2023 NFL DRAFT: TOP 10 EDGE RUSHERS

BY ADAM GREENE

This is a particularly strong year for edge rushers in the NFL draft. I could have easily picked 15 top guys to feature here and probably still had to pare that down. The No. 1 guy is head and shoulders above the rest, but after that, there’s probably a lot of leeway in ranking each man, considering the style of defense the team selecting them employs.

In other seasons, guys pegged to go in the third round or even later like Byron Young out of Tennessee or Jalen Redmond from Oklahoma could have easily snuck into the bottom of the first. There’s some real value here on Day Two and quite of few of the men in my Top 10 should hear their names called Thursday or Friday. If a team needs an edge rusher and has a pick in the first three rounds, there’s no excuse not to grab one of these guys and expect at least a seven sack season at the NFL level.

Young and Redmond were cuts here and barely missed by Top 10, as was Will McDonald IV out of Iowa State and Andre Carter from Army (though drafting an Army player comes with its own issues. I would advise any player hoping for an NFL future to avoid the service academies altogether. If you want to enlist, you can always do it after you graduate from your regular school).

So, after many debates with myself (a worthy opponent), here are my Top 10 edge rushers entering the 2023 NFL Draft.

1. WILL ANDERSON, ALABAMA

Age: 21

Size: 6-3, 253 pounds

2022: 51 tackles, 17 for a loss, 10 sacks, one interception, one defensive touchdown, one pass defended

PFF Grade: 83.8

Odds to be 1^st defensive player selected: -300

Odds to be the 2^nd player selected overall: +150

Odds to be 3^rd player selected overall: +300

Odds to be 4^th player selected overall: +375

Odds to be the 5^th player selected overall: +200

If NFL teams atop the draft weren’t so quarterback needy, Will Anderson would easy go No. 1 overall. He’s a two-time Nagurski award winner, given to the best defensive player in the FBS and has the second most sacks in Alabama history, behind only the legendary Derrick Thomas. His stats were elite, but down this past season simply because he wanted to stay healthy for the NFL Draft. Last year, he had 101 tackles, 31 for a loss and 17.5 sacks, which is still absolutely unbelievable. Those are video game numbers and not even from Madden, because EA has yet to figure out how to properly code a defensive lineman or edge rusher.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals

2. TYREE WILSON, TEXAS TECH

Age: 22

Size: 6-6, 271 pounds

2022: 61 tackles, 14 for a loss, seven sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble

PFF Grade: 75.1

Odds to be the 1^st defensive player selected: +225

Odds to be 2^nd player selected overall: +350

Odds to be 3^rd player selected overall: +500

Odds to be the 4^th player selected overall: +1600

Odds to be the 5^th player selected overall: +180

There’s a reason Tyree Wilson could be a danger (but not too realistically) to be the first defensive player taken. He’s put up nearly identical numbers against Big 12 competition for the last two seasons as far as tackles for a loss and sacks. This past season, he nearly doubled his tackle output. He led the entire Big 12 in pressures in 2022 and had the fifth highest pressure rate in the country.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 12 overall to the Houston Texans

3. LUKAS VAN NESS, IOWA

Age: 21

Size: 6-5, 272 pounds

2022: 37 tackles, 10.5 for a loss, six sacks

PFF Grade: 80.2

Lukas Van Ness has all the physical tools to become an elite pass rusher in the NFL. He was a second team All Big-Ten selection and finished his two years as a starter at Iowa tied for the second highest sack total in the conference. He’s a strong kid with some solid, interior moves that can really cause trouble at the pro level.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons

4. MYLES MURPHY, CLEMSON

Age: 21

Size: 6-5, 258 pounds

2022: 40 tackles, 11 for a loss, 6.5 sacks, two passes defended, one forced fumble

PFF Grade: 79.0

Odds to be the 1^st defensive player selected: +12500

Myles Murphy ended his senior year having amassed the second most sacks in the ACC over the past three. He was a first team All-ACC selection this past season and a second team selection in 2021. His numbers for Clemson have been elite from the first moment he stepped on the field as a freshman and haven’t dipped since. Back in 2020, the COVID-19 season, he had 37 tackles, 10.5 for a loss and four sacks.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 20 overall to the Seattle Seahawks

5. NOLAN SMITH, GEORGIA

Age: 22

Size: 6-2, 238 pounds

2022: 18 tackles, seven for a loss, three sacks, one pass defended

PFF Grade: 83.8

Nolan Smith is the kind of project that could turn into a real monster at the NFL level. He’s officially the heaviest player to record a 40-inch plus vertical jump and a sub 4.40 second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in the last two decades. He appeared in just eight games before going down with an injury in November, but still put up solid numbers in basically half a year’s work. From 2021-2022, he combined for 71 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 19 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6. DERICK HALL, AUBURN

Age: 22

Size: 6-3, 254 pounds

2022: 60 tackles, 11.5 for a loss, 6.5 sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 71.3

Derick Hall wrapped up his four-year college career with a first-team All-SEC selection and recorded the second most sacks in the conference over the past two seasons. He’s officially listed as a defensive lineman on Auburn’s depth chart, but from 2019-2021 was a stand-up edge rushing linebacker. The move didn’t hurt his production and he set a career high in tackles in 2022.

7. ISAIAH FOSKEY, NOTRE DAME

Age: 22

Size: 6-5, 264 pounds

2022: 44 tackles, 13.5 for a loss, 10.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble

PFF Grade: 72.3

In spite of being a consensus Top 15-20 edge rusher on pretty much every board, I feel Isaiah Foskey is being overlooked. The man has recorded back-to-back 10 sack seasons for Notre Dame against one of the tougher schedules in college football. He laid down his best tape in 2022, setting a career high in both sacks and tackles for a loss. He’s a complete player that can get away from blocks and chase down plays. He was a second team Associated Press All-American in 2022 and has posted the most sacks in Notre Dame history.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 68 overall to the Denver Broncos

8. KEION WHITE, GEORGIA TECH

Age: 24

Size: 6-5, 285 pounds

2022: 54 tackles, 14 for a loss, 7.5 sacks, one pass defended

PFF Grade: 72.6

A transfer from Old Dominion to Georgia Tech in 2021, White flourished in the Yellowjacket’s defensive system his first full year as a starter in 2022. Against ACC competition, he put up pretty much the same numbers he did in Conference USA, raising his sack total by four. He ended as a third-team All-ACC selection and had the third best pressure rate in the conference.

9. BJ OJULARI, LSU

Age: 21

Size: 6-2, 248 pounds

2022: 58 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble

PFF Grade: 76.3

BJ OJulari has been a playmaker for LSU since he first took the field in 2020 as a purely pass rushing specialist. His role moved to an every down defender in 2021 and he delivered, recording the sixth most quarterback pressures in the FBS over those two seasons. He was a 2022 Coaches All-SEC selection. He has a great first step, but needs to work on his run game, but no one is drafting him as anything other than a pass rusher on Day Two.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. No. 36 overall to the Los Angeles Rams

10. FELIX ANUDIKE-UZOMAH, KANSAS STATE

Age: 21

Size: 6-3, 255 pounds

2022: 46 tackles, 11 for a loss, 8.5 sacks, one pass defended, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 74.6

Felix Anudike-Uzomah put together back-to-back high level seasons as a defensive end for Kansas State, recording 20.5 sacks from 2021-2022 and 26.5 tackles for a loss. His sack total is tied for the fourth most in all of the FBS over the last two campaigns. He was a 2022 third team Associated Press All American and was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the year.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 47 overall to the Cleveland Browns

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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