The unique ProFootballFocus Pass Rushing Production rating (PRP Rating) takes a look at how often a defender rushes the passer and what kind of success he has. While sacks can often be misleading on their own, the up side to a sack that a hit or pressure doesn’t have is that it guarantees a negative play for the offense. As such, in determining the PRP Rating of each pass rusher we have attributed a value where every sack is measured at 1.5, every hit is measured at 1 and every pressure is measured at 0.75 to take into account the effect they have on the quarterback (a hit QB is more likely to make a bad play than a QB under pressure because by its nature the hit is a more intense form of pressure). These numbers are added up to create Pressure Points and then this number is then divided by the amount of snaps a player has played and multiplied by 100 to create a PRP Rating.
The criteria to be eligible for ranking is to have played in at least 195 snaps, which creates a body of consistent production and can hold up to credibility challenges. So let’s start at the top with the most productive players.
Way ahead of the pack is the Atlanta Falcons' John Abraham. The Falcons were careful in how they used him, and in return he posted a quite remarkable 18.08 PRP Rating, accumulating a massive 77 Pressure Points on just 426 rushes. Abraham maintained a consistency throughout the season and warrants the PFF.com seal of approval as the NFL’s most productive pass rusher.
A somewhat distant second is the NFL’s most productive outside linebacker. His pass-rushing skills earned him a new contract and Defensive Player of the Year award and with a PRP Rating of 15.67, James Harrison was an absolute force. Demarcus Ware’s ability to get sacks played a big role in him ranking as the fifth-most potent pass rushing outside linebacker, but our ratings provide a clear indication that, as a pure pass rusher, Ware isn’t quite in the same class as Harrison (though Ware still scored an impressive 12.25 rating).
Dwight Freeney may not be the best run defender, but he is the next in line to Abraham when it comes to defensive ends, posting a 15.71 score. The Colts got good production out of their defensive ends, as Robert Mathis was a top-10 producer with a 13.17 rating. This is offset by their run defense failings, but a large part of their success over the years has come down to their ability to take the quarterback out of his rhythm.
Over in St Louis, Leonard Little is still an effective pass rusher when he sees the field. The third-rated defensive end, Little’s 15.10 rating is a testament to his talent and either shows the Rams need to use him more (especially considering his run defense was better than most of his colleagues) or that the Rams' strategy of keeping him fresh is working fantastically well. With a relatively low 207 snaps rushing the passer, it’s easy to see why Little is ignored when talking about the most productive rushers. The Rams will be hoping to get more from Chris Long next year after he ranked 64th with a score of 8.52, which had him ranked behind Derrick Harvey (8.79) and Cliff Avril (9.21) from the 2008 rookie class.
Minnesota had one of the strongest pass-rush units, with Jared Allen ranked seventh with a score of 13.21 after rushing the passer an incredible 600 times (only two players had more and neither was anywhere near as effective). Meanwhile, situational pass rusher Brian Robison was also able to make the top 10 with a 12.86 rating and the Vikings had the second-highest ranked defensive tackle, as Kevin Williams posted a 10.38 PRP rating. They also got good production from Ray Edwards, whose 9.71 ranked him in the top 50.
But the Vikings were not the most productive pass-rushing team. The Titans will be cursing the fact that Kyle Vanden Bosch couldn’t stay healthy all season, as when he was on the field he was the fifth-most productive rusher with a 13.73 score. In his absence, the Titans got good results from Jacob Ford (23rd with a 11 rating) and Dave Ball (27th with a 10.91 rating), while Albert Haynesworth (9.98) was the third-ranked defensive tackle, Jason Jones was the 10th-ranked defensive tackle and Tony Brown was ranked 12th. How much of an impact Haynesworth’s loss will have on the Titans and the productivity of their pass rush is one of the intriguing questions heading into the season.
One of the more interesting set of stats is that of the outside linebackers of the Miami Dolphins. The one-dimensional Joey Porter put up good sack numbers, but didn’t feature strongly as one of the most productive pass rushers in the league. His 9.26 rating didn’t rank him in the top 50, while Matt Roth was able to do a far more consistent job getting pressure and ranked in the overall top 15. Roth played considerably less snaps as he made way for Charlie Anderson in some sets, and while he didn’t play in enough snaps to qualify for grading, he was on course for just a 5.07 rating, which makes one wonder why Roth came out for him.
On a similar note, in Cleveland, the Browns persisted in rushing Kamerion Wimbley despite him being amongst the worst pass rushers in the league (productivity-wise). His 7.01 rating was in stark contrast to the top-10 performance of Willie McGinest, who was used far more effectively to produce a 12.76 rating. McGinest is another in a long line of performers who are adding weight to the argument that resting pass rushers is the best way to get consistent pressure from them.
Of the overall top 10, it was only Allen who was stayed in the game on most series, and while players like Julius Peppers and Mario Williams produced in a similar fashion to Allen, they were very much the exception to the rule and it will be interesting (especially with the praise Atlanta received for their use of Abraham) to see if more players are used like this. One player to watch is Aaron Kampman, and while we wait to see how he adjusts to playing as an outside linebacker, it may be more interesting if the Packers use him more sparingly. His 556 snaps rushing the passer may have something to do with his decent, if unspectacular, 10.84 rating.
Much was made of Kansas City’s inability to get sacks, but they did at least get a moderate performance from Tamba Hali, whose 9.48 rating ranked him just behind Terrell Suggs and just in front of Joey Porter. The bigger problem for Chiefs fan was that Glenn Dorsey offered nothing in the way of production with an astoundingly low 1.67 rating, which was the second-lowest rating of any player playing with more than 200 snaps (the lowest understandably being Casey Hampton). What makes this stand out more is that his rookie counterpart Sedrick Ellis ranked in the top 10 defensive tackles with a 8.39 rating.
One last point — it would be rude not to give credit to one of the most genuinely underrated pass rushers in the NFL. Seattle may not have had the season it was hoping for, but it uncovered a gem of a player in Brandon Mebane, who ended up the top-ranked defensive tackle with a 10.63 score. Seattle got him on the field more and more as the season went on and he responded with some dominating performances that earned him the Pro Football Focus’ top pass-rushing defensive tackle award. In fact, despite their poor season Seattle, consistently got more pressure than other teams, with solid contributions from Patrick Kerney (before injury ruined his season), Julian Peterson and Daryl Tapp.
Overall Top Ten
1. John Abraham – 18.08
2. James Harrison – 15.67
3. Dwight Freeney – 15.17
4. Leonard Little – 15.10
5. Kyle Vanden Bosche – 13.73
6. Greg White – 13.64
7. Jared Allen – 13.21
8. Robert Mathis – 13.17
9. Brian Robison – 12.86
10. Willie McGinest – 12.76
Top Ten Defensive Ends
1. John Abraham – 18.08
2. Dwight Freeney – 15.17
3. Leonard Little – 15.10
4. Kyle Vanden Bosche – 13.73
5. Greg White – 13.64
6. Jared Allen – 13.21
7. Robert Mathis – 13.17
8. Brian Robison – 12.86
9. Mario Williams – 12.58
10. Julius Peppers – 12.44
Top Ten Outside Linebackers
1. James Harrison – 15.67
2. Willie McGinest – 12.76
3. Lamarr Woodley – 12.58
4. Matt Roth – 12.27
5. Demarcus Ware – 12.25
6. Greg Ellis – 11.91
7. Parys Haralson – 10.98
8. Bryan Thomas – 10.94
9. Shaun Phillips – 10.51
10. Mike Vrabel – 10.21
Top Defensive Tackles/ 3-4 Ends
1. Brandon Mebane – 10.63
2. Kevin Williams – 10.38
3. Albert Haynesworth – 9.98
4. Richard Seymour – 9.16
5. Shaun Rogers – 9.07
6. Jay Ratliff – 8.82
7. Randy Starks – 8.41
8. Sedrick Ellis – 8.39
9. Tommy Kelly – 8.27
10. Jason Jones – 8.04
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