The Top 10 Most Underrated Edge-Rushers of the 2020 NFL Season
“Over the course of this season, who’s the most underrated edge rusher that you’ve seen?”
That was the question I recently posed to a half dozen starting tackles around the league. I used a combination of their responses and my own film study of edge-rushers to come up with a list of players who’ve been notably impressive on tape while being mostly overlooked by the mainstream. Once the list was finalized, I went back and studied every meaningful pass-rushing rep (no screens, RPOs, or play-action) to identify each rusher’s best move, along with all their secondary moves.
1. Bengals DE Carl Lawson
A starting tackle in the AFC North, “Lawson is mad strong. He looks like he would be, but he really is strong! He’s also twitched up too. People don’t realize how quick he is. I’ve seen him lift A LOT of OTs.”
All stats via Pro Football Reference
2020 season through 15 weeks: 633 snaps (68%), 33 tackles, 37 pressures, 29 QB hits, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 4-point stance (occasional 2/3-pt) in a wide-9 technique over the left tackle. Approximate 92/8 right-left split.
Top traits: Burst, explosive power, play strength, use of hands, natural leverage
Top move: Converting speed to power with an inside long-arm/bull
Secondary moves: Stab-chop-rip, cross-chop, fake cross-chop into a hump or bull-rush
Snapshot: Lawson is a very good power-rusher with a twitchy, rocked-up build, very good play strength and rattling power in his hands. He does a great job getting inside the frame of blockers by converting speed to power, stabbing with his inside hand, lifting the tackles’ pads, and collapsing the pocket. The ‘chop’ portion of his stab-chop-rip weakens the outside arm of pass-blockers, softens the corner, and gives him multiple ways to win off the edge.
Outlook: Lawson is a rapidly ascending player who is just 25-years old with a dominant move in his arsenal (inside stab/long-arm technique) that can take over against any level of competition. He has a viable second option in his stab-chop-rip that works to make him a threat around the corner, making him a triple threat pass-rusher that can win outside, inside, or down the middle of a tackle.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
2. Panthers DE Brian Burns
2020 season through 15 weeks: 721 snaps (78%), 56 tackles, 34 pressures, 20 QB hits, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 4-point stance but will mix it up with 3 and 2-pt stances, all from a wide-9 or ‘ghost’ 7 technique split almost evenly over the left and right tackle.
Top traits: Get-off, bend, body control, change of direction
Top move: Ghost technique
Secondary moves: Chop to corner, inside & outside spin
Snapshot: Burns has electric movement skills and elite-level bend, giving him a rare ability to capture and turn the corner. He has an excellent inside spin move to use when blockers overcompensate to protect the edge and an outside spin to counter off of it.
Outlook: Many people think of Burns as having the talent to be elite and may be surprised to see him included on an underrated list, but I suspect those same people don’t realize just how refined his skill-set already is. Burns’ signature ‘ghost’ technique is an offshoot of the move Von Miller perfected that has other iterations but none quite as potent as what the former Seminole has perfected, which is one of the best pass-rush moves in the NFL. Having one primary counter (spin) and improving ability to convert speed to power, we’re likely on the cusp of witnessing the development of the league’s next great rusher off the edge.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
3. Lions DE Romeo Okwara
A starting tackle in the AFC South, “He plays really hard for one. He has good bend, power, and length which make him one of the more difficult edge-rushers I’ve faced”
2020 season through 15 weeks: 661 snaps (68%), 41 tackles, 26 pressures, 16 QB hits, 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 3-point stance in a wide-9 technique split almost evenly over the left and right tackle.
Top traits: Use of hands, mobility, length, motor
Top move: Long-arm/bull-rush and a forklift technique
Secondary moves: Chop & swipe variations
Snapshot: Okwara has elite length paired with sophisticated use of hands and good power that allow him to win the frame of pass-blockers using a long-arm technique. He’s then able to string together an assortment of different moves to unlock the grasp of blockers while gaining ground upfield, giving him the ability to win inside, down the middle, or around the corner.
Outlook: Okwara is having the best year of his career this season after the pandemic forced him into an unorthodox off-season training regimen that has simplified the game for him, yielded an arsenal of pass-rush moves, and allowed him to play much faster. Okwara’s contract voids after the Super Bowl and as a 25-year old former undrafted free agent with over 2,500 snaps of experience, will be a highly sought after commodity on the open market. His production this season is more in line with what he did in 2018 than his down year in 2019, so it has come off as a bit of a surprise, but when you study him on tape this year he is winning with advanced skill against all levels of competition, signaling a rusher with a high floor that has a good chance to duplicate his success moving forward.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
4. Eagles DE Josh Sweat
2020 season through 15 weeks: 421 snaps (44%), 38 tackles, 12 pressures, 11 QB hits, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles.
True Sack Rate Chart:
Alignment: Exclusively plays from a 4-point stance, predominantly as a wide-9 technique over the left tackle. Approximate 90/10 right-left split.
Top traits: Athletic ability, explosiveness (linear & lateral), length
Top moves: Inside-out stutter into double-swipe & ghost technique
Secondary moves: Long-arm into forklift, cross-chop (outside and inside), stab-chop
Snapshot: Sweat is an explosive athlete and gifted speed-rusher with the shiftiness to sell lies to tackles and win the corner using his signature inside-out stutter/double-swipe combination and ghost techniques. Sweat also boasts rare length and an effective long-arm stab that sets up his forklift technique, with a couple unrefined, yet tantalizing secondary moves being workshopped, namely a cross-chop.
Outlook: Sweat’s 29% average snap count percentage over his first three seasons as part of the rotation in Philadelphia carry some question marks (will the knee he dislocated and tore the ACL, MCL, and PCL in as a high-schooler that caused him to periodically miss practice at Florida State hold up long-term?), but also works in his favor since he is efficiently improving his skill-set without many reps. Beating Terron Armstead, Jedrick Wills Jr., and Jonah Williams cleanly for high-quality sacks are noteworthy feats that aren’t stumbled into and don’t happen without top-tier technique and skill. Sweat’s flashes this season to go along with his rare physical tools, age (23), and relative inexperience are enough to not only include him on this list but give him legitimate star pass-rusher potential.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
5. Dolphins DE Emmanuel Ogbah
A starting O-lineman in the AFC South: Ogbah’s cross-chop move is one of the best I have seen or faced. With him being so long you wouldn’t think he’s very strong but he has a great long-arm/stab move too.”
2020 season through 15 weeks: 683 snaps (76%), 40 tackles, 32 pressures, 21 QB hits, 9 sacks, 3 forced fumbles
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 3-point stance in a 5 or 7-technique over the right tackle (approximate 68/7 left-right splits). Will periodically stand-up in a 2-point stance, kick inside to a 3-technique on either side (25% of snaps), or be used as a spinner in certain blitz packages.
Top traits: Linear explosiveness, length, use of hands
Top move: Cross-chop
Secondary moves: Speed to power, double-swipe, club-rip
Snapshot: Ogbah has excellent overall size (height, weight, frame, length) with a good get-off and power at the point of attack that works well to set up his signature cross-chop move. Has ability to win quickly in the rep due to proficient hand fighting skills, making him a capable interior rusher that can be moved around based on the matchup.
Outlook: At 27-years old and on his third team in five years, Ogbah is having the best season of his career largely due the cross-chop move he added to his game last season with the Chiefs and has continued to develop (along with a double-swipe move) in 2020. Prior to learning the cross-chop, Ogbah was a predictable power-oriented rusher that was used heavily on the interior to push the pocket in Cleveland, but has since morphed into an above average starter off the edge with positional versatility and a reliable signature move.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
6. Cardinals OLB Dennis Gardeck
2020 season through 15 weeks: 93 snaps (10%), 16 tackles, 12 pressures, 10 QB hits, 7 sacks
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 2-point stance in a wide-9 alignment over the left tackle (60%) but moves up and down the line of scrimmage (20% inside, 20% over the right tackle).
Top traits: Get-off, initial quickness, hand strength, competitive toughness
Top move: Bull-rush
Secondary moves: Club-rip
Snapshot: Gardeck has a small, maxed out frame with impressive muscularity throughout his build (6’0”, 232 pound). He’s a role player that can move around the front and provide a jolt of energy as a pass-rusher. He has good snap quickness, ability to convert speed to power, and a relentless motor. His energy leaps off the screen and his production has been remarkable this season.
Outlook: After making the roster in Arizona and distinguishing himself purely for his ability on special teams the last two seasons, Gardeck’s role expanded in 2020 and he has produced one of the more improbably fun seasons in recent memory. His tape is an absolute joy to study and it starts with the frenetic energy he plays with but is really special because of the shocking power he is able to generate at the point of contact that has driven back several players outweighing him by 90 or more pounds. Gardeck can also fly off the ball and turn the corner in a flash, use stutters and hesitations to redirect for quick wins inside, giving him a surprisingly high amount of ways to win as a pass-rusher. It’s difficult to see his production come close to this level into the future once teams and players dissect his game, but he isn’t lucking his way into sacks either, soundly beating high-level pass-blockers. Whatever his future holds, it’s easy to see his value, the legitimacy of his production, and his impact on teammates.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
7. 49ers DE Kerry Hyder
A starting tackle in the NFC West, “Hyder is one of the tougher matchups for me and not many people know about him but he’s super crafty and kinda heavy, so he’s powerful yet really shifty at the same time.”
2020 season through 15 weeks: 610 snaps (69%), 46 tackles, 17 QB hits, 8 sacks.
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 3-point stance in a wide-9 technique split almost evenly over the left and right tackle.
Top traits: Natural leverage, use of hands, power, motor
Top move: Long-arm/bull-rush
Secondary moves: Cross-chop, inside swipe/rip
Snapshot: Hyder is a scheme dependent pass-rusher with an unconventional frame and build for an edge-rusher (6’2” 270 pounds) that he uses to his advantage with very good natural leverage to get underneath of blockers, lift their pads, and compress the pocket. His red-hot motor and crafty use of hands make him an arduous player to keep blocked that catches a lot of people and opponents by surprise.
Outlook: Hyder is on his third team in five seasons and his first as a full-time starter. Reunited with D-line coach Kris Kocurek after a career best season in 2016 with the Lions has allowed him to once again line up in a 4-point wide-9 alignment and scream off the edge. This allows him to play fast and physical while maximizing his specialized skill-set by giving him opportune angles on tackles. While Hyder is capped athletically, his high motor and crafty use of hands make him a slippery target for blockers.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
8. Cardinals OLB Haason Reddick
2020 season through 15 weeks: 751 snaps (77%), 55 tackles, 29 pressures, 15 QB hits, 11 sacks, 5 forced fumbles
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 2-point stance in a wide-9 alignment over the right tackle (70%). He will switch sides out of the same stance (25%) and periodically be used as an off-ball linebacker/spinner in certain blitz packages.
Top traits: Get-off, lateral quickness
Top move: Inside-out stutter into a swipe
Secondary move: Cross-chop
Snapshot: A twitched up pass-rusher who is most effective as a looper on stunts and blitzes using very good change of direction skills and quickness to generate pressure. He doesn’t have a signature move yet, but has shown promising signs of developing one this season, namely an inside-out stutter with a swipe move to win the corner and a cross-chop.
Outlook: This is the first season in Reddick’s four-year career that he has started to live up to his top 15 draft status and while still heavily reliant on sheer athletic ability, has shown signs that he is learning the nuances of the position with an understanding of how to set up blockers with hesitations and stutters rather than trying to simply run by them. He will need to continue to develop a primary move so he can win against top-tier competition on a consistent basis, but has rare movement skills that are starting to translate into production that is deserving of recognition.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
9. Browns DE Adrian Clayborn
2020 season through 15 weeks: 350 snaps (37%), 11 tackles, 9 pressures, 4 QB hits, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Exclusively plays out of a 4-point stance. Lines up in a wide-9 technique outside of the left tackle 75% of the time, with the bulk of his remaining snaps being inside over the left guard.
Top traits: Power, use of hands, physicality
Top move: ‘Limp leg’ cross-chop
Secondary moves: Fake chop into a bull-rush and a speed rip around the corner
Snapshot: Clayborn is a highly effective rotational edge-rusher with the size and strength to periodically kick inside who has a fine-tuned signature move (cross-chop) that pairs very well with a violent bull-rush. Listed at 6’3” and 280 pounds, Clayborn’s burly, compact build produces jarring force and forces blockers to respect his power, setting up his cross-chop for success.
Outlook: Clayborn is a former first-round pick in his 10th season that has developed into a hired gun off the edge with a distinct and potent skill-set that tests the anchor and discipline of left tackles. He also provides the ability to kick inside with the skill-set to threaten guards that increases his value to a defensive line room. Chances are Clayborn will continue to find a home in the NFL for the foreseeable future as long as the ‘limp leg’ cross-chop, power, and desire are there.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order
10. Rams DE Leonard Floyd
2020 season through 15 weeks: 822 snaps (91%), 46 tackles, 25 pressures, 16 QB hits, 7 sacks
True Sack Rate chart:
Alignment: Primarily plays out of a 2-point stance in a wide-9 technique over the right tackle
Top traits: Quickness, linear explosiveness
Top move: Cross-chop
Secondary moves: Stab-rip/stab-club, ghost technique, inside-out stutter/weave
Snapshot: Floyd has very good athletic ability and upfield burst but is extremely tall and struggles to bend his long-limbed frame around the edge. He has diversified his pass-rush plan this season to help circumvent the issue and has an eye-catching ghost technique he’s working on that if honed could be his ticket into a higher tier of pass-rusher than he’s flirting with now, but hasn’t been able to fully achieve membership in.
Outlook: Floyd has had the best year of his career in his fifth season and first with the Rams for a couple of reasons: 1) Aligning almost exclusively in a wide-9 alignment forces tackles to operate in more space and gives Floyd a more direct line to the quarterback 2) Floyd’s increasingly effective use of inside-out stutters and fakes sets up his signature cross-chop technique for success 3) Aaron Donald’s presence soaks up an unmatched level of attention.
Pass-rush library - Top moves in descending order