Fox Sports releases 2023 NFL edge-rusher rankings
There’s no question that in the NFL, and football in general, quarterback is king. But you could argue that positionally, the edge-rusher spot ranks right below it in today’s game.
The NFL seems littered with talent at the position, as a multitude of players have made disruption in the backfield off of the edge of the defense their calling card, wrecking plays in the run game and applying pressure to franchise quarterbacks in the passing game.
Week 1 of the NFL season saw various standout performances from the NFL’s top edge rushers, with many proving early that they plan on being an offensive nightmare for many more weeks to come. Following Week 1’s action, FOX Sports and their staff of NFL writers have ranked the league’s top edge-rushers as it currently stands.
1. Nick Bosa
Numbers don’t lie when it comes to Nick Bosa, as he led the entire league in sacks last season with 18.5. His performance earned him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, his first First-Team All-Pro selection, and a five-year, $170 million contract heading into the season which made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
Bosa did not record a sack in the San Francisco 49ers’ dominant Week 1 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he’ll surely have an opportunity to add to his 43 career sacks since joining the league out of Ohio State.
2. Micah Parsons
When it comes to making an instant impact, it’s hard to deny that anyone has done so more than Penn State product Micah Parsons. He’s earned First-Team All-Pro honors in his only two seasons in the league, wreaking havoc with 152 tackles, 27.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles already in his young career.
He played a key role in the Dallas Cowboys’ 40-0 Week 1 win over the New York Giants highlighted by a dominant defensive performance. He recorded three tackles and a sack on Sunday night, and will likely continue wreaking havoc on defenses throughout the year.
3. Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett got the season started off right by sacking one of his favorite quarterbacks to play, Joe Burrow. Garrett recorded a pivotal sack on Burrow on fourth down in the fourth quarter of the Browns’ shocking 24-3 Week 1 victory over Cincinnati.
Outside of his rookie season, Garrett has recorded double-digit sacks in each of his NFL seasons following his time at Texas A&M. For the second straight season last year he notched a career-high 16 sacks, tied for second in the NFL behind Bosa.
4. T.J. Watt
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have had a disappointing start to the season, but not T.J. Watt. Despite falling to the 49ers 30-7, Watt had a stellar performance recording all three of the team’s sacks on the day along with two force fumbles and one recovery.
Watt took home the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, and looked on pace to do so last season before suffering an injury. The Wisconsin alum played in just 10 games last season and still managed to record 5.5 sacks, leading the Steelers on a strong finish to the regular season.
5. Maxx Crosby
Nicknamed ‘The Condor’, Maxx Crosby has done nothing but spread his wings and fly since joining the NFL. Crosby has shown steady improvement since joining the league in 2019, and had the best season of his career to date in 2022.
Crosby recorded a career-high 12.5 sacks last year and also forced three fumbles, earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection. He started off Week 1 hot with a sack versus the Denver Broncos, and will look to continue getting on the nerves of quarterbacks all season.
6. Haason Reddick
It would be safe to call Haason Reddick the biggest riser out of the group following a stellar performance last season. Reddick recorded 7.5 total sacks in his first three seasons in the league, but in the past three seasons has reached the double-digit sack mark every single time.
In his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, he made an instant impact with a career-high 16 sacks on the season, tied for second in the NFL with Garrett. He was a key piece on the Eagles defenses that made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season, as they look to make it back again this year.
7. Brian Burns
Brian Burns as an NFL prospect out of Florida State was lauded for his size, speed, and unique athleticism at the position. Which he fully put on display last season in a career year for the Carolina Panthers.
He recorded a career-high 12.5 sacks last season, and the one they call SpiderMan is already on pace for a bigger year this season. He had two sacks and a forced fumble in Carolina’s Week 1 loss to the Falcons on Sunday, as he’s hoping a strong season will help sway the Panthers into giving him his desired contract.
8. Matthew Judon
Matthew Judon had a solid five-year career with the Baltimore Ravens. But since joining Bill Belichick’s defense for the New England Patriots, he has become a different animal.
Judon matched his career-high in tackles in his first season with the Patriots with 60, along with a career-high 12.5 sacks. But then he followed that up with an even better season last year with 60 more tackles, 15.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He also recorded a sack in Week 1 of this season, as QBs can’t seem to avoid his red sleeves no matter how noticeable and iconic they’ve become.
9. Alex Highsmith
Alex Highsmith had a phenomenal breakout season last year that landed him in the top 10 along with his teammate T.J. Watt. He followed his rookie season with an impressive year where he recorded a career-high 15 tackles for loss, but took his pass-rushing abilities to another level last season.
Highsmith had a career-high 14.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hits last season, wreaking havoc whether Watt was on the field or not for Pittsburgh. He also tied Reddick for the NFL lead in forced fumbles with five on the season.
10. Danielle Hunter
Rounding out the top 10 is the elder statesman of the group, as Danielle Hunter takes the final spot of the league’s top edge rushers. Hunter has been doing it in the purple and gold for a while, spending four seasons with the LSU Tigers before now entering his ninth season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Hunter has had four double-digit sack seasons in his NFL career, and last year was one of them, ending the season with 10.5. He missed the entire 2020 season with a neck injury and appeared in just 7 games in 2021 after suffering from a torn pectoral muscle. But looked back like his old self last season and this year by already adding one sack to the count in Week 1.
The current talent on the edge is undeniable in the NFL, which is evident through how loaded FOX’s list is and the players that didn’t make it. Players like Za’Darius Smith, Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, and rising star Aidan Hutchinson didn’t make the cut, but surely could with strong performances in 2023.
With the premium on quarterbacks that currently exists in the league, the premium on elite edge rushers who wreak having on passers goes up as well. And it will definitely be interesting to see how the rankings potentially change in the future, as many candidates could potentially challenge Bosa for the top spot both in sacks and contract value in the future.