Story by
James Hudson III using practice vs. Myles Garrett to prepare to possibly see Micah Parsons
- Story by
- James Hudson III using practice vs. Myles Garrett to prepare to possibly see Micah Parsons
BEREA — There's no guarantee James Hudson III will be the Browns ' starting left tackle when they open the season Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys . At least, there's been no public guarantee that he will be there.
Jedrick Wills Jr. , who would be the normal left tackle if not for the knee injury from which he continues to recover, did not practice Thursday, a day after he made his practice debut in a limited fashion. Jack Conklin , who is normally a right tackle, has been working some left tackle since returning from his own knee injury last week.
Advertisement
That could mean Hudson will be the tackle responsible for quarterback Deshaun Watson 's blind side against the Cowboys. He did handle that spot for much of training camp, going against reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett , one of the game's elite pass rushers.
"Yeah, you got to know that he's the best of the best," Hudson told the Beacon Journal on Wednesday. "Like you said, iron sharpens iron. So if he does beat you on a rep, you can't get down about it. You got to use it as a lesson."
Those lessons — and Hudson received a lot of them over the course of the preseason — could come in handy Sunday. There aren't a whole lot of edge rushers in the NFL who are in Garrett's stratosphere.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, right, celebrates a touchdown with tackle James Hudson III during the NFL football team's football training camp in Berea on Monday.
Dallas, though, has one in Micah Parsons , the defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid who is seen as the preseason favorite to unseat Garrett as DPOY. BetMGM.com has him at +550, compared to Garrett and the Pittsburgh Steelers ' T.J. Watt , both of whom are +650.
Advertisement
A year ago, while the two each had 14 sacks, Parsons actually had a better pass rush win rate than Garrett at 35.3% to 30.5%. Now he'll get a chance to unleash that pass rush in a new system under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who's in his first season with Dallas.
What the Browns don't know is exactly what Parsons in Zimmer's system will look like. What Hudson does know is that it won't just be him dealing Parsons, which is what separates the Cowboys star from other edge rushers.
"They line him up everywhere," Hudson said. "They put him at (linebacker), they put him over the center, put him over the guards, put him over both tackles. So he can rush from everywhere."
Hudson, though, would likely be target No. 1 assuming he's starting. It wouldn't be the first time in a game he's dealt with a No. 1, elite-level edge rusher, not by a long shot.
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark (57) is blocked by Cleveland Browns offensive tackle James Hudson III (66) while quarterback PJ Walker (10) looks to pass Oct. 29, 2023, in Seattle.
The fourth-year pro famously has found himself lined up against a completely different one of those at the other tackle spot. He's faced Watt three times as a starting right tackle, and the Steelers star has recorded 5.5 sacks in those three games.
Advertisement
This time, though, it would be on a side of the line that remains very unfamiliar to Hudson, at least it does as a pro, where only 71 of his 1,157 career regular-season offensive snaps have happened.
Hudson played 12 preseason snaps at left tackle over two preseason games, although he didn't finish the second preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings due to an ankle injury. There were also 709 left tackle snaps he had in 2019-20 while still at the University of Cincinnati.
It's the dozens of practice snaps that Hudson credits for most for his growth at the position since the start of training camp. It's a growth that may very well be tested against the Cowboys and their star pass rusher.
"Feel a lot better, man," Hudson said. "Just getting those reps, being able to get those reps full speed. Going against guys on our D-line every day, you have no choice but to get better"
Advertisement
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: James Hudson III says Myles Garrett prepares him to see Micah Parsons
