Who Is The New DQ?
October 22nd, 2009 | by Christian Rivera |In a surprising move, the Cleveland Browns placed uber stud linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on IR after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the loss to the Steelers last Sunday. DQ led the NFL in total tackles last season with 154 and was on pace for 163 this season. The Brownies are already 30th in run defense so this is even worse news for the team than it would appear at first glance.
So who’s going to replace the team’s best player? Three candidates have emerged: veteran David Bowens and rookies David Veikune and Kaluka Maiava. Bowens’ natural position is outside linebacker and that’s where he’s taken most of the snaps in his 11-year career which included stops in Miami and New York. He’s been a solid supporting player but never a star.
Veikune was a defensive end/outside linebacker in his four years at the University of Hawaii. He’s been playing both outside and inside linebacker for the Browns since the beginning of training camp. Veikune is a smart, instinctive player but he’s still learning the ropes of plaing inside.
Maiava is the most intriguing option. He was not a starter at Southern Cal and played behind other more heralded names Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews. Maiava is talented but he was simply stuck behind some really good players at USC. He has much more experience than Veikune playing inside linebacker (although it was in a 4-3 alignment in college).
At this point, I expect the Browns will rotate Maiava and Veikune inside, next to Eric Barton, until one of them emerges as a consistent option. I think both rookies can start and play well in place of DQ. However, I believe Maiava has the slight edge in the long-term race due to his experience as an inside linebacker.
Strong safety Abram Elam is the only other reliable source of IDP production on this team and Elam’s value rises exponentially with the loss of DQ along with a slight uptick for Barton’s fantasy worth.
Tags: Abram Elam, Cleveland Browns, D'Qwell jackson, David Bowens, David Veikune, Eric Barton, Rocky Maiava
