The Cincinnati Bengals made a big splash in free agency by signing OT Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64.1 million deal on March 16.
This move came after multiple seasons of struggling to protect Joe Burrow, which was highlighted most recently in the 23-20 AFC Championship loss against Brown’s former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, when Burrow was sacked five times.
Here’s what Dalton Wasserman at PFF thinks of the move for Brown:
Brown gives the Bengals a proven pass protector with playoff experience who just won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has never earned a pass-blocking grade below 74.4 in any of his five seasons in the NFL, and his 76.8 grade in 2022 was far superior to the mark put up by Bengals left tackle Jonah Williams (62.8).
Brown allowed just four sacks across 893 pass-blocking snaps in 2022 and was at his best down the stretch. From Week 11 through the Super Bowl, his 79.0 overall grade and 85.5 pass-blocking grade were top-12 marks among players at the position.
Also highlighted by Wasserman is that this move importantly gives the Bengals much more freedom in the draft, allowing them to look at different positions early on if that’s what they want to target.
Wasserman said that by PFF’s rankings, Burrow is the best QB in the league in terms of passing from a clean pocket since he was drafted with a 96.0 grade. Brown will help Burrow have the opportunity to do so more often.
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