have misjudged Jedrick Wills’ injury timeline, and now they are scrambling to plug someone in to hold serve until his eventual return.
Whoever lines up at left tackle in the season opener will be staring across the line of scrimmage at Micah Parsons, but that is only the beginning of the gauntlet of elite pass rushers the Browns’ left tackles will face in the coming weeks. Let’s examine the murderer’s row of edge rushers the Browns’ left tackle will square off against in the first four weeks of the 2024 season.
Week One: Micah Parsons
From a speed and explosivity standpoint, Micah Parsons could be the league’s most dynamic pass rusher outside of Myles Garrett. Parsons is a speed demon with a nose for the football off the edge. The Cowboys’ All-Pro pass rusher is not a one-trick pony either, Parsons can win with speed or power and he’s just as comfortable winning on a tackles inside shoulder as he is running the hoop on the outside.
With a staggering pass rush win rate of 35 percent, with a double-team rate to match, Parsons is as efficient a pass rusher as there is in the NFL. Parsons has notched at least 13 sacks in each of his first three seasons in the league, and he appears primed to make a run at Garrett’s Defensive Player of the Year crown in 2024.
The only downside to Parsons’ game is his lack of size for the position. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Parsons can be stymied at the point of attack by long-levered left tackles who can get a solid punch and maintain contact throughout the rep. The reality is, whoever gets the nod in week one, whether it’s Jack Conklin or James Hudson, there will be a ton of supplemental help sent to their side to help prevent Parsons from wrecking the game.
Week Two: Josh Hines-Allen
While it may take the general NFL audience a few games to get used to name change, Jacksonville’s Josh Hines-Allen should be a household name by the end of 2024. Since being selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft Hines-Allen has been a menace for opposing quarterbacks.
In 2023, Jacksonville finally weaponized Hines-Allen by making him a full-time quarterback hunter. The fifth-year pro responded by setting a Jaguars’ single-season record with 17.5 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, and 17 tackles for loss. His 17.5 sacks were just under 44 percent of the team’s overall sacks, the highest percentage for any player in the NFL.
Hines-Allen is entering his sixth season and is only 10.5 sacks away from overtaking Tony Brackens as the Jaguars’ all-time franchise leader in sacks. With a formidable pass rusher on the opposite side of the line, in the first-overall pick Travon Walker, the Jaguars could have one of the most lethal edge-rushing duos in the NFL. There will be no shelter for the Browns’ offensive tackles in Jacksonville next Sunday.
Week Three: Brian Burns
Life will not get any easier for whoever plays left tackle for the Browns in week three. The New York Giants made one of the more underrated trades of the NFL offseason when they acquired defensive end Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers without giving up a first-round pick in the process.
Burns is one of the most unique edge rushers in the NFL. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Burns’ ability to maximize his length and freakish body control makes him a frustrating day at the office for offensive linemen.
It all starts with Burns’ elite hand usage. Whether it’s his dip and rip or the club swim, Burns wins by quickly engaging with his hands and long levers. Then Burns utilizes his ability to contort his body to manipulate space and take away an offensive tackle’s strike zone. From there it’s all about Burns’ closing speed to get to the quarterback, something he has done 46 times in his five-year career.
While Burns is not overwhelmingly strong, he understands his advantages and knows how to make offensive tackles skip to his Lou. With Kayvon Thibodeaux lining up on the opposite side of Burns in the Giants’ defense, it will feel like Groundhog Day from their week two matchup in Jacksonville.
Week Four: Maxx Crosby
The anchor leg of the game-wrecking gauntlet of edge rushers the Browns will face in their first four games is none other than ‘Mad’ Maxx Crosby. The Las Vegas, then Oakland Raiders, hit an absolute grand slam when they nabbed the Eastern Michigan product in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Crosby has leveled up his game year after year and is now on the shortlist of players gunning for Garrett’s DPOY title. Since entering the league in 2019 Crosby has racked up 52 sacks and a staggering 124 quarterback hits. In both 2022 and 2023, Crosby led the NFL in tackles for loss cementing his status as a defensive weapon.
Crosby has spent the majority of his first five seasons as the Raiders left defensive end. However, there has been a more concerted effort during this preseason to move Crosby around to create chaos. Given the Browns issues at left tackle, and Dawand Jones abilities as a pass protector on the right, expect to see Crosby get plenty of reps on Deshaun Watson’s blindside.
While most of the attention that edge rushers garner is attached to their ability to rush the passer, Crosby is equally adept as a run defender as he is hunting down quarterbacks. Of all the elite defensive ends the Browns will face in 2024, Crosby is the most well-rounded. It will take an all-hands-on-deck approach in the desert to prevent ‘Mad’ Maxx from pillaging the Browns’ offense.
Four-Week Edge Rusher Overview
It is completely possible that through the first four weeks of the season, the Browns could start up to three different players at left tackle. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. However, even if Jed Wills were completely healthy and started every game, the plan of attack would be the same given the talent and skill set of the opposition.
Players like David Njoku, D’Onta Foreman, and maybe even Nick Harris, will have to play a large role in helping to protect Deshaun Watson’s blindside. There are no free lunches when you play left tackle in the NFL, but given the Browns’ injury issues at the position and the gauntlet of game wreckers they face in the first four games… September can’t end soon enough.
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