The Tennessee Titans released their first unofficial depth chart for the 2020 season on Monday and prized free-agent signing Jadeveon Clowney was listed as a starter at outside linebacker. Another key free agent acquisition, Vic Beasley, was listed as Clowney’s backup.
While unofficial, the move signals head coach Mike Vrabel’s desire to get the most out of the 27-year-old Clowney -- who has played both outside linebacker and defensive end -- from the position he flourishes in the most.
“He hasn't even looked at our playbook yet,” Vrabel said. “So, for us to start to figure out what the versatility is – we're familiar with the player's skillset, with JD (Jadeveon Clowney)’s skillset, and where he may potentially fit is all going to depend on how much he can handle.”
One of Clowney’s new teammates, safety Kevin Byard, views the edge rusher as a game wrecker -- the type of player that commands the attention of opposing offensive coordinators on a weekly basis.
"I kind of view him as a guy who can wreck an entire game plan," Byard said in a conference call on Monday. "He is going to be a guy that teams are going to have to game plan for every single game, whether they are trying to chip-block him, they can't release all their receivers out, and things like that.
"…To add a game-wrecker … it is super exciting. We are amped-up going into this Week 1 game and to add a piece like him, a guy that I know is going to come in and bust his tail and try and help us win ball games, it is going to be exciting."
The key for Vrabel and his assistants will be to figure out where Clowney can do the most damage. The 6-foot-5 pass rusher has a familiarity with Vrabel’s defensive system, as the two worked together in Houston from 2014-2017. His versatility will allow Tennessee to have a fresh rotation on the outside, potentially elevating the Titans defense to championship-caliber.
Tennessee’s pass rush as currently constructed has Clowney and 2019 leading sacker Harold Landry as the outside rushers with Vic Beasley and Kamalei Correa as their backups, 2019 first-round pick Jeffery Simmons starting at defensive tackle, DaQuan Jones at nose tackle, and Jack Crawford at defensive end.
Clowney’s presence, plus the addition of Beasley, will alleviate some of the pressure on Tennessee’s defensive backs. Of the Titans’ 43 sacks last season, 5.5 came from defensive backs in blitz packages.
“You'd like to start with three guys, and if you get pressure with three then only send three, and then go from there,” Vrabel said. “The less people that you can send to get pressure, the better. So, we'll have to see how that goes and what that looks like, and what's going to be best each and every week for us to execute a game plan.”
Clowney’s best season came in 2017 when Vrabel was his defensive coordinator, setting career highs in sacks (9.5), tackles (59), tackles for loss (21) quarterback hits (21), fumble recoveries (3), games played (16). The argument can be made if anyone can maximize Clowney’s talents, it’s Vrabel.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Clowney has had an overall grade of 75 or higher in five of his six seasons, per Pro Football Focus. His two highest grades came in the last two seasons – an 87.2 in 2018 and an 80.8 in 2019.
He’s had 171 total pressures over the last three years and ranks fourth in the NFL in tackles for loss/no gain (65) since entering the league in 2014. Clowney is also one of just three active players, along with Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald and Arizona’s Chandler Jones, with 60 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles and 150 QB pressures.
“He’s got really good football IQ,” Vrabel said. “He has an ability to learn and study, understand the concepts that we're trying to coach. Again, he had a good grasp on what we were asking him to do with some other stuff with his original job, so I think that that became easy to learn a second job.”
Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter @MGsports_
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