Tag Archives: Edge Rushers

NFL Draft

Top 10 edge defenders of the 2024 NFL Draft:

Finishing up week three of your positional draft rankings, we switch back over to the defensive side of the ball, with the guys threatening the edge against the offensive tackles we discussed a few days ago. The NFL has evolved to a point where we can group them together as EDGEs rather than having to use traditional 3-4 outside linebacker and 4-3 defensive end designations, although I will describe which roles I believe these prospects can fit at the end of each paragraph, along with analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, plus in which range I’d personally value them. At this point, I also want to re-iterate that my rankings are based purely on tape evaluation, without information on potential medical or off-field concerns.

This class hasn’t been discussed a whole lot I’d say because we don’t have a headliner like Myles Garrett, one of the Bosa brothers or Chase Young at the top, but there’s still plenty to like. Personally, I believe you can make a case for any of the top three names as EDGE1, depending on which type of player you’re looking for and they’ll all be inside my top-15 overall prospects. I could see about nine or ten additional guys hear their names called on day two, although I don’t see as many intriguing developmental projects in the middle to late rounds as the OT class featured.

I want to note that typically, I have used two or three paragraphs – depending on position – to describe the positives for each position. In this case, I simply used “run defense” and “pass-rush” and added a short line about them dropping into coverage, if I thought it was fitting, since none of these guys were asked to do that 100+ in any season, as far I’m aware.

Here’s the list:


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NFL Draft

Top 10 edge defenders of the 2023 NFL Draft:

This officially marks the halfway point of our positional draft rankings. We’ve already broken down the top running backs, linebackers, wide receivers, cornerbacks and most recently offensive tackles. So now it’s time to look at this massive group of edge defenders, which is a much better way to classify these prospects, rather than calling them 4-3 defensive ends or 3-4 outside linebackers. Due to how hybrid NFL fronts are these days anyway, I like to lump those together, although I will mention their best schematic fit a few times and talk about how versatile coaches can be in how they deploy these guys.

We have a consensus top-three overall prospect headlining this group, but I don’t believe EDGE2 is too far behind him, especially when you look at what the NFL typically values. After that, I kind of look at the class having three tiers, where the first one consists of four names, who I all have first-round grades on, then the three guys in the next group I think deserve top-50 consideration and after that, there’s at least another four I consider day-two prospect. However, even beyond that point, there are several intriguing players, who I think can have legitimate roles at the next level, with varying degrees of physical upside compared to pro-readiness.

Just to clarify – Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore, Auburn’s Colby Wooden and Michigan’s Mike Morris I have all labelled as “IDL”. That list will come out next week.

For now, let’s get into this edge class:


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NFL Draft

Top 10 edge rushers in the 2021 NFL Draft:

After looking at the offensive tackle class earlier in the week, we shift back to the defensive side of the ball, to the guys trying to give them trouble off the edge. Once again, this group includes 4-3 defensive and 3-4 outside linebackers, while some of them may offer versatility to slide inside on passing downs. I already broke the edge rushers down a couple of days on my Youtube channel, to give a more comprehensive overall view.

This may not be perceived as a great class by the general public, because it doesn’t have that clear front-runner like Chase Young, Nick Bosa or Myles Garrett, as we have seen in recent years, but I think the top name for me should absolutely get more hype and this is actually a really deep class, even if it may include plenty of developmental edge rushers.  I expect multiple starters to be drafted on day three. To me the top three prospects absolutely deserve to go in the first round and the three names after will also probably end up with top 50 grades. However, altogether there’s up to 20 guys I feel comfortable with picking within the first four rounds.

Just for clarification – I didn’t include Vanderbilt’s Dayo Odeyingbo or Tulane’s Cameron Sample, because I believe they fit better inside and will find themselves in my breakdown of the top interior defensive linemen a week from when this comes out. So stay tuned for that!

Here’s my list:

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NFL Draft

(Youtube) Top 10 edge rushers in the 2021 NFL Draft

After looking at the offensive tackle class earlier in the week, we shift back to the defensive side of the ball, to the guys trying to give them trouble off the edge. This may not perceived as a great class by the general public, because it doesn’t have that clear front-runner, as we have seen in recent years, but I think the top name for me should absolutely get more hype and this is actually a really deep class, even if it may include plenty of developmental edge rushers.

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NFL Draft

Top 10 edge rushers in the 2020 NFL Draft:

Now that we have discussed the offensive tackle class, we finish our third week of positional draft rankings with the edge rushers. You can also check out my breakdowns of the best running backs and linebackers, interior offensive and defensive linemen.

Unlike a lot of sites still do, I don’t want to differentiate between defensive tackles, D-ends and outside linebackers, since a lot of times I would be forced to compare guys that actually come off the edge with two-gapping 5-techniques and off-the-ball linebackers. So this list includes 4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside backers coming out of college.

We have an obvious headliner in this class and there is another group of three prospects that I will have first-round grades on. After that there is a pretty steep drop-off and a lot of disagreement with how the rest of this group stacks up. With that being said, I think there are plenty of versatile edge defenders available and you might find some early starters on day three, with some guys that are pretty technically advanced already.

Here is the list:

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NFL Draft

Top 10 edge rushers in the 2019 NFL Draft:

We have done all the interior guys and the offensive tackles now, so we are moving on to the edge rushers. Once again, I differentiate between interior defensive linemen – meaning anything from true nose tackle to 5-tech defensive end – and edge rusher. This class includes defensive ends and outside linebackers, whether those are the spots they played in college or where I project them fit at the next level. I already mentioned this with the inside guys – With how hybrid defensive schemes are today and how little teams actually line up in base sets, the fit of these prospects is not necessarily as important. What counts is primarily if you can rush the passer, then if you can set the edge in the run game and finally if you can stand up and drop into coverage. Of the course the more you can do for your team, the better, and the draft boards will vary depending on the scheme of teams, but not all of these areas are equally important.

I already marveled at the talent on the interior D-line, but this class of edge rushers is even better and deeper. I could easily see up to eight of these guys be selected in the first round and the top two will probably end up being among my three highest-graded prospects. What I really like about this group is the versatility, not necessarily when it comes to scheme fits, but rather their overall style of play. You have technically sound players or raw athletic freaks, finesse speed rushers and frenetic power guys. Whatever your flavor is, there is someone for you to find – as long as you have the draft capital.

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