Star power.
That’s the easiest way to sum up the EDGE defenders in the AFC North, largely from top to bottom.
Like many other positions across the divisional landscape, things are pretty close overall – in terms of talent level — at EDGE among the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. There’s no shortage of star power either, with the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt, former first-overall pick Myles Garrett, and emerging standouts Trey Hendrickson and Odafe Oweh.
Compared to other divisions in this series, I really had a hard time determining my No. 1-4 rankings. The depth of the position groups for all four teams really ended up factoring in here.
Let’s dive in.
1. CLEVELAND BROWNS
Just when it looked like there would be a change at the top of the AFC North EDGE rankings for the first time in three seasons, the Cleveland Browns swooped in with a big-time move, trading for Za’Darius Smith, giving Cleveland a serious 1-2 punch off the edge.
Smith might not be what he once was, but he remains a productive pass rusher overall and is just 30 years old. Smith has been a very productive pass-rusher since 2019, and he posted another strong year in 2022. Since 2019, he has a 16.4% cumulative pass-rush win percentage.
Last season, Smith recorded 10.0 sacks for the Vikings, giving him his third-straight healthy season with double-digit sacks — he played just 18 snaps in 2021 with Green Bay before missing the entire season.
Smith will pair with arguably the best edge defender in the NFL in Myles Garrett. He’s still a remarkable player, one who creates a ton of pressures and can really alter games overall. This past season was Garrett’s fifth-straight season in which he earned an 89.5-plus overall grade from Pro Football Focus with double-digit sacks, keeping his pass rush win percentage above 22% in three of them, recording his second straight 16.0 sack season.
Since entering the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, Garrett has had five double-digit sack seasons. He’s a force.
Cleveland was in good shape even before the Smith trade, adding veteran pass rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo — a personal favorite of mine — in free agency. He’s slightly undersized for a 4-3 defensive end, but he knows how to get after the quarterback. He is coming off of a career year in Houston where he saw a career-high 518 defensive snaps and parlayed that into 5.0 sacks and 36 total pressures, recording an 81.9 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus.
He’ll be a strong situational pass rusher for the Browns moving forward and is great injury insurance behind Garrett and Smith.
Cleveland also added rookie Isaiah McGuire in the draft out of Missouri, giving the Browns a young, moldable piece to work with. The Browns also have Alex Wright and undrafted free agent Lonnie Phelps to work with as intriguing depth.
There is no denying how loaded Cleveland is.
2. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
T.J. Watt played in just nine games last season, recording 5.5 sacks, but believing he’s all of a sudden going to fall off due to his age (28) and injury history is a wasted thought process. Even though he was slow to get back to his usual self after returning from the pectoral injury, Watt remains a game-wrecker off the edge and will get back to proving that in 2023.
At this point in his career, Watt is on a Hall of Fame pace, putting himself in the discussion as one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, let alone Steelers’ history. He’s on pace to reach a number of historic milestones entering his seventh season, which is just absolutely remarkable for the former No. 30 overall pick.
Opposite Watt, Alex Highsmith had a breakout season in 2022, recording a career-high 14.5 sacks while leading the NFL in forced fumbles with five. Though he had some struggles in games without Watt opposite him, Highsmith has a deep pass rush arsenal and has a great feel for what moves to hit offensive linemen with. He’s put together an elite-level ghost rush and really was unstoppable at times in 2022.
Entering a contract year, Highsmith could take another step forward and really put himself in the upper echelon of pass rushers in the NFL.
Depth was a concern for Pittsburgh on the edge, but GM Omar Khan did a great job adding veteran Markus Golden late in the offseason, giving Pittsburgh that dependable veteran behind Watt and Highsmith. Golden recorded 11.0 sacks just two years ago and has 47.0 for his career. He just knows how to play on the edge and should be able to rotate in and keep Watt and Highsmith healthy and fresh without really sacrificing much on the edge.
Pittsburgh also added Wisconsin edge Nick Herbig in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He, like Golden, is undersized for the position with short arms, but was uber productive in college getting after the quarterback. We’ll see how he will hold up in the NFL on the boundary, but effort won’t be an issue whatsoever with the former Badger, who has been working with Watt in recent years from a pass-rush perspective.
Behind those four, it will be interesting to see how things shake out on the practice squad or within the final spots on the 53-man roster. Quincy Roche returned this offseason on a reserve/futures deal after spending the last two seasons with the New York Giants after the Steelers cut him in 2021 after picking him in the sixth round of the draft.
Roche has just 2.5 career sacks, but he has NFL experience and special teams abilities.
Undrafted free agent David Perales is a name to keep an eye on. He had a lot of high-effort plays in college at Fresno State and was rather productive throughout his college career.
3. CINCINNATI BENGALS
With another great year from the duo of Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard, it would not be at all surprising to see the Bengals jump the Steelers or the Browns in this ranking.
Hendrickson has been a revelation since coming over from the New Orleans Saints in free agency a few years ago. His pass-rush grade has increased every season, culminating in an elite 90.2 pass-rush grade this past season while finishing top 12 in pressures (62). Last season, though he recorded just 8.0 sacks after two straight 13.5+ seasons, he was a real force for the Bengals. He garners a ton of attention from opposing offenses, which frees up other guys.
That other guy, at least right now, is Hubbard. Hubbard has thrived in Cincinnati’s 4-3 defense, recording 30.5 sacks in his first five seasons in the NFL, including 6.5 last season along with 32 pressures. Quietly, he is consistently in the opponent’s backfield creating pressure and forming a strong duo with Hendrickson.
The Bengals keep adding to the room, too, and drafted Clemson’s in the first round in April.
A well-built pass rusher at 6’5, 268 pounds with 33 3/4-inch arms, Murphy had a good but not great college career with 36 TFL and 18.5 sacks plus six forced fumbles over a three-year span. In 2022, he notched 11 TFL and 6.5 sacks. A hamstring injury caused him to sit out of this year’s Combine and the Tigers’ Pro Day. That ultimately caused him to fall down the draft before landing in a great situation with the Bengals.
