Browns DT Larry Ogunjobi earns proven performance escalator (PPE) for 2020

First, let’s explain what we mean by “proven performance escalator (PPE).” It applies to players selected anywhere between rounds 3-7 of the NFL Draft who have met one of the following criteria:

• played in 35% of the snaps in two of his first three seasons
• posted a cumulative average of 35% of snaps in his first three seasons

Since the criteria waits three years, that means we have to look back at players from the 2017 NFL Draft. The players on the Cleveland Browns who would have been eligible for the escalator are: DT Larry Ogunjobi, CB Howard Wilson, OT Roderick Johnson, DT Caleb Brantley, K Zane Gonzalez, and RB Matthew Dayes. The only player who is still on team from the group is Ogunjobi, and he received the escalator.

Ogunjobi played in 35% or more of the snaps in each of his final two seasons to qualify.

His base salary for 2020 was originally set to be $998,000. The NFLPA database now lists his 2020 base salary as $2,147,000, an increase of $1.15 million. Over The Cap agrees with our assessment for this year’s PPEs.

Players Who Didn’t Get It

Usually, we’re able to talk about why certain players on the Browns didn’t get the qualifier, but we can’t do that for the 2017 class since everyone else is no longer with the team. No one else was even playing enough for another team to earn it either.

Looking Into the Future

Looking forward to next year, OT Wyatt Teller is the only player who is already eligible to receive the PPE. He has already played more than 35% of his snaps in his first two years (even though one of them was as a Bill), so he automatically qualifies if he remains with Cleveland. The other two possibilities are DE Chad Thomas and WR Damion Ratley. Thomas will receive it if he plays in at least 35% of the snaps in 2020, while Ratley would need to see starter-level reps to bump up his cumulative average.