Five early free-agent targets for the Denver Broncos

Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End, Cleveland Browns

When he was in college at South Carolina, it looked like Jadeveon Clowney could be the next Reggie White. He was that impressive.

While he has never quite lived up to that billing in the NFL, he is a highly effective player. Playing alongside the likes of J.J. Watt and Myles Garrett during his career has actually kept him quieter than he should have been as well, but he is still one of the game’s best pass-rushers.

If Clowney joins a new team this offseason, it would be his fourth team in four seasons, but he could find a permanent home in Denver if the money was right. He is still under 30 years old and is coming off of a 9-sack season with the Browns, so the production is still there.

He is also a three-time Pro-Bowl selection and would probably be a much better option than Chubb, in all honesty.

Clowney’s last two contracts have been one-year deals, first with the Tennessee Titans ($12 million) and then with the Browns ($8 million) so he might be looking for something like that while hoping the Browns offer him a long-term deal.

The Browns will likely make a big pitch to retain him because the combination of he and Garrett can be incredibly good, but Paton should, at the very least, do a price check here and see if something could be worked out.

Clowney is one of the most athletic, disruptive players in the game, and putting him on the Denver defense would make the entire unit better.