Having a great pass rush can make or break an NFL team’s season. Let’s look at how all 32 teams stack up in this NFL Power Rankings: EDGE duo edition.
In the NFL, if you can’t get pressure on the quarterback, you’re not going to get very far.
Having a great quarterback and a great pass rush have long been arguably the most important aspects of building a successful team in the NFL.
Having a great quarterback gives you an edge because a player that can raise the tide for everyone else can make a world of difference in the NFL.
Having a great pass rush can help you close out close games and in the playoffs, that has pretty consistently proven to be the edge — no pun intended — for teams that are able to win it all.
As we draw closer and closer to the 2022 season, which NFL teams have the biggest edge in the pass rush department? Which teams have the best EDGE duos in the league?
2022 NFL Power Rankings: EDGE rush duos from worst to best
32. Arizona Cardinals: Markus Golden, Devon Kennard
The Arizona Cardinals have had a lot of somewhat underrated craziness throughout the course of the 2022 offseason.
Kyler Murray had his whole contract situation and the drama with that, but the Cardinals could also be without their top two receivers — DeAndre Hopkins and Hollywood Brown — for extended periods of time due to off-field issues.
In the pass rush department, the loss of Chandler Jones can’t be overstated for Arizona.
They have some young players coming in — rookies Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas — who could take over as the top duo before too long in Arizona.
Although Markus Golden is over 30, he’s actually kind of an underrated player off the edge with three seasons in his career of double-digit sacks, including 11 last year. Life after Chandler Jones is coming, though.
31. Seattle Seahawks: Darrell Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu
The Seattle Seahawks will allow young Boye Mafe to come along slowly with the duo of Darrell Taylor and Uchenna Nwosu in the meantime.
Taylor is a former high draft pick himself and showed off his potential last year with 6.5 sacks and 13 QB hits.
Uchenna Nwosu is a very serviceable player and former second-round pick himself who had a career-best 5.0 sacks and 17 QB hits last year for the Chargers as well.
The Seahawks could climb up this list quickly over the course of the 2022 season.
30. Baltimore Ravens: Odafe Oweh, Justin Houston/Tyus Bowser
The Baltimore Ravens return last year’s sack leader — Tyus Bowser (7) — as well as one of their top picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, Odafe Oweh.
Oweh looked sensational at times throughout his rookie season, racking up five sacks as well as three forced fumbles.
With Bowser starting off on the PUP and Justin Houston back in the fold, the Ravens should have a competent edge rush at the very least with Oweh’s potential really raising the ceiling for this unit.
Houston is an ageless wonder. He is still able to average at least a QB hit per game, leading the Ravens with 17 last season.
29. New York Jets: Jermaine Johnson, Carl Lawson
Some people will argue that the New York Jets are too high on this list even with them still checking in with the bottom four in the NFL, but I think this unit has tremendous potential in 2022.
First of all, the selection of Jermaine Johnson was an absolute steal for the Jets in the back end of the first round this past April.
Johnson was outstanding for Florida State last year and it sure sounds like he’s performing like a top 10 pick at Jets camp.
Carl Lawson didn’t play in 2021 but this guy can really get after the QB. He only has 20 career sacks but in his final two years with the Bengals, he hit the QB 54 times including a career-high 32 QB hits in 2020.
28. Atlanta Falcons: Lorenzo Carter, Ade Ogundeji/Arnold Ebiketie
At this point, the Atlanta Falcons’ edge duo has yet to officially present itself. Fortunately for them, in that case, they get the benefit of being one of the only “trios” considered in this post.
Lorenzo Carter, to me, is a fascinating player to give a shot at starting an entire season. From the sounds of things, he’s the top edge in Atlanta and coming off of a career-high five-sack season, I can’t wait to see what he can do with more than 600-700 snaps.
Ade Ogundeji was a player many liked in last year’s draft process and it sounds like he’s had a great offseason, along with the speedy rookie Arnold Ebiketie off the edge.
The Falcons’ roster isn’t great as a whole but there are some intriguing pieces on both sides of the ball, and the edge group for them this year could be fun to watch develop.
27. New England Patriots: Matt Judon, Deatrich Wise Jr.
While the Falcons get a somewhat surprisingly high ranking despite their inexperience, the New England Patriots get maybe a surprisingly low ranking despite their plethora of experience.
Matt Judon deserves praise as one of the better and probably more underrated edge players in the NFL. His fit in Bill Belichick’s defense is tremendous and he played great last season with 12.5 sacks and 25 QB hits.
Deatrich Wise had just 3.0 sacks and nine QB hits last season for the Patriots and even if you include Josh Uche in this equation, the Patriots still don’t really have a great “duo” off the edge ahead of the 2022 season.
What you see is what you get. Judon is productive but not overly spectacular or dynamic, and New England’s defense just always plays well as a unit.
26. Los Angeles Rams: Leonard Floyd, Justin Hollins/Terrell Lewis
The Los Angeles Rams are obviously not unaware of the fact that their depth off the edge is somewhat suspect.
They made a blockbuster trade for Von Miller last year and worked hard to keep him a Ram in the 2022 offseason.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t compete with Buffalo’s offer.
Now, the Rams have a rather unspectacular duo of Leonard Floyd and Justin Hollins or Terrell Lewis.
Floyd has developed into a very solid player for the Rams but Justin Hollins is a wild card. A former fifth-round pick by the Denver Broncos, Hollins is a freak athlete who might be better as a role player.
Terrell Lewis is a former third-round pick who has five career sacks.
There might be another trade on the horizon for the Rams off the edge.
25. Houston Texans: Jonathan Greenard, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
The rest of the NFL world needs to get to know Jonathan Greenard.
The budding star and former Florida Gator had eight sacks and 12 QB hits last season and looks like he has the potential to be a consistent double-digit sack type of player for Houston.
Greenard’s presence in Houston significantly boosts them up this list because Ogbonnia Okoronkwo has really just been a rotational player in his career.
The Texans did add players like Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison to the mix off the edge, so this is more likely to be a committee approach.
24. Kansas City Chiefs: Frank Clark, George Karlaftis
The Kansas City Chiefs paid a pretty big price for Frank Clark a few years back, and at this point it’s safe to say they haven’t gotten the return on investment that they’d originally imagined.
Sure, Clark helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. In that respect, they have gotten their money’s worth here.
But after racking up 32 sacks in his final three seasons with the Seahawks, Clark has just 18.5 sacks in three seasons with the Chiefs, and he hasn’t come close to the guy that racked up 27 QB hits in 2018 with Seattle (closest he’s gotten is 17 this past year).
With that said, Clark is still a presence off the edge and he’s now joined by George Karlaftis.
Together, these two can give offensive lines fits with their effort and power. The question will be — if they don’t win with effort and power, will the Chiefs have to bring extra heat to get a pass rush?
Chris Jones can help make these two better but I think they have to go out and prove they are a great duo before being much higher on this list.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick
The Philadelphia Eagles have themselves an ascending talent off the edge in Josh Sweat who made the Pro Bowl last year with 7.5 sacks, 13 QB hits, and 25 pressures.
Adding Haason Reddick to this group is going to make everyone on this Eagles’ defense better.
Reddick has 23.5 sacks and 34 QB hits over the last couple of seasons.
Combining Reddick with Sweat should give the Eagles plenty of pop off the edge in 2022 and help make Jonathan Gannon’s defense even better than we saw over the second half of 2021.
22. Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, Charles Harris
I’m telling you now — don’t be sleeping on the Detroit Lions.
The Lions’ offense is what really intrigues me, but the defense is going to keep playing hard for coordinator Aaron Glenn, who is already getting plenty of head coaching looks around the league.
The Lions’ pass rush got a huge upgrade in the 2022 NFL Draft with the addition of Aidan Hutchinson, who might not be a 15-sack per year type of player but he’s going to be consistently disruptive and strong in the running game off the edge.
Charles Harris had 7.5 sacks and 16 QB hits last season, both career bests.
21. Indianapolis Colts: Yannick Ngakoue, Kwity Paye
The Indianapolis Colts swung a pretty underrated trade in the 2022 offseason to acquire Yannick Ngakoue from the Las Vegas Raiders, who had their sights set on Chandler Jones.
Ngakoue has been passed around from team to team in the NFL, sort of the defensive version of Brandin Cooks, but he’s been productive (and durable) at every stop.
This guy has only missed two games in his NFL career and has 119 career QB hits and 55.5 career sacks. In addition, he has added 20 forced fumbles.
Along with former first-round pick Kwity Paye, who had four sacks as a rookie in 2021, the Colts could have something really nice brewing off the edge in 2022.
20. Tennessee Titans: Harold Landry, Bud Dupree
Harold Landry is coming off of an outstanding Pro Bowl season in which he earned a nice paycheck from the Tennessee Titans.
Landry had 12.0 sacks last season along with 22 QB hits and a career-best 43 QB pressures.
It was reminiscent of Landry’s dominance when he was a member of Boston College.
Bud Dupree had three sacks and eight QB hits in 11 games last season and he’s just got to stay healthy.
I think if Dupree can stay healthy, this duo is in the top 15.
19. Carolina Panthers: Brian Burns, Yetur Gross-Matos
I struggled badly with where to place the Panthers.
Brian Burns is one of the better young pass rushers in the game with 55 QB hits and 25.5 sacks in his first three NFL seasons.
Gross-Matos, a second-round pick in 2020, hasn’t quite lived up to his relatively lofty draft status just yet.
Perhaps patience is the key here and we’ll see a year three breakout from Gross-Matos. For now, Burns is the one carrying this duo which has the potential to be a top 10 duo in the NFL if Matos can realize his potential.
18. New York Giants: Azeez Ojulari, Kayvon Thibodeaux
Everybody liked Azeez Ojulari coming out of Georgia, but some apparent health concerns pushed him to Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
I guess those health concerns didn’t exactly apply to the 2021 season because Ojulari was productive, racking up 8.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and 13 QB hits.
The Giants got a good one last year, and they got a good one this year in Kayvon Thibodeaux.
There’s obviously some projecting here, but Thibodeaux was one of my favorite edge players in this class for his ability to win with speed, power, and burst off the snap.
Together, he and Ojulari could be one of the more exciting young pass rush duos in the NFL.
17. Minnesota Vikings: Danielle Hunter, Za’Darius Smith
When healthy, this duo is probably going to get a lot more love than being just in the middle of the league as far as power ranking edge units goes.
Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith have been extremely productive when they are on the field, and if the Vikings can get them fully healthy for the 2022 season, they are going to make some noise in the NFC North.
They were both All-Pro selections just a couple of years ago and Pro Bowlers in 2020.
It’s not just about potential here — these guys are productive. The biggest question is health, and right now, that might be even harder to predict than guys who just bring potential to the table.
16. Miami Dolphins: Emmanuel Ogbah, Jaelan Phillips
For my money, this might be the most underrated duo in the NFL right now off the edge.
Jaelan Phillips was sensational as a rookie, racking up 8.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, nine tackles for loss, and 26 pressures while only playing in 54 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps.
Emmanuel Ogbah has 18 sacks over the last two seasons and 45 QB hits in that timeframe, so he’s really stepped up his game since sort of getting tossed around between a few teams just three years ago.
The Dolphins have a very underrated defense as a whole but the duo of Ogbah and Phillips can really get after the QB, and they have a deeper rotation of guys who can get pressure as well.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travon Walker, Josh Allen
When he’s fully healthy, Josh Allen is capable of being a Pro Bowl type of pass rusher and gives the Jaguars a true building block on that side of the ball.
Last year, Allen had 7.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, and 12 tackles for loss and was one of the lone bright spots on a sad Jaguars team.
Allen is now joined by the top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Georgia’s Travon Walker.
Walker is a fascinating athlete and weapon off the edge who can do a little bit of everything. It will be a treat for football fans to be able to see Allen and Walker working together, two big, long explosive athletes with traits upon traits.
The Jaguars could have a little something brewing here in 2022.
14. San Francisco 49ers: Nick Bosa, Drake Jackson
Alright, 49ers fans, take it easy on me for this one.
Before you drop any hate in the comments, just know that I really wrestled with this, and also take a moment to acknowledge that there are some really great edge duos in the NFL right now.
The only reason I have the 49ers duo lower on this list than you might have expected is because Drake Jackson is unproven and untested.
With that being said, Jackson was one of my favorite edge players in this year’s draft class and from the sounds of things, he’s been rather impressive throughout training camp.
I’ll be excited to push this duo up the list as the season progresses.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Shaquil Barrett, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
Similar to the Nick Bosa/Drake Jackson duo, the duo of Shaquil Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is outside of the top 10 simply because Tryon-Shoyinka is a bit untested at this point.
Barrett has proven he’s one of the top pass rushers in the game, but Shoyinka didn’t quite play 50 percent of the Bucs’ snaps in his rookie season.
Now, the road is clearly paved for the former first-round pick out of Washington to be a more impactful player for the Bucs and new head coach Todd Bowles.
The talent is there, for this duo to be top-tier in 2022.
12. Buffalo Bills: Von Miller, Greg Rousseau
The Buffalo Bills’ acquisition of Von Miller this offseason was a major game-changer.
Miller, even at the age of 33, still looks like one of the best and most impactful pass rushers in the game. He proved that with the Los Angeles Rams en route to his second career Super Bowl victory.
Is Miller the same Defensive MVP he was early on with the Broncos? Maybe not. An injury caused him to miss the entire 2020 season and then an injury cost him a couple of games in 2021.
Still, he finished with 9.5 sacks in the regular season and then another 4.0 sacks in the playoffs. Miller is going to be able to get sacks until he’s 40.
Greg Rousseau is a fun young edge player for the Bills coming off of a pretty strong rookie season. he had 10 QB hits, 4.0 sacks, and 24 pressures.
With Miller on the other side, sacks could come in bunches for him.
11. Denver Broncos: Bradley Chubb, Randy Gregory
The Denver Broncos‘ edge duo is ranked pretty high here, but we’re assuming most of these duos are going to be healthy for this season.
If that’s the case, this duo has the potential to combine for 20 or more sacks this season.
Randy Gregory signed a big-money contract in 2022 free agency with the Broncos, spurning the Cowboys in the process.
Bradley Chubb was hurt to start last season and was rusty upon his return to the field.
At their best, this duo brings a tremendous combination of speed and power off the edge.
Chubb is having a good offseason for the Broncos and Gregory is strengthening a surgically repaired shoulder. This duo could cause a lot of havoc for new coordinator Ejiro Evero.
10. Chicago Bears: Robert Quinn (for now), Trevis Gipson
At this point, what will the Chicago Bears’ pass rush duo actually look like to start off the 2022 regular season?
Robert Quinn wants to be traded, but we’ll see if rookie GM Ryan Poles gives in to his request.
For the time being, Quinn and Gipson is a really underrated duo and maybe the best thing the Bears have going for them.
Quinn continues to be one of the most underrated pass rushers of the last decade plus. He had 18.5 sacks last year with almost no fanfare at all. He also added four forced fumbles.
Gipson had a breakout year with five forced fumbles and seven sacks along with 17 pressures on the QB.
If the Bears can keep this duo in tact, they should be a lot of fun to watch.
9. Los Angeles Chargers: Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack
Chargers fans won’t be happy that their duo is outside the top five, but there are a lot of really good pass rush duos in the NFL.
Mack had six sacks in seven games last season, but his productivity has taken a dip in the last three seasons with the Chicago Bears.
That’s part of the non-financial reason the Bears decided this year was the right time to trade Mack away.
Still, he should be a great addition for Brandon Staley’s defense and along with Joey Bosa? The Chargers are going to be getting after the quarterback.
Not only that, but you’ve got two really smart veterans out there and guys who are productive against the run.
Health could be an issue for this duo in 2022 but if they are both able to be on the field for the majority of games, the Chargers have a couple of the best closers off the edge in the NFL.
8. Cincinnati Bengals: Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson
Some might think the Bengals are a little overrated here but edge play is not just about which teams have the best pass rushers.
Sam Hubbard may not be a dynamic rusher but he’s been very productive off the edge on all three downs.
The former third-round pick had 7.5 sacks in the regular season last year followed by three more sacks in the playoffs. He added 17 QB hits and 12 tackles for loss in the regular season along with four QB hits and five tackles for loss in the playoffs.
Hubbard is a very good EDGE2 and Trey Hendrickson is obviously an elite EDGE1.
In his first year with the Bengals, he racked up 14.0 sacks and 27 QB hits, both the best totals of his NFL career so far.
He added another 3.5 sacks in the playoffs. The guy is good for almost a sack per game at this point as well as a couple of QB hits almost every game.
7. Dallas Cowboys: Demarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons
There might be a little controversy over this because Micah Parsons isn’t a full-time EDGE in the NFL, but as one of the game’s best pass rushers, I couldn’t leave him off the list.
There’s a fair question of whether a duo that includes Lawrence in it should be this high, especially in the “what have you done for me lately?” NFL.
Let’s start with Parsons, a truly special talent. He had 13 sacks and 30 QB hits in his sensational rookie season, along with 47 pressures, three forced fumbles, and a whopping 20 tackles for loss.
It doesn’t get a lot better than that.
Lawrence’s productivity has dipped in recent seasons but when he’s healthy, I think he’s still going to be a highly effective edge capable of getting you 10 sacks, even at this stage of his career.
6. Washington Commanders: Chase Young, Montez Sweat
Even with Chase Young coming off of a season-ending injury, how could you not love this unit?
He and Montez Sweat will give teams absolute fits off the edge with their combination of pass rush moves, strength, length, and flat-out speed.
Sweat only played 10 games last year but still managed to finish with five sacks and three forced fumbles.
When he and Chase Young are healthy, this is such a dynamic duo of players off the edge and Ron Rivera has to be giddy over the prospect of getting them on the field for hopefully the majority of games in 2022.
When fully healthy, Young is one of the best and most well-rounded pass rushers in the game.
5. Green Bay Packers: Rashan Gary, Preston Smith
The Green Bay Packers are going to have a great defense in 2022, and people are going to wonder where in the world Rashan Gary came from.
Gary had 9.5 sacks and 28 QB hits for the Packers last year and has been one of the biggest stars of their training camp so far in 2022.
He and Preston Smith bring a consistent presence off the edge, combining for 18.5 sacks last season and getting after the QB to the tune of 75 total pressures.
The Packers should have a top-three defense this year and these guys will be at the forefront of their success.
4. New Orleans Saints: Marcus Davenport, Cameron Jordan
These two combined for 22.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, and 38 QB hits last season.
They’re productive against the run, they get after the quarterback, and they help create turnovers (five combined FF last season).
If Davenport can stay fully healthy, this has the potential to be arguably the best duo of EDGE players in the entire NFL.
Davenport’s health issues are part of the reason the Saints went out and invested in Payton Turner in this year’s draft. If he can stay healthy, though, this is a duo to be feared.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith
TJ Watt is really something else off the edge, isn’t he?
In just five NFL seasons, he’s already racked up:
- 72 sacks
- 80 tackles for loss
- 150 QB hits
Over the last four seasons, he’s got 210 QB pressures.
The guy just simply gets after the quarterback and makes life impossible for offensive coordinators to execute a game plan.
He’s the Defensive MVP for a reason.
Along with Watt, the Steelers have a promising young player in Alex Highsmith, who had 6.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 15 QB hits last season, his second in the NFL.
These two should be one of the best and most productive duos of edge players once again in the NFL in 2022.
2. Las Vegas Raiders: Chandler Jones, Maxx Crosby
I had to think really hard about not putting this duo at the top of the list overall.
The Raiders have a really good thing if they can get a healthy season out of both Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby.
Over the last couple of seasons, Crosby has really emerged as one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the game. Since 2019, here are some of his numbers:
- 25 sacks
- 105 pressures
- 57 QB hits
Of course, edge play is not just about rushing the passer, and Crosby is also highly effective at playing the run.
Chandler Jones has been one of the league’s best pass rushers for the better part of the last decade. He’s been absolutely legendary at creating turnovers with 33 forced fumbles including 14 in his last two healthy seasons.
1. Cleveland Browns: Jadeveon Clowney, Myles Garrett
In the end, there could only be one number one on this list.
The Cleveland Browns have one of the NFL’s very best defenders overall in Myles Garrett, and they’ve paired him off the edge with former top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney.
Two number one overall picks with dynamic athleticism and the ability to take games over?
Although Clowney hasn’t quite lived up to the hype of his South Carolina days, he’s been a very effective edge player. He had nine sacks, 19 QB hits, and 32 QB pressures last year in his first year with the Browns.
Myles Garrett is simply unreal.
He set career marks last year with 16 sacks, 33 QB hits, 17 tackles for loss, and 52 pressures.
On a week-to-week basis, there are few defenders as feared as Garrett.
If the Browns are going to have sustained success and playoff success in 2022, it will be thanks to this duo off the edge, the best duo of EDGE rushers in the entire NFL.