The Cleveland Browns have Myles Garrett to cause havoc for opposing offenses and he has done his job well. The former #1 overall pick leads the league with 9.5 sacks, two ahead of Harold Landry and two and a half ahead of TJ Watt.
This offseason, the Browns added Takk McKinley and then Jadeveon Clowney in an attempt to improve the rushers partnering with Garrett. McKinley has 1.5 sacks while Clowney has 3.5 with no other Cleveland defender have more than one sack.
Sacks are not the only way that pass rushers should be judged. The ability to get pressure on a quarterback is important as is their ability in run defense.
According to Seth Walder of ESPN, the Browns triumvirate stands out among the league with only Watt having a better pass rush win rate. Garrett and McKinley are below league average in run stop win rate while Clowney is right at that average (the vertical line that splits Clowney’s name):
Win rates at edge plot! Looking at run and pass this week.
Run stop win rate at edge (x) by pass rush win rate at edge (y).
T.J. Watt is all on his own. pic.twitter.com/WMOKgIVDjn
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 27, 2021
While Cleveland may prefer all three of their edge guys to be further right on the chart, being better as pass rushers is their primary goal.
Having three defenders with such high pass rush win rates is one reason that Joe Woods has been comfortable only bringing four rushers. It also explains why a fifth rusher often gets home when sent.
It will be interesting to see how these rates track over the rest of the season but, early on, the Browns are getting their money’s worth from their three pass rushers.