The two most valuable players in today’s NFL are the quarterback and the guys who can get to the quarterback. Edge rushers have become even more important as the league has shifted to a pass-first style.
Of the five highest-paid non-quarterbacks by yearly average, four are edge rushers. Currently, 13 edge rushers are averaging over $20 million a year. Unsurprisingly, most of the players listed here are among that group.
PFSN’s EDGE+ metric ranked the 10 best seasons by an NFL edge rusher since 2019.
10) T.J. Watt, 2019 (93.41)
After making the Pro Bowl in the second year of his NFL career in 2018, T.J. Watt took a massive leap in Year 3 to put together one of the best seasons from an edge rusher in recent memory. Watt ended the year with 14.5 sacks in 16 games as a first-team All-Pro.
Most notably, Watt led the NFL with eight forced fumbles that year. He also contributed 14 tackles for a loss, 36 quarterback hits, and two interceptions. He finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and solidified himself as one of the best pass rushers in the game.
9) Maxx Crosby, 2023 (93.64)
The Las Vegas Raiders overcame the midseason firing of Josh McDaniels to put together a halfway respectable 8-9 season in 2023. A big part of that was the stellar play of Maxx Crosby, who led the league with 23 tackles for a loss off the edge.
Crosby ended 2023 with 14.5 sacks, which remains a personal-best mark to this day. He finished with 90 total tackles, leading all edge rushers and placing third among all defensive linemen. For his efforts, he was named to his third career Pro Bowl, his second All-Pro team, and placed fourth in DPOY voting.
8) T.J. Watt, 2023 (93.97)
In Watt’s last five healthy seasons, he has finished in the top four of DPOY voting every single year. 2023 was no exception, as he ended the year second in voting and earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition for his level of play. There’s a reason he has since become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
Screw It.
All 19 of TJ Watt’s Sacks of the 2023-2024 Regular Season pic.twitter.com/P2Qou62qea
— Jeff Kirby (@Jeff_Kirby412) January 19, 2024
Watt led the league with 19 sacks in 2023, marking the third time he has topped the NFL. He also added 68 total tackles, eight pass deflections, 19 tackles for a loss, and 36 quarterback hits. The Pittsburgh Steelers missed him in the playoffs, as they lost in the Wild Card round that year, as Watt ended up inactive due to a knee injury.
7) Maxx Crosby, 2021 (94.53)
Crosby had been a productive edge rusher to start his NFL career, combining for 17 sacks through his first two seasons. However, it was in 2021 that he truly catapulted himself to the league’s elite. He finished the year as a first-time Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro in Year 3 of his career.
Crosby’s numbers might not jump off the screen at eight sacks at first. However, he jumped from 13 quarterback hits the year before to a whopping 30 hits in 2021. He also finished with a 91.4 PFF grade, placing second among all edge rushers that season. His ability to disrupt all aspects of defensive play was a significant asset to the Raiders.
6) Khalil Mack, 2023 (95.22)
By the 2023 season, Khalil Mack had arguably already proven himself as a future Hall of Famer. He already had seven Pro Bowls, four All-Pro nominations, and a Defensive Player of the Year award. It became all the more impressive when he broke his personal-best sack record at the age of 32.
In his second year with the Los Angeles Chargers, Mack had 17 sacks in 2023. He was a force all over the field, deflecting ten passes at the line of scrimmage and forcing five fumbles. His sack total saw him finish fourth in the NFL that season.
5) Myles Garrett, 2023 (95.28)
Already an elite edge defender going into the 2023 season, Myles Garrett secured the DPOY award that had evaded him through his previous six seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
He led the league in approximate value at 20 in 2023, and he finished with 14 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, 30 quarterback hits, and 42 total tackles. Amidst Cleveland’s inconsistency at quarterback in 2023, Garrett’s performance played a significant role in their defense, leading them to the playoffs.
5 impactful reps from Myles Garrett’s 2023 DPOY campaign… 💰 pic.twitter.com/5DYWHEfe7W
— Coach Jared St. John (@coachstjohn500) April 17, 2024
4) T.J. Watt, 2020 (95.69)
The 2020 season marks Watt’s third appearance on this list, tying him for the most top ten performances in EDGE+ since 2019. Though he won DPOY in 2021, it was his 2020 campaign that graded as his best overall season in our database.
Watt ended 2020 with 15 sacks, which led the NFL that season. He also led the league with 23 tackles for a loss and contributed a career-high 41 quarterback hits, 53 total tackles, and seven pass deflections. Watt would end the year second in DPOY voting behind Aaron Donald.
3) Maxx Crosby, 2022 (96.23)
While the Raiders fell short of expectations in 2022 after making the postseason the year before, that was hardly Crosby’s fault. If anything, his putting together his best season in EDGE+ performance was the glue that kept their defense from being one of the worst in the league.
Crosby ended 2022 with 12.5 sacks, his highest single-season total at that time. He led the NFL with 22 tackles for a loss and added 36 quarterback hits and 89 total tackles to the mix. Though he ended up shut out of All-Pro recognition, he still made the Pro Bowl and finished sixth in DPOY voting.
2) Nick Bosa, 2023 (96.57)
Nick Bosa ended the 2022 season as Defensive Player of the Year, but that’s only his third-best season in terms of EDGE+ production. His best year in our database came in 2023, when he helped propel the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance.
Bosa ended up with 10.5 sacks in 2023, giving him Pro Bowl recognition for his efforts. He also finished the season with 53 total tackles, 35 quarterback hits, and 16 tackles for a loss. 2023 marked his third season in a row with double-digit sacks.
Nick Bosa:
– 122 pressures including the postseason (most in the NFL)
No. 6 on PFF’s 101 best players from the 2023 season pic.twitter.com/HvQwSwshkD
— PFF (@PFF) March 8, 2024
1) Micah Parsons, 2023 (99.11)
Since 2019, Micah Parsons’ 2023 campaign is the only single season to be awarded an A+ grade in our EDGE+ database. That speaks properly to how dominant he was for the Dallas Cowboys that season. As of this writing, he ended the year with 14 sacks, which remains a career-high for him.
Parsons was one of the most consistent players in the NFL in 2023, regardless of position. Most notably, he led the NFL in pass-rush win rate (37.6%), quarterback pressures (102), and QB pressure rate (22.4%). He ended the season third in DPOY voting, but he finished it as the best-graded edge rusher in our EDGE+ database since 2019.
