Bend and Snap: Our 2016 NFL Draft Edge Rusher Rankings

Who needs a franchise quarterback when you can dominate football games with a pair of stellar pass rushers.

The Denver Broncos used that formula to win Super Bowl 50, while the New York Giants won a pair of Lombardi trophy’s led by the fearsome threesome of Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck in 2007 and returned Umenyiora and Tuck in 2011 to win it all again.

In the pass happy league that is the current NFL you need to pressure the quarterback to be successful.

When Andy Reid took the Eagles head coaching job in 1999, one of the first things he did was hire a sharp defensive mind as his defensive coordinator. That was Jim Johnson. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson did the same with the acquisition of Jim Schwartz. Each coordinator, however, has their own philosophies when it comes to defense. Obviously, Johnson loved to bring the blitz, but Schwartz likes to rush with four and drop back seven.

“These quarterbacks are smart today and they’re coming in and understanding blitz packages, understanding where open zones are. They get the ball out of their hands so fast. So the blitz sometimes doesn’t affect you,” Pederson said at the NFC Coaches Breakfast last month.

Schwartz takes over a front seven that is not only better suited as a 4-3 but one that was second in sacks just two years ago (49). Schwartz’s attacking defense is all about generating turnovers and the best way to get them is to get after the quarterback. And Schwartz likes to pressure the signal caller with a consistent four-man rush. He was able to do so in Buffalo as his defense blitzed on just eight percent of third downs, the lowest mark in the league. When that four-man pass rush can regularly get into the backfield that obviously gives the rest of the defense a huge advantage on the back end as seven defenders are going up against five allotted receivers.

With Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin bringing the heat, you’d think the Eagles don’t need an edge rusher, but they still might look to pluck one in the later rounds. They worked out Maryland’s Yannick Ngakoue and Florida’s Alex McCallister, both projected to go in the later rounds. Ngakoue was second in the nation with 13.5 sacks.

Adrian’s Top 10

1. Leonard Floyd (Georgia)

2. Joey Bosa (Ohio State)

3. Noah Spence (Eastern Kentucky)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3-6ajYkXow

4. Shaq Lawson (Clemson)

5. Emmanuel Ogbah (Oklahoma State)

6. Kevin Dodd (Clemson)

7. Kamalei Correa (Boise State)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYrMxHQ-SeY

8. Shilique Calhoun (Michigan State)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6LlP5xpfHk

9. Yannick Ngakuoe (Maryland)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcWNh0Xmjw

10. Kyler Fackrell (Utah State)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t4avT20A5Q