Jadeveon Clowney compares Cleveland Browns to Super Bowl defense

Jadeveon Clowney is impressed with his defensive teammates on the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he’s already comparing them to a recent Super Bowl team.

There has been a lot of talk this offseason about the Super Bowl when it comes to the Cleveland Browns. And while this team was struggling to even find a win a few years ago, that talk doesn’t feel crazy now.

That’s a huge testament to the work done originally by John Dorsey and now Andrew Berry as the general manager. It also says a lot about Kevin Stefanski, the reigning NFL Coach of the Year who has this team playing with unrelenting focus.

As good as the coach and GM have been though, the Browns needed to fix some issues this offseason and they did that. They added a whole lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball and one of their prized free agents has been thrilled with what he’s seen so far.

Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney spoke with reporters on the second day of mandatory minicamp in Berea and said that the Browns defense reminds him of the San Francisco 49ers from 2019. That was the year when their elite pass rush helped them get to the Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo as the quarterback — and they even nearly beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

"“It reminds me of when I watch San Francisco, the same team a couple of years ago that went to the Super Bowl and that defense, I’m thinking we can do that up front in ways, rotate guys and guys come in and play well.” Clowney said via Mary Kay Cabot. He then added: “The backups can come in and play just as good as the ones, and that’s even better.’’"

That’s some high praise from Clowney and it’s easy to try and shrug it off by saying it’s too early in the season to think this way. But, he has a point.

Cleveland boasts two former No. 1 overall picks in Clowney and Myles Garrett as well as Takk McKinley who was a first-round pick himself in 2017. And Clowney also went in on how elite of an athlete Garrett is before saying the reserves can still bring the heat, which is something McKinley can do when he’s healthy and focused.

There’s also Porter Gustin and Curtis Weaver who both have plenty of talent if they can be coached up a bit. Then there’s Andrew Billings, Malik Jackson, Jordan Elliott, John Johnson, Troy Hill, and Denzel Ward just to name some of the talented starters.

Whether or not this team is Super Bowl-bound, it’s hard to say this defense isn’t vastly improved upon the one they had last season, which means they can at least contend with anyone in the AFC as they hope to get into the big game for the first time in their history.