Dawgs By Nature
McGuire has the talent and skillset to be a long-term answer at defensive end across from Myles Garrett
The Cleveland Browns made two total moves on trade deadline day 2024, and one specific player looks to benefit the most going forward.
The Browns sent DE Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 7th-round pick to the Detroit Lions for a 2025 5th-round and 2026 6th-round pick, which is decent value for a 32-year-old player.
Cleveland also officially released DT Quinton Jefferson following the trade.
Regarding the question of “what now?”, this move signifies the team’s comfortability and excitement for their two young pass rushers Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire.
Though Wright’s play has been excellent since the middle of the 2023 season, McGuire has stepped up big time in his absence in multiple phases of the game.
McGuire has displayed growth as a pass rusher in terms of hand-fighting and flexibility, as well as showing a consistent amount of hustle against the run. His run defense looks a lot like that of Myles Garrett when it comes to being able to pop and stand-up offensive linemen at the point of attack.
He’s also shown the ability to effectively defend against zone runs and zone/power-read, staying “home” on reads and trailing well on runs. These are some of the things that made him so attractive to the team throughout the draft evaluation process as well.
McGuire’s played 197 total snaps in 2024 so far with 172 (34% of total defensive snaps) of those coming on defense. With “Z” gone and Alex Wright getting injured earlier in the season, expect McGuire to be the top pass rusher to come off the bench behind Garrett and Ogbo Okoronkwo going forward.
In fact, there’s a chance that the starting defensive ends in Cleveland’s base defense will be Garrett and McGuire with Okoronkwo rotating in on obvious throwing downs. The Browns undoubtedly want to see what they have in Isaiah McGuire going forward, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him play up to 60% of snaps by the time the season’s over.
Based on his small 12-game sample size, he definitelyefinitely shows the potential to be a key contributor across from Myles Garrett in the future alongside Alex Wright.
Are you impressed with Isaiah McGuire’s performance in 2024? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.
