The Cleveland Browns have been trying for a while to find the ideal bookend for top edge-rusher Myles Garrett, and they may have finally done so when the 2023 league year kicks over. For now, they’ve agreed to terms with former Houston Texans edge-rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo on a three-year, $19 million deal with $12.5 million guaranteed.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo broke out in his first season as a full-time player in 2022, generating the 3rd-highest pressure rate in the NFL (16.4%, min. 200 pass rushes).
The Browns now have 2 of the top 5 pressure rate leaders from 2022 (Myles Garrett: 16.3%, 4th).#Browns https://t.co/PABWrDJMUE pic.twitter.com/4Wk7H6KzF8
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 13, 2023
It’s quite the steal for a player who really came into his own last season, though he had been ascending for a while. The 2018 fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams out of Oklahoma had five sacks, six quarterback hits, and 25 quarterback hurries in just 268 pass-rushing snaps. At 6-foot-2 and 253 pounds, Okoronkwo can also play the run when his ears aren’t pinned back, and he brings everything from a bull rush to one of the wickedest spin moves in the NFL to the table.
If you blink, you will miss Ogbonnia Okoronkwo's (No. 45) filthy spin move. Very nice get for the Browns. pic.twitter.com/aS0cXaFEkS
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 13, 2023
This is one of those deals, unheralded at the time, that could pay major dividends down the road. The Browns have an ace signing here.
