One of the hallmarks of the Browns defense over the last few seasons has been a heavy reliance on the blitz. Different coordinators and coaching staffs, different personnel united in Cleveland to blitz at a significantly higher-than-average blitz rate.
Not anymore. The Browns are blitzing much less than they have in recent years. And the results? The QB pressure rate is way up.
The good folks at NFL NextGen Stats tracked the QB pressure rate and the blitz rate for the Browns over the last four seasons (2017 through Week 5). Their finding shows just how much better the Browns pass rush is in 2020 despite new coordinator Joe Woods dialing up 15 percent fewer blitzes. That’s the biggest dropoff in blitz percentage in the NFL from 2019 to 2020. Yet the pressure is up, and way up from the blitz-heavy scheme deployed by former DC Gregg Williams.
Having DE Myles Garrett playing at an MVP-level certainly helps skew the numbers for 2020, and it’s still a limited sample size of just five games. Garrett is tied (with Rams DT Aaron Donald) for the NFL lead in QB pressures with 33. But the investment in Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon and even Porter Gustin and Adrian Clayborn has allowed Woods to more effectively rush the passer with fewer defenders than his predecessors.
Not everything is working for the Browns defense, but they’re getting this one right. It’s reflected in Cleveland’s league-high 12 takeaways.
