A recent post on Twitter/X by everyone’s favorite source of advanced metrics has the NFL community talking.
Pro Football Focus shared a graphic of four EDGE duos asking which duo will be the best in the upcoming 2024 season.
The graphic features pass rushers TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith from Pittsburgh, Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith from Cleveland, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence from Dallas, and Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. from Houston.
These are all talented players set on getting to the quarterback and fans can debate all day on Twitter/X about which duo is the best.
If only there were a system in place to grade players and their individual performances for the 2023 season so we could easily compare them without bias.
It must be our lucky day because such a system does exist and it was created by the same account that posted the graphic in the first place.
Let’s take a look at the 2023 season PFF grades for each duo in the graphic and determine which EDGE duo is likely to be labeled the best for 2024.
All grades were taken from Pro Football Focus premium grades.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ top EDGE duo is TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith.
TJ Watt
PFF Overall: 91.9 (5th)
PFF Pass Rush: 91.7 (4th)
PFF Rush Defense: 80.7 (7th)
TJ Watt is a four-time All-Pro and a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year but his grades don’t even put him in the top-3.
Watt has a high motor that leads to most of his sacks because of his relentless pursuit of quarterbacks.
He is the only player on the graphic to finish top-10 in each grade, and that likely makes him the best overall player discussed in this article.
Watt finished the 2023 season with 68 tackles, 19 TFL, 19.0 sacks, and 36 QB hits.
Alex Highsmith
PFF Overall: 90.0 (10th)
PFF Pass Rush: 85.9 (13th)
PFF Rush Defense: 77.3 (17th)
Opposite of Watt is Alex Highsmith entering the fifth season of his career, all with Pittsburgh.
Highsmith fits the Steelers’ mold of a player who does many things well and is not weak in any particular aspect of his game.
His snaps dropped from 88% of the defensive snaps in 2022 to 81% in 2023, but he remained effective.
Highsmith finished the 2023 season with 57 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, and 18 QB hits.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns’ top EDGE duo is listed as Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith.
Myles Garrett
PFF Overall: 93.6 (1st)
PFF Pass Rush: 94.7 (1st)
PFF Rush Defense: 78.3 (12th)
Myles Garrett rivals TJ Watt for the top EDGE player in the NFL, and it’s been a years-long rivalry.
Garrett is a five-time Pro Bowl participant with three All-Pro seasons under his belt, including winning the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
He wins matchups with ease, immediately putting the quarterback in a position to scramble or hurry through his reads.
Garrett is an unstoppable force of nature, finishing his award-winning 2023 season with 42 tackles, 17 TFL, 14.0 sacks, and 20 QB hits.
Za’Darius Smith
PFF Overall: 83.1 (18th)
PFF Pass Rush: 86.8 (10th)
PFF Rush Defense: 59.6 (118th)
Za’Darius Smith is the newest addition to the Browns’ defensive line, signing a deal with Cleveland before the 2023 season after a year in Minnesota.
Smith was drafted by the Ravens, playing sparingly on his rookie contract before striking a contract with the Green Bay Packers.
There he established himself as one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL, and now he teams up with the reigning NFL DPOY.
Smith looks to have a productive season after finishing 2023 with just 27 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 20 QB hits.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys’ top EDGE duo is listed as Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Micah Parsons
PFF Overall: 92.4 (2nd)
PFF Pass Rush: 93.7 (2nd)
PFF Rush Defense: 65.9 (65th)
Micah Parsons is one of the most polarizing players in the current NFL landscape.
He is expected to be Superman, often overlooked simply because he hasn’t led the NFL in sacks but he is double-teamed at a higher rate than any other player.
Despite the extra attention, Parsons is the only other player besides Garrett to finish top-2 in both overall and pass rush grades.
Parsons finished the 2023 season with 64 tackles, 18 TFL, 14.0 sacks, and 33 QB hits.
DeMarcus Lawrence
PFF Overall: 91.0 (8th)
PFF Pass Rush: 79.3 (21st)
PFF Rush Defense: 92.2 (2nd)
The longest-tenured player on the Dallas Cowboys lines up opposite of Parsons on the field.
DeMarcus Lawrence completed his 10th season with the Cowboys since being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Lawrence excels in rush defense, finishing the season with the 2nd highest grade in the NFL, behind only Maxx Crosby from Las Vegas.
Tank’s pass-rush days might be behind him, but he is still effective when needed and when placed in situations to succeed.
Lawrence finished the 2023 season with 50 tackles, 10 TFL, 4.0 sacks, and eight QB hits.
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans’ top EDGE duo is listed as Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.
Danielle Hunter
PFF Overall: 78.0 (31st)
PFF Pass Rush: 79.1 (22nd)
PFF Rush Defense: 51.7 (159th)
Danielle Hunter is the newest member of the Houston Texans defensive line, deciding to join DeMeco Ryans after eight seasons in Minnesota.
Hunter’s latest season is arguably his best, finishing with a career-high 16.5 sacks.
He now bolsters a defense that no one expected to be as good as it was in 2023, but the addition of Ryans as the head coach has changed the entire culture in Houston.
Hunter finished his final Vikings season with 83 tackles, 23 TFL, 16.5 sacks, and 22 QB hits.
Will Anderson Jr.
PFF Overall: 81.6 (23rd)
PFF Pass Rush: 76.6 (29th)
PFF Rush Defense: 77.4 (16th)
Opposite the veteran Hunter will be a second-year player from the University of Alabama, Will Anderson Jr.
Anderson was HC DeMeco Ryans’ first draft pick of his head coaching career, and it already appears to be a solid selection.
Ryans was rewarded by Anderson earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2023, recording 45 tackles, 10 TFL, 7.0 sacks, and 22 QB hits.
Quarterbacks facing Houston will be running for their lives in 2024.
Who is the best duo after all of the grades have been laid out on the table?
That much is still up for debate when you factor in the variables so I will let you, the reader, come to that conclusion for yourself.
