- Myles Garrett takes his talent to Los Angeles: The reigning Defensive Player of the Year looks to maintain his dominance as he dons a new uniform for the first time in his career.
- Three Steelers in the top 17: Pittsburgh flashes an elite trio in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
- The PFF Early Bird Sale Is Here: Save 33% and get PFF+ for just $79.99, our lowest price of the year.
After ranking players on the interior of the defensive line, it’s now time to look to the outside. Edge defender is a position that includes the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but also has a group of young players trying to chase him down for the top spot at the position.
Here are our edge defender rankings going into 2026.
1. Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams
Garrett was incredible in 2025, setting the NFL single-season record with 23 sacks with the Cleveland Browns, before a blockbuster trade sent him to the Los Angeles Rams as they chase a Super Bowl in 2026. Garrett has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 90.0 in seven straight seasons, and while he is now 30 years old, should still be among the elite at the position this year.
2. Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans
Anderson turns 25 at the start of September, so it’s fair to wonder if we’ve even seen his peak yet. He has improved in each of his three seasons in the NFL so far, and is coming off a season that saw him earn a 92.8 PFF pass-rush grade and rack up 102 total pressures from 529 pass-rushing snaps. If he can take another step forward, he just might overtake Garrett for the top spot.
3. Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
The only question with Parsons in 2026 is how soon he can return, and whether or not the knee injury he suffered late last year will hinder his production when he does. In five seasons in the league, Parsons has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 91.5 every year, and he totaled 79 total pressures from 436 pass-rushing snaps before his ACL tear in Week 15 last year.
4. Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
Returning from a broken leg that ended his 2024 season after just 280 snaps, Hutchinson was devastating off the edge once again in 2025. He produced 100 total pressures, 36 of which were sacks or quarterback hits, from 622 pass-rushing snaps. Not coming off an injury heading into 2026, it’s fair to wonder if there is another level to reach in his fifth season in the league.
5. Josh Hines-Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars
While his ceiling is a little bit below the first four names on this list, Hines-Allen is still a force to be reckoned with off the edge. He has produced a PFF grade above 80.0 in four straight seasons, and he’s compiled 75 or more pressures in three of the past four. Hines-Allen is solid against the run too, earning PFF run-defense grades above 70.0 in each of the past four years.
6. Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Bosa has missed time throughout his NFL career, but when he is on the field, he is still one of the best edge defenders in the league. His PFF pass-rush grade in seasons where he has rushed the passer at least 100 times has never been below 85.0, and he finished with PFF run-defense grades above 75.0 in three straight years from 2022 to 2024. The question is just whether or not you can get a full season out of him at this point.
7. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
Crosby was almost traded to the Baltimore Ravens this offseason before the trade fell though, keeping him in Las Vegas. That should be just fine for the Raiders, allowing them to retain one of the most complete players at the position. Crosby’s peak as a pass-rusher came in 2021 with 108 total pressures on a 91.9 PFF pass-rush grade. While he has dropped off since then, he has still managed to total 107 pressures and 73 tackles resulting in a defensive stop over the past two seasons.
8. Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans
Forming a dominant pairing with Will Anderson Jr. off the edge of the Texans defense, Hunter is coming off a season that saw him set a career high with an 89.9 PFF grade, while his 90.8 PFF pass-rush grade was also a personal best. He amassed 92 total pressures, 28 of which were sacks and quarterback hits, from 563 pass-rushing snaps in the regular season and playoffs last year.
8. T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Watt turns 32 during the 2026 season and is coming off a season that saw him earn his lowest PFF grade since his 2017 rookie campaign. Yet we’re just a season removed from him earning PFF grades above 90.0 both as a pass-rusher and as a run defender, so it’s fair to expect a bounce-back year in 2026. Even if all the Steelers get is the 2025 version of Watt, that’s still a top-20 player at the position.
10. Trey Hendrickson, Baltimore Ravens
Hendrickson was on the field for just 285 snaps in his final season with the Cincinnati Bengals, but has been one of the league’s top pass-rushers when healthy over the past four seasons. Between 2023 and 2024, Hendrickson generated 162 total pressures, including 64 sacks and quarterback hits, from 983 pass-rushing snaps.
11. Jared Verse, Cleveland Browns
While it’s never good to lose a player the caliber of Myles Garrett, getting Jared Verse as part of the trade package was a smart move by the Browns. In two seasons in the NFL, Verse has produced 189 total pressures from 1,182 pass-rushing snaps and possesses one of the most devastating bull rushes in football. Heading into Year 3, he becomes the focal point of the Browns’ pass-rush.
12. Greg Rousseau, Buffalo Bills
Five seasons into his NFL career now, Rousseau might not be likely to develop into an elite pass-rusher, but he is one of the best all round players at the position. 2025 was the fourth straight season where he earned a PFF grade above 80.0, and saw him rack up 63 total pressures alongside an 85.0 PFF run defense grade, the latter of which was the best mark at the position.
13. Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh Steelers
Highsmith took a small step back in 2025, with his 44 total pressures the lowest he has produced in a season since 2021, but still netted PFF run-defense and pass-rush grades of 78.0 or better last year. Between 2023 and 2024, he was one of the most underrated pass-rushers in the league, and his strength against the run means that he can be a force on early downs too.
14. Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos
Drafted at the end of the second round in 2022, Bonitto has improved every season he has been in the NFL. His pressure production has gone from 19 to 47 to 61 and finally to 81 in 2025, while his PFF pass-rush grade has jumped from 65.1 as a rookie to 86.0 in 2025. If he can continue to improve, then any spot outside the top 10 will prove too low for him.
15. Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts
Another ascending player, Latu flashed signs of dominance in his second season in the league. As a rookie back in 2024, he earned a 72.1 PFF pass-rush grade, producing a 10.1% pressure rate in the process. Those numbers jumped to 77.0 and 13.9% last year, and he also grew as a run defender, with his PFF run-defense jumping from 63.4 as a rookie to 72.4 last year.
16. Abdul Carter, New York Giants
Relatively low sack production caused a strong rookie season from Carter to fly a little bit under the radar. His 84.5 PFF pass-rush grade was the 10th-best among edge defenders, while his 18 quarterback hits were tied for fifth-most at the position. Given what we know about pressure rate and sack rate, if he even just performs as he did as a rookie in 2026, that sack production will likely increase, and that’s not factoring in a probable step forward in his second year.
17. Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers
Herbig’s 87.3 PFF pass-rush grade ranked sixth among edge defenders in the NFL last season, collecting 48 pressures from 361 pass-rushing snaps. He was strong against the run too with a 72.7 PFF run-defense grade. Herbig still has room to grow, and he could be the best edge defender on the Steelers’ roster by the end of the season. That speaks to the strength of depth in Pittsburgh given that the Steelers are the only team with three players in the top 20 of this list.
18. Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
Mack is 35 years old, and we did finally start to see some drop-off from him in 2025, with his 67.5 PFF pass-rush grade the lowest he has produced in his NFL career. At worst, though, he remains a good pass-rusher and very strong run defender, with just two seasons in his 12 year NFL career where he has earned a PFF run-defense grade below 77.0.
19. Jonathan Greenard, Philadelphia Eagles
After a career-high 84 pressures in 2024, Greenard missed some time with the Minnesota Vikings this past season before a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason. Both seasons in Minnesota saw him register PFF pass-rush grades above 77.0. Despite missing time last year, he still set a career high with a 77.8 PFF run-defense grade.
20. Brian Burns, New York Giants
Burns set a career high with 29 combined sacks and hits last season, and has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 70.0 in all seven of his years in the NFL. He hasn’t been able to consistently produce at an elite level as a pass-rusher, but has still been good enough to form a formidable duo with Carter heading into the 2026 campaign.
21. DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle Seahawks
Lawrence is a worthwhile pass-rusher, tying for 15th among edge defenders with 65 pressures from 487 pass-rushing snaps in the regular season and playoffs last year. He’s also one of the best in the league at the position against the run, trailing only Greg Rousseau with an 83.7 PFF run-defense grade in 2025.
22. Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota Vikings
Van Ginkel is a versatile edge defender, and is one of just five players at the position to have spent more than 100 snaps in coverage in 2025. His production as a pass-rusher did dip last season, but he also missed time due to injury, and his 66.8 PFF pass-rush grade was still respectable. With Brian Flores back as the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, expect to see Van Ginkel dropping back into coverage plenty, and making an impact there as well as when he rushes the passer.
23. Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
Young was the only player at the position to drop into coverage more times than Van Ginkel did last year in the regular season and playoffs and has developed into a really impressive all-around player at the position. His 74 pressures in the regular season and playoffs tied for 11th at the position, while his 77.9 PFF run-defense grade was the 10th-best. With defenses forced to focus on Myles Garrett even more than they did Jared Verse, don’t be surprised to see Young making even more plays as he sees more one-on-one looks.
24. Boye Mafe, Cincinnati Bengals
Mafe’s performance dropped a bit in his fourth season in the league, but he did still earn a PFF grade above 70.0 for the third straight season. In 2023, he set career highs with 58 pressures and a 77.8 PFF pass-rush grade, while his best season as a run defender came in 2024, also coming in at 77.8. If Mafe can combine those highs in a single season, then he can become a force on a Bengals defensive line that lost Trey Hendrickson to free agency this year.
25. Chase Young, New Orleans Saints
While he hasn’t quite lived up to the billing of being the second overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Young has still been a good player in the NFL. Six seasons into his career, he has produced just one year with a PFF grade below 74.0. He’s coming off a 2025 season that saw him set a career high with an 86.3 PFF pass-rush grade.
26. Odafe Oweh, Washington Commanders
It took some time for his career to get going, but Odafe Oweh has developed into a solid pass-rusher over the past three seasons. A midseason trade from the Baltimore Ravens to the Los Angeles Chargers made him a lot of money in free agency, with Oweh setting a career high with an 81.0 PFF pass-rush grade, and 39 of his 51 pressures coming after the Week 6 trade.
27. Yaya Diaby, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A third-round draft pick back in 2023, Diaby has already tallied 162 total pressures from 1,267 pass-rushing snaps in his three-year career. Of those pressures, 132 have come over the past two seasons, with him securing PFF pass-rush grades above 75.0 in each of those seasons as well. He’s no slouch against the run either, receiving PFF run-defense grades above 65.0 in all three years in the league to date.
28. Josh Sweat, Arizona Cardinals
After seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Sweat moved to the Cardinals last offseason and produced another solid season. He has racked up 45 or more pressures in each of the past five seasons, and has just one season with a PFF pass-rush grade below 70.0 in that span too. He’s also a solid tackler, missing just 10.0% of the tackles he has attempted in his career.
29. Rashan Gary, Dallas Cowboys
Gary was one of the league’s best edge defenders back in 2021, with his 90.1 PFF pass-rush grade ranking fifth at the position, and his 87 total pressures tied for third. Since then, his PFF grade and PFF pass-rush grade have dropped in every season, and he is coming off a campaign where his 61.8 PFF pass-rush grade was tied for just 68th among the 111 edge defenders to see 300 or more snaps. At his best, Gary is capable of ranking in the top 10, but he could just as easily continue to underwhelm.
30. Jaelan Phillips, Carolina Panthers
Another player who turned a midseason trade into a monster contract this offseason, Phillips came good last year after struggling with injuries in 2023 and 2024. While he didn’t hit the heights he did in 2022 when he earned a 90.1 PFF pass-rush grade, he still generated 76 pressures from 437 pass-rushing snaps and produced a career-high 17.4% pressure rate.
31. George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs
Karlaftis has consistently improved as a pass-rusher for the Chiefs, seeing his PFF pass-rush grade augment by at least 4.9 between every season of his four-year career to date. 2025 saw him set career highs with a 75.9 PFF pass-rush grade and a 14.3% pressure rate. He has also improved as a run defender, and the 70.4 PFF run-defense grade he posted last year was also the best mark of his career.
32. Montez Sweat, Chicago Bears
Sweat is coming off another strong season as a pass-rusher for the Bears, racking up 65 total pressures, with 22 of them resulting in sacks or quarterback hits, from 547 pass-rushing snaps. Through seven seasons of his career, he has played just one season with a PFF pass-rush grade below 65.0, and one with a PFF run-defense grade under that mark too. Sweat is unlikely to threaten the top 10 at the position but should still offer fair production in 2026.
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