Jadeveon Clowney Growing into Roll

In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans made a splash by selecting then-South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick. He was seen as an other-worldly athlete with myriad questions surrounding his work ethic.

Following an All-American season as a sophomore, he drew much criticism for his continuous loafs and decision to sit out the Kentucky. His reasoning was to nurse a rib injury, citing what many in the media saw as a way to save his body for the NFL.

Tracking Clowney’s history is an interesting trek: his hit heard ’round the world seemed to catapult him into the national spotlight. It’s interesting-to say the least-that it took the football world that long to put him in the spotlight he deserved.

Fast forward to 2016, and football fans have oddly considered him a bust. That sentiment is simply incorrect and those who support it ought to revisit what a bust in this league actually entails. This, the same player who was allowed to freelance and rely solely on athletic talent at South Carolina.

Through five games of the ’16 campaign, Clowney has amassed 19 tackles and two sacks. This puts him on pace surpass his career high of 4.5 he totaled in 13 games last season. He has also made a living in the backfield with an NFL-high eight tackles for loss.

With the injury to all-world defensive end J.J. Watt, Clowney has seen plenty of action on the left side.

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Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel opts to rotate Clowney, Watt and Whitney Mercilus in an attempt to keep the focus off of Watt. This coupled with stunts and twists that highlight Clowney’s athleticism and quickness, allowed him to tally four tackles for loss and a team-best six stops via Pro Football Focus.

For all praise his athleticism draws, Clowney possesses elite strength that he can win with when correctly utilized. Throughout the duration of the game, Clowney was quick to get his inside the frame of left tackle T.J. Clemmings, extending and creating separation. It allowed him to get his eyes in the backfield before timely disengaging with a quick rip of the right hand. Said strength creates an immovable base that gives him an advantage on the edge against the run.

Clowney spent the majority of the game as a Wide 9 or stand up rusher, a smart move by Crennel: the space those alignments create allow him to pin his ears back and go. Crennel also wasn’t averse to deploying him as a 7-Tech where he was battling a simple inside zone look that he wins immediately by exploding into Clemmings with quality leverage, two areas where he excels. By walking him back on the snap, Clowney wastes little time reading the backfield and creating a natural, gaping lane to the back. His hand placement again neutralizes Clemmings as Clowney can extend and shed with little resistance.

This is where Clowney can eventually grow into a lethal pass rusher. His initial outside sell and head fake are completed in unison as it truly gives Clemmings a deceiving look-he did it with quickness that makes it impossible for Clemmings to recover. Clowney stays low with the necessary forward lean before swiftly slapping Clemmings’ hands to accelerate up field. It’s obvious he possesses the hand speed and placement to succeed as a pass rusher. However, there is still room to develop those traits and the timing of his initial moves.

Teams have undoubtedly placed a major premium on pass rushers as the game continually becomes one won in the air. While Clowney has the physical and athletic attributes, it’s obvious his biggest need is coaching and repetition. The aspects that can’t be done when injuries take you off the field-particularly. Regardless, he has two sacks thus far and figures to best his 4.5 mark in 2015.

If he’s able to stay healthy we could expect Clowney to grow into one of the game’s most complete defenders.