Za’Darius Smith Can Be The Difference
Photo Credit: Adam Wesley via USA TODAY Sports
Even casual fans know their team’s star players. For the Cleveland Browns, that’s Myles Garrett on defense and Nick Chubb on offense. They’re often considered top-five players at their respective positions, and they’re among the first names you think of when you think “2023 Browns.”
We expect miracles from the superstars, and they often deliver. That’s why they’re superstars. Almost as important, in the shadow of the superstars, are those players who aren’t quite elite at their position group but whose performance can sway the team from middling to contender-status. These are the X-factor players.
Although this year, the Browns’ X-factor is more of a Z-factor.
Za’Darius Smith, traded from the Minnesota Vikings earlier this off-season, is the man who will make or break the Browns’ defense. If Cleveland gets the consistent, double-digit sacker that Smith has shown he can be, he will elevate fellow defensive ends Garrett and Ogbo Okoronkwo and propel the entire defense to new heights.
And Smith isn’t just the defense’s potential X factor, he is also very clearly replacing the defense’s former X factor.
Jadeveon Clowney and Garrett had an amazing 2021 together, which resulted in a Browns defense that ranked top-five in opponents’ yards per game. However, 2022 was a different story. Clowney’s production plummeted. He tallied just two sacks, while Garrett carried the defense with another 16-sack season. The team finished 14th-overall in yards allowed and 24th in rushing yards allowed.
Now that Smith is replacing Clowney, the same rules likely apply: If Smith can be equal to or better than Clowney was next to Garrett in 2021, then this defense will thrive.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, a man known for his creativity, will most definitely utilize Smith’s versatility. Don’t be surprised if you see Smith roaming all over at the line. Given his size, Schwartz can occasionally line him up inside next to defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson or Jordan Elliot to create absolute chaos. You might even see Smith standing up behind the line and playing a little bit of linebacker from time to time.
A good year from Smith’s will be key in keeping newly acquired Okoronkwo rolling after a stellar end-of-season performance. Okoronkwo had eight solo tackles and no sacks for the Houston Texans in the first half of the season, but during the latter half, recorded 24 solo tackles and five sacks. If Smith can distract offensive linemen, that leaves the door wide open for Okoronkwo to stay ablaze.
I but it’s not just about sacks. Sure, it’s a passing league, but you can still win football games with a ferocious ground attack. Smith is a decent run defender and in todays NFL if an elite pass rusher is at least not a liability against the run that’s a good thing. At the very least he’s another big body on the line next to those monster D tackles.
The domino effect the former Wildcat will have on the defense exemplifies what it means to be considered an X-Factor, but the dominos can fall another way. Smith unceremoniously left the Vikings after petering out following an incredible start to 202.
If Smith doesn’t prove to be the guy everyone expects him to be, invert those predictions above. It might not spell disaster, but it will certainly make for a struggle.
That’s how X-Factors work.
At the very least the Browns likely got a solid player in Smith. His history of being a perennial double-digit sacker and laser-guided tackler make his acquisition a reasonably safe risk. If he can take some pressure off Garrett and help Okoronkwo, plus use his bag of tricks to line up wherever Schwartz places him, he could have a ripple effect throughout the defense that makes him the crucial piece in achieving the Browns’ lofty goals.
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