The Browns have a new Pro Bowl weapon on their defensive line — Za’Darius Smith is joining the Browns after a trade with the Vikings.
It's now time to learn a bit more about him.
Here are five things to know about the big addition to the defense.
1. One of the league's best
When healthy, Smith has been one of the league's most dominant edge rushers in the last four years.
He finished the top six in the league in sacks in 2019 and 2020, finishing sixth on the league leaderboard with a career-high 13.5 sacks in 2019 and tying for fourth with 12.5 sacks in 2020.
Smith played just one game in 2021 due to a back injury, but he returned in 2022 and again reached a double-digit total with 10 sacks, which was 20th on the league leaderboard.
Smith has 54.5 career sacks, and 36 of them have come in the last four seasons. He's been nothing but consistent when healthy, and the Browns believe he'll be able to continue his success working across from their other Pro Bowl edge rusher, Myles Garrett.
Check out photos over the years of the Browns' new Pro Bowl edge rusher, Za'Darius Smith
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) celebrates after winning 34-26 against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
FILE - In this May 21, 2019, file photo, Green Bay Packers Za'Darius Smith takes part in an NFL football practice in Green Bay, Wis. It's an offseason of change at a hallmark position for the Green Bay Packers: Clay Matthews and Nick Perry aren't at outside linebacker anymore and the likes of Julius Peppers or Bryce Paup aren't walking through the door. That doesn't bother the Packers, who seem quite happy with who they have: Za'Darius Smith, Kyler Fackrell and Preston Smith. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer, FIle)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2019, file photo, Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith walks on the field during the second half of an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Baltimore. With unrestricted free agent linebackers C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs and Za'Darius Smith headed elsewhere after the release last week of safety Eric Weddle, the Ravens lost four key contributors while adding much-needed salary cap space. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith on the field during warm ups prior to an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) in action against the New York Giants during the first half of an NFL wild-card football game Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) in action during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) in action against the New York Giants during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) in action against Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker (68) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) prepares to rush during an NFL divisional playoff football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Jan 22. 2022, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) celebrates after a play during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) plays defense during an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2018, file photo, Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith gestures in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Baltimore. The Green Bay Packers agreed to $183 million worth of contracts Tuesday, March 12, 2019, with edge rusher Za'Darius Smith, linebacker Preston Smith, safety Adrian Amos and offensive lineman Billy Turner. The signings should improve a defense that ranked 18th in the NFL in 2018 and add some more protection for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) reacts after a play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) in action during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) reacts after a sack against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL divisional playoff football game, Saturday, Jan 22. 2022, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) rushes during an NFL divisional playoff football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Jan 22. 2022, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) celebrates after winning 34-26 against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
FILE - Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) plays against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Dec. 13, 2020. The Green Bay Packers signed outside linebacker Preston Smith to a contract extension and released outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith and offensive lineman Billy Turner in a flurry of moves before the start of the free-agency period. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) reacts after a play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Za'Darius Smith poses for a photo at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 15, 2023.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Za'Darius Smith (55) lines up for the snap during an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, September 19, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)
2. A fourth-round success story
Smith has far exceeded the typical career trajectory for players drafted in the mid-rounds.
A fourth-round pick by the Ravens in 2015, Smith was the 17th defensive end to be picked in his draft class but made the most of the playing time he received his rookie year. He totaled a respectable 5.5 sacks in 15 games his first season.
He earned his first career start the next year, but he didn't match his rookie year totals again until 2018 when he totaled 8.5 sacks. That was also his last year in Baltimore before he signed with the Packers in 2019.
3. A late-bloomer to football
Smith didn't begin playing football until his senior year at Greenville High School in Alabama.
That's because, until that point, he was all in on basketball.
Smith was one of the tallest kids in his high school class and enjoyed using his size to dominate on the court, but it wasn't until he began playing against taller competition at the AAU level did he realize his potential in the sport had a ceiling.
So he took up football, and he was only allowed on the team after the seniors voted in favor to bring Smith in despite never playing in a game.
"I knew in my right mind I wasn't going to let him walk out the door," his high school coach Ben Blackmon told ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. "But I drew up a contract where he had to come in at 6:30 in the morning, meet me at school to make up workouts and he had to stay and help clean the locker room and keep his grades up. And he had no problem doing that."
4. Community college path
Smith's unique path into football continued at the community college level. He attended East Mississippi Community College, the school that appeared on the popular Netflix show, "Last Chance U."
Although Smith's years at the school preceded the show, the experience of living in the small town of Scooba, Mississippi still molded Smith into a dedicated player.
"At junior college, we didn't have a pair of cleats a game or we didn't have different gloves per game," he told Glenn Cark from PressBox. "We had one pair of shoes, one pair of cleats for the whole season. That little stuff right there made me humble. To make it out of there, it was basically football and books at East Mississippi."
Smith spent two years at EMCC before earning his Division I opportunity at Kentucky, where he started games his junior and senior season and began to build his NFL resume. He totaled 11 sacks in his two seasons in the SEC.
5. He's arguably the Browns' biggest offseason addition
Smith joins DT Dalvin Tomlinson, WR Elijah Moore, S Juan Thornhill and DE Ogbo Okoronkwo, among other offseason acquisitions, as the one of the most talented players added to the roster this offseason.
He'll immediately pencil in as a starter next to Garrett to create an edge rushing duo that combined for 26 sacks last season. The Browns have two players more than capable of topping double-digit sacks, and the possibilities for the revamped defensive line appear endless under the D-Line friendly schemes new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has found to be successful over his career in the NFL.
