Jadeveon Clowney listed as Houston Texans X-Factor by Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus recently wrote about Jadeveon Clowney and how he is an X-Factor for the Houston Texans in 2019.
The Houston Texans have edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney on their roster for at least one more season in 2019, and in a recent article by Pro Football Focus, the past No. 1 overall pick is listed as an X-Factor for the franchise this upcoming season.
The Texans and Clowney are in the midst of contract talks, though neither side has budged in their pursuit to re-sign Clowney in the final year of his contract with the franchise.
Clowney is coming off a season where he was ranked as the ninth-best edge rusher by Pro Football Focus with a grade of 88.0 for the season. Clowney had a pass rush grade of 78.8 and a run defense grade of 91.2, and his overall grade of 88 was the best of his career.
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In 2017, Clowney had a grade of 75.4, meaning he improved 12.6 in his grade in just one season. That type of improvement over a season is special, and the Texans can’t afford to let a player with Clowney’s abilities walk to another team, because it would be very tough to replace a player like him.
In a recent article by the PFF Analysis Team, it stated the following about Clowney being the X-Factor of the Texans in 2019:
"“Now five seasons deep into his NFL career, Clowney has yet to eclipse a pass-rush grade higher than 78.2, and he hasn’t tallied more than 64 pressures in a season. The Texans are looking for him to break into that top tier of edge rushers in 2019.”"
This is true, because if Clowney can get over that hump so to speak and really show what he can accomplish as a pass rusher, he would not only be an even more dangerous player than he already is, but imagine how much more improved the Texans front seven would be too.
Houston is lucky to have a defensive duo like Clowney and J.J. Watt together, and if they are smart — and possibly want to save money — they will get a deal worked out with Clowney before the 2019 season begins, because if he’s able to go out on the market and Houston has to compete with other teams, that could hurt their bank account.
The “risk” of re-signing Clowney to a long-term deal before the start of this season is worth it for the Texans as they’ve shown lately that they won’t sign high-price free agents and will let veterans like Tyrann Mathieu walk after a one-year contract too, which still doesn’t seem like the most intelligent of decisions.
Clowney needs to be happy with a contract offer made by the Texans, and the franchise needs to make Clowney their top priority moving forward this offseason. That way, the Texans can keep the defense intact as they work to continue to build a roster that can not only compete in the regular season, but in win-or-go home playoff situations, too.
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