NFL Top 10 Series: Edge Rushers

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Few positions strike into the hearts of quarterbacks like edge rushers do. You look across the field, and you look to your left and to your right, and you think to yourself, "these guys are going to do every single thing in their power to bring me down." More often than not, they're successful. Few things excite a crowd like a sack can, especially in a pivotal moment. These ten (well, eleven) players are in my opinion, the best at their craft. Some are familiar names. Others are the names of players that want to break out into the national scene. My thoughts are soon enough, that will happen for most.

1. DeMarcus Ware: The unquestioned, unopposed best edge rusher in the league dons #94 for the Dallas Cowboys. DeMarcus Ware is well on his way, in my opinion, to having a bust created for him in Canton. There are few players that can make such a big impact on the game as Ware can do every time he’s on the field. Nobody for the last three seasons has generated as much pressure as DeMarcus Ware has (227 pressures on 1,437 snaps). He’s made the most of those pressures, coupling 46 sacks in the last three seasons, and an impressive 99.5 sacks for his career. He’s had double digit sacks every year for the last six years. He came only a .5 sack away from having two 20-sack seasons. That’s something that not even sack-masters Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Chris Doleman, Michael Strahan, or Kevin Greene ever did in their careers. He’s the best there is in the game at coming off the edge.

2. Trent Cole: Checking in here is the best 4-3 defensive end in football. You read that correctly. Trent Cole of the Philadelphia Eagles is the very best 4-3 defensive end in football. No defensive end is as complete of a player as Cole is and has been over the last few years. He isn’t discussed too much amongst the more high-profile pass rushers, but don’t be mistaken. He’s elite. Last year he was the most productive pass rusher in the NFL amongst defensive ends according to PFF’s PRP statistic with 67 disruptions totaling up to be a 14.93 PRP (on 355 pass rush snaps). He is also very, very good in run stopping, coming up with the seventh best run stop percentage in the league last year according to PFF. Cole was injured and didn’t all that he could get out of himself last year, but nonetheless, he’s as complete as they come and is the best at his position.

3. Julius Peppers: When Julius Peppers went to the Chicago Bears in the 2010 offseason, not a lot of people were totally sold. Some believed that he was taking plays off in his final year with the Panthers, and was not the player that he had been. Needless to say, since becoming a Bear, Peppers has proven otherwise. He has been a contender for best 4-3 defensive end for some time, and that time has not excluded itself from his tenure in The Windy City. He’s plucked out 19 sacks including an impressive 11 last season, up from the eight sacks he had in 2010. He also came away with four pass deflections and four forced fumbles. There was really one game where Peppers manhandled an offensive lineman, and it was against the Oakland Raiders. Jared Veldheer had been a stalwart for much of the season going into that game, but Peppers maimed him, sacking Carson Palmer twice, and five pressures past Veldheer, and he also picked up two more against offensive linemen Khalif Barnes and Stefen Wisniewski. He’s still a force to be reckoned with, and frankly, one of my favorite players to watch.

4. Terrell Suggs: The 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year finally finds himself on this list. Were you expecting anything different? I’ve always been high on Suggs coming out of college. Frankly, I think he is one of the best defensive players that the NCAA has ever seen because his tenure at Arizona State was incredible. He’s translated well to the pro game, to say the very least, and has been poised to break out for a long time. Finally in 2011, he did just that. He collected 14 sacks, 58 QB disruptions, and 75 tackles (23 assisted). His 44 defensive stops were second only to Jared Allen amongst players at that position. He’s an extremely well-rounded player and finally worthy of being in the discussion for elite pass rushers, and frankly, elite defensive ends as a whole.

5. Jared Allen: Despite the fact that he plays for the now-lowly Minnesota Vikings, Jared Allen is one of the very best at his position and that’s why he finds himself in the Top 5 of this list. Last year’s 22-sack season, which was only a .5 sack away from the record, was the fifth consecutive season that Allen got to double-digit sacks. This very impressive consistency now has him over the century mark as he has 105 sacks on his career. The thing with Allen though is that he’s not just a pass rusher. Allen also is one of the best defensive ends in the run game in the NFL. Last year Allen had the most stops amongst 4-3 defensive ends with 46, and notched 63 tackles (17 assisted). The most impressive of all of that though? Last year Allen was on the field for 1,044 snaps, which was the most amongst all players at his position. Allen can attack off the edge, inside, and via the bulrush; he has mastered every single pass-rushing technique so there is not just one thing you have to look for when defending him.

6. James Harrison: Yes, he gets a bad rap. Yes, he does seem very unintelligent sometimes to most people. However, James Harrison’s abilities can’t be denied. He’s a fierce player on the Pittsburgh defense and has been that way for a while now. The 2008 Defensive Player of the Year has not exactly had the easiest road to the NFL, but since he’s gotten here, he’s made the most of it. Only five players have been more productive rushing the passer than James Harrison over the last three seasons, including his teammate LaMarr Woodley. Harrison picked up 153 pressures on 992 snaps over the last three seasons; so 15% of the time he was on the field he was generating pressure. Crazy good numbers. Last year Harrison had an equally good year, as 235 times he was on the field for pass rushing situations, Harrison picked up 40 QB disruptions, generating a 13.62 PRP, fifth best in the NFL. He may seem like a knucklehead sometimes, but he’s extremely good at his job, too.

7. Mario Williams, Buffalo Bills: The #1 overall pick in 2006 has moved from the team that drafted him in the Houston Texans to the Buffalo Bills. For the Bills, I love this move, but this isn’t the time or place to be talking about how this move helps the Bills. Since entering the league, here’s what Mario Williams has done: tallied up 53 sacks, 11 pass deflections, 11 forced fumbles, recovered three fumbles, and picked up a total of 241 tackles (49 assisted). He has at least to me proven to be the correct selection for the #1 overall pick in 2006 ahead of the more-hyped-at-the-time Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Vince Young, who ironically is on the same team as Mario now. Williams’ season was cut short in 2011, but he still picked up five sacks in five games; impressive numbers. Over the last three seasons, Williams picked up a total of 138 pressures on 1,089 pass rush snaps (22.5 sacks). A very solid player and worthy of distinction and recognition, and Buffalo will love to have him on the edge.

8. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers: You look at Clay Matthews’ stats in 2011, and you wonder to yourself, how is this guy a Top 10 edge rusher? Easy: edge rushing isn’t all about getting sacks. Last year when Matthews was on the field for 453 pass rush snaps, he was able to pick up 66 QB disruptions (sacks, hits, hurries combined). To put that into perspective, he only sacked the quarterback six times, so just because he was not getting a sack, does not mean he wasn’t playing a huge role on a team where he was the Packers’ pass rush due to the ineffectiveness of everyone else. Lest we forget that in 2010 he picked up 13.5 sacks, much higher than last season, and picked up 10 sacks his rookie season. While Matthews isn’t so refined completely (15 missed tackles in the last three seasons) he still picked up 172 pressures over the last three seasons, ninth best in the league. He’s a guy that will continue being the staple of the Packers defense for many years to come.

9. Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts: When you think of great edge rushers since the year 2000, there is no way that Dwight Freeney does not come to mind. While his game has slowed down and he’s primarily a pass rusher and not as great as he once was in run coverage, that part of his game has not slowed down. Freeney amounted 189 pressures over the last three seasons (Robert Mathis had 170, which still makes them a fearsome pass rushing combination). Since 2009, he’s picked up 32 sacks on those 189 pressures, so he’s definitely getting a lot of productivity. The master of the spin move is still a feared player on the edge, even if his team is now suddenly less than stellar.

10. Tamba Hali/Cameron Wake, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins: Now personally I will admit that I think I am personally slighting these guys. Both of them have done exceptional in their roles the last couple of seasons; especially Wake who I think is quickly emerging as one of the best edge rushers in the league. I do think he can place himself much higher on the list if he keeps up the consistency this season, as the Dolphins switch to the 4-3. Heck, I flirted with putting him up higher. Wake for the last three seasons has amounted 178 pressures, eighth best in the league, and was graded as the most productive pass rusher of the last three seasons. If he does this again at the 4-3 end position, there’ll be no question for him to not be higher.

Meanwhile, Hali is also very good. He’s a very good pass rusher, piling up the second most pressures in the league over the last three seasons (216) on 1,387 snaps. Hali was all over the place against the Green Bay Packers when the Kansas City Chiefs upended them to give them their first loss of the season. He also dominated against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, collecting two sacks, two hits, and eight pressures. That was ranked as the fourth best performance of the year by a 3-4 outside linebacker by Pro Football Focus. He finished fourth in PRP according to Pro Football Focus. On a list with guys that can be placed just about anywhere, I will admit they could definitely be higher. I’ll keep them here though.