The Cleveland Browns didn’t have a defender other than NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett put up double-digit sacks last season, but Ogbo Okoronkwo is determined to change that this time around.
Okoronkwo spoke with media members after a youth event in Houston on Saturday, May 18. Near the end of his comments, he made clear the expectations he has for himself during the upcoming season.
#Browns defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo @DICKS #NFL panel on mental health awareness said he has made full recovery from pectoral injury he dealt with last season and has set a goal of double digit sacks for 2024. @AliefTaylor_FB grad emphasized he feels great @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/cpWXFrnvWY
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 18, 2024
“This year, I’m trying to … I mean, I’ll say it, I’ll speak it into existence — I’m going for double-digit sacks this year,” Okoronkwo said, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. “That’s the goal every year.”
Browns Improved Team Sacks by Committee During Top-Rated NFL Defensive Campaign of 2023
Okoronkwo produced a career high of 5 sacks during the 2022 season with the Houston Texans after transitioning to defensive end from a linebacker role across his first NFL campaigns, all of which came with the Los Angeles Rams.
That performance earned him a three-year deal in Cleveland worth $19 million total. He produced 4.5 sacks in a rotational role behind Garrett and fellow starting defensive end Za’Darius Smith, who re-signed with the Browns this offseason on a new two-year deal.
Okoronkwo played in 14 of 17 regular-season games in 2023, missing three contests due to a pectoral injury. The defensive end said Saturday that he is now entirely recovered from that injury and ready to roll for the remainder of Cleveland’s offseason program this summer.
Due to his specialized role as a situational pass-rusher, Okoronkwo played a total of just 445 defensive snaps last season. That number will almost certainly increase if he remains healthy for the entirety of the 2024 campaign.
Joining Okoronkwo, Garrett and Smith among the top-four edge rushers on Cleveland’s depth chart is Alex Wright, who put up 5 sacks last season. Smith had 5.5 sacks, while Garrett led the team with 14 sacks, according to ESPN statistics.
As a unit, the Browns’ defense — which finished the year ranked No. 1 in total yards allowed and passing yards allowed — notched a total of 49 sacks on the year. That figure placed Cleveland in sixth place out of 32 teams across the league, per NFL.com.
Browns Face Toughest Schedule in NFL This Season
The Browns defense is going to need a repeat performance in 2024, or at least something close to it, if the team hopes to get back to the playoffs in arguably the best division in the NFL.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, its divisional opponents represent only six of 17 regular-season games that combine to create the toughest schedule in the league next season. And that isn’t hyperbole or opinion, merely a cold and unforgiving fact based on collective opposing win percentage.
“Cleveland has a strength of schedule of .547 (54.7%), which not only gives them the most difficult schedule for the upcoming season, but it makes them one of only two teams in the NFL — along with the Baltimore Ravens — that will have a strength of schedule above .535 (53.5%),” John Breech of CBS Sports wrote on May 14.
Along with six games against the AFC North, the Browns will play four games against the AFC West, including a home game against the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Cleveland will also play four contests against the NFC East, including a home showdown against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 and a road matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles — both playoff teams last year.
The Browns will also host the Miami Dolphins, another playoff team from last season, in Cleveland in Week 17.
