The Green Bay Packers have one of the best pass rushers in the National Football League. However, availability is the best ability, and Micah Parsons can't make much of an impact while he's still on the shelf.
The former Dallas Cowboys star will miss the first stretch of the season as he works his way back from an ACL injury. And while he's still expected to be available for most of the season, it might be a while before he recovers his explosiveness and mobility.
Considering that, and given the Packers' lack of depth at the position, ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz believes they should make a run at Jadeveon Clowney. All things considered, they could do a whole lot worse than signing the former No. 1 pick.
Jadeveon Clowney makes perfect sense for the Green Bay Packers
"Clowney's 22.4% pass rush win rate last season would have been near the top of the league if he had enough pass-rush snaps to qualify for ESPN's rankings. He had 8.5 sacks for Dallas, and the Packers could also use his ability to set the edge against the run," Schatz wrote.
Even at his age, and even though he will never live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of South Carolina, Jadeveon Clowney is a proven and reliable veteran. He was one of the few solid contributors in a historically bad Cowboys defense, and he can clearly still play at a high level.
Clowney was a rotational piece in Matt Eberflus' defense. He only started six of 13 games for the Cowboys, yet he still managed to log 8.5 sacks, 41 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble.
He's a bit of a journeyman, so he's more than used to adapting to new systems and schemes on the fly. Moreover, with little to no interest in his services at this point in the offseason, it shouldn't take much money to get him to sign with the Packers.
This team added Javon Hargrave in the offseason, and they firmly believe Lukas Van Ness can still live up to his status as a former first-round pick. Otherwise, they wouldn't have picked up his fifth-year option.
While that might make sense to a degree, he's coming off an injury-riddled season, and the Packers don't have much depth behind him. Rookies Dani Dennis-Sutton and Chris McLellan might have a bright future, but this team rarely puts a lot on young players' plates, so it's hard to believe they'll be given a fair shot to play much right out of the gate.
Clowney won't be a long-term solution, but he can be a solid placeholder for Parsons. Even when Parsons returns, he can help hold down the fort and give him enough time to get back to full strength without having to play as many snaps.
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