Think about the ripple effect a talent like Clowney would create in a Romeo Crennel 3-4. If Watt plays his usual 5-technique position on the left side, Clowney plays as a 5-tech on the right, and a heftier nose tackle is drafted in the middle rounds (lets say Beau Allen, for arguments sake) to play over the center, you have a sudden nightmare for an offensive line. If Brooks Reed is kicked inside to stuff the run with Brian Cushing, then suddenly Trevardo Williams is elevated to the left outside linebacker position next to Watt, Whitney Mercilus stays next to Clowney at right outside linebacker, and the nightmare only gets worse.
Does the right guard slide to stop Watt inside, leaving the athletically gifted Williams one-on-one with a tight end on the edge? Does the left tackle slide to take on Mercilus while the guard has to find a way to cut off Clowney all the way in the 5-tech? If the tackle takes on Clowney, does any offense feel comfortable leaving a running back one-on-one with Mercilus all game long? If the center needs help with Allen, who is a good penetrator in his own right, who is left to help him? There is no offense in the world that can afford to allocate four blockers to two defensive ends for an entire game. The outside linebackers wreaking havoc unopposed on the edge will force Watt and Clowney into one-on-ones sooner or later, and when they do get individual matchups, both of them are gifted enough to shred protection in the blink of an eye. There is no place to hide. There is no way to change the math in the offenses favor. If you cant block it, you cant beat it. Period.
