Quarterbacks, tackles, edges, and corners – those are the premium positions in the NFL right now. The consensus seems to be that, among those positions, this year’s edge group is the deepest, with ESPN ranking six edge prospects in its top 32 and sixteen in its top 100. Both are the highest among any position group, and there are lots of flavors to be had within this class.

Penn State’s Abdul Carter and Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. are finesse rushers with a lot of burst off the edge. Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart and Georgia’s Mykel Williams are long, explosive ends with questions about their production. Mike Green of Marshall is a short, bendy player who led the FBS in sacks. The point of this article is not to give detailed reports on each of these players, but to look at how this year’s edge class fares in some of our advanced metrics, so let’s get into it.

Pressures Above Expectation

In the 2020, and 2023, 2024 NFL drafts, the NCAA leader in Expected Pressure Rate +/- (xPressure Rate +/-) among draft prospects was the first EDGE off the board (and in 2022, Aidan Hutchinson was the 2nd EDGE off the board.)

For the uninitiated, xPressure Rate +/- (and its analog Pressures Above Expectation) is a metric that measures the probability of a player generating a pressure on a play given factors like down and distance and alignment, and then compares that to whether or not they actually generated a pressure. 

Were the aforementioned trend to repeat this year, Pearce, Jr. (+8%) would be the first EDGE taken, although that seems unlikely considering Carter is the consensus best player at the position (at least among media).

Snap to Pressure Times

Carter also holds the distinction of having the fastest average time to pressure of any draft-eligible player with at least 20 pressures at a blistering 2.31 seconds, a testament to his get-off and explosiveness. The second-fastest player was at ‘just’ 2.45 seconds. 

Of course, things aren’t as easy in the pros, but the best NFL pass rushers in this metric any given year typically hover at around 2.5 seconds. Furthermore, the 2023 collegiate leader was Carter’s former teammate Chop Robinson at an insane 2.11 seconds.He averaged 2.69 seconds in his rookie season with the Dolphins (still good for top 15).

Stewart is a notable inclusion here considering that he’s been knocked for his lack of production. The length, size, and explosion flashed both on tape and at the combine, but it hasn’t shown up in the stat sheet – he had just 11 TFLs and 4.5 sacks in three seasons – and these advanced stats don’t exonerate him either.

At the other end of this is Arkansas’ Landon Jackson, the only one of the group to exceed an average snap to pressure time of 3 seconds. On top of that, his xPressure Rate +/- is negative. That’s not a great combination, and his pass rush Total Points/snap rank was good but not great (57th among qualifying edge players last season).

Total Points

Some notable players from the 2024 draft class fared pretty well in Total Points in 2023. Robinson (1st), Laiatu Latu (2nd), Jared Verse (6th), and Dallas Turner (30th) are sure to be familiar names. It might also be noted that Pearce Jr., who was extremely hyped at the beginning of last fall, trailed only Robinson and Latu in this metric that year. As for the 2024 leaderboard:

Meanwhile, Pearce Jr. lurks at 54th and Stewart lags behind at 168th among qualifying players at their positions after ranking 3rd and 29th last year, respectively.

It’s not a good year to need a quarterback, but it is a good year to need someone to affect the quarterback. While there’s not a blue chip like a Myles Garrett in this class, there are lots of traitsy, high-upside players. And when you’re dealing with players who you have to project a bit more, advanced stats like the ones we’ve laid out can help paint a more complete picture.