Ranking the AFC West: Edge Rushers
The AFC West has always been one of the most competitive divisions on a year-to-year basis since the AFL-NFL merger, and 2020 figures to continue the tradition.
Home of the reigning Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs, a pair of teams dripping with potential in the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, and a team with one of the most well-rounded defensive units in the Los Angeles Chargers, the AFC West might push a pair of teams into the playoffs this year.
The Chiefs are the easy front runner for the AFC West crown seeing as they've won the division for five consecutive years and are returning 19-of-22 starters from a championship roster.
But the Broncos and Raiders have tried to mimic the blueprint the Chiefs laid out in 2019, bringing in a ton of explosive play-makers to try to keep up with one of the most dynamic offenses the league has ever seen. The Chargers still have a ways to go in order to light up the scoreboard, but the upgrades they've made to an already stellar defense could keep them competitive in these heated rivalries.
Every year, we at Mile High Huddle dive deep to break down the Broncos' division rivals. This time around, we're going to rank each team by position group in order to determine who has the best roster in the division.
This year we're going to rank each team by position group in order to determine who has the best roster in the division. These rankings will include not only the projected starters for each AFC West team, but also the depth of the unit as a whole.
The edge defender position in the AFC West has been one of the best groups for seemingly the past decade. 2020 is no different, with each team boasting a pair of highly talented starters. The difference between these four units lies in their depth. Who has the best group?
4: Kansas City Chiefs
Frank Clark and Alex Okafor offer up a quality pair of pass rushers for the Chiefs, but are also the weakest starting duo of any team in the West in terms of potential and upside.
Typically, I weigh proven production overpotential, but these two players have probably bumped up against their ceilings as players. Both in their late twenties, both more solid than elite, both are known commodities.
Clark offers high-end pass-rush ability and is a quality run defender, posting eight sacks and 46 total pressures despite missing a pair of games last season. There might be some more untapped potential as a pass rusher, as Clark has a pair of 10-plus sack seasons on his resume, most recently in 2018 when he was a member of the Seahawks. It seems like the potential for a breakout season is still there, but he can't quite get over the hump on a consistent basis.
One of his best attributes is his clutch factor. Whenever you need a big play in a key situation, Clark is typically the one making it.
Okafor, on the other hand, is just a guy. He offers decent pass-rush ability and brought five sacks to the table in 2019, but is a liability setting the edge in the running game and has been injury-prone throughout his entire career. He has only played a full 16-game slate one time in his career and only played in 10 games in 2019.
Because Okafor missed as much time as he did in 2019, the Chiefs depth defenders really had a chance to shine.
Tanoh Kpassagnon and former teammate Emmanuel Ogbah filled in very well, with the former being the true benefactor. A freak with raw athletic upside, Kpassagnon started eight games for the Chiefs defense and played well as a run defender.
Though he needs much more refinement in his pass-rushing technique, he was able to collect four sacks and had 31 total pressures in the passing game. Entering a contract year, this is a make it or break it year for Kpassagnon.
There's still a lot of development needed, but he has all of the traits to be a quality edge player. He may even be able to steal a few starts away from Okafor this year, if only because he is a better run defender.
The other depth pieces battling for reps are Breeland Speaks and former first-round pick Taco Charlton. Speaks is coming back from missing the entirety of 2019 after a preseason knee injury and might be moving inside. The Chiefs tried using him as a rush OLB at times, but he looked much better with his hand in the dirt.
Charlton is pushing bust territory — if he isn't already squarely in it. After major inconsistencies and a trade request as a Cowboy, he was released and later claimed off of waivers by Miami, where he put up a team-high five sacks as well as 17 pressures. A quick-twitch pass rusher that has yet to find a true home, there is something to work with here for Steve Spagnuolo.
The problem with this unit is there really isn't much high-end upside. Clark is a gem, but until Charlton, Speaks, and Kpassagnon can develop and become more consistent, it's hard to trust the depth pieces at this point.
3: Las Vegas Raiders
The young and highly impressive duo of Maxx Crosby and Clellin Ferrell burst onto the scene as rookies in 2019, and could form a quality pair of edge defenders in Year 2.
Crosby, a former fourth-round selection out of Eastern Michigan, was a revelation for the Raiders defense and nearly won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award after posting 11 sacks and 45 total pressures. A quality run defender as well, Crosby was arguably the Raiders' best defensive player last season.
Despite not flashing in the passing game nearly as often as Crosby, Ferrell also had a quality season as a rookie. Ferrell started 15 games in Oakland, posting five sacks and 26 total pressures. Where Ferrell does his best work is in the running game, and though he still needs to develop as a pass rusher, he can be effective as an every-down defender on the defensive line.
The Raiders picked up the services of fifth-year defensive end Carl Nassib with a three-year deal earlier this offseason to offer some depth to the edge position as well. Nassib has had six sacks in each of the last two seasons in Tampa Bay, and offers a quality veteran presence to this unit and reliable starting ability should the injury bug start biting.
The frustrating player of the group is former third-round pick Arden Key. A relative nonfactor over the first couple of years of his career, Key only played in seven games last season due to a nagging foot injury and wasn't exactly effective when he was on the field. With only three sacks in 23 career games, Key has struggled to find footing in the NFL after being lauded as a player with first-round talent.
Oakland is being patient with Key, and word out of Raiders camp is that he is looking explosive and impressive. Some are calling him a player to watch out for.
A group with high upside because of its youth, the Raiders pass rush could be a solid group should Ferrell develop as a pass rusher under Marinelli and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
2: Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers defense is stacked at multiple positions and holds one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, but their depth leaves a little to be desired.
Depending on who you talk to, some people will claim that Bosa is the league's most well-rounded edge defender. A great pass rusher and amazing run-stopper, Bosa is almost always at or near the top of the league in most statistical categories when he is healthy.
Bosa was remarkable in 2019, leading the division with 12 sacks. He also posted the highest run-stop percentage amongst all edge defenders (10.3) and racked up the second-most total pressures as a pass rusher.
He's still young enough to improve, proven as a highly productive pass rusher with three seasons over the 10 sack mark, and could be a front-runner for the DPoY in 2020.
His counterpart Melvin Ingram is also a high-quality player in every facet. A formidable wall in the running game and tremendous pass rusher in his own right, Ingram is highly productive every year. Ingram posted his second straight year with seven sacks despite missing three games due to injury, and posted a run-stop percentage of 8.2 on the 2019 season.
Ingram is entering a contract year in 2020 and is 31 years old, so there is obvious motivation for him to have another great year. The Chargers did right by him by restructuring his contract and guaranteeing his salary for 2020, ending a hold out to start training camp.
Uchenna Nwosu filled in for the Chargers in Ingram's absence and played relatively well. A versatile chess piece that also has some coverage ability, Nwosu was also a dependable and efficient pass rusher in 2019. His 6.3 pass-rush productivity percentage was tops amongst all division depth players.
But outside of Nwosu, there's very little to work with.
The only player of note on the Chargers roster is Isaac Rochell, but he was a non-factor despite playing 274 total snaps. With one sack and seven total tackles on the season, Rochell doesn't offer much value defensively. There are a pair of rookies battling for roster spots as well.
Should there be some more depth on the roster, the Chargers might boast the best edge defender room in the division.
1: Denver Broncos
Boasting what is widely considered the best pass rush duo in the league, the Broncos top our rankings. There is a caveat to consider, but we will get to that later.
Von Miller is arguably the best true pass rusher in the NFL today. Period.
While he might not have racked up double digits sacks in 2019, Miller posted 77 total pressures, good enough for the seventh-most in the NFL and led the AFC West. Sacks aren't always the determining factor in edge production, and despite not getting home as he usually does, Miller was an absolute menace in the passing game. His 9.8 percent pass-rush productivity percentage was tops in the AFC West as well.
Miller is incredibly fast in his first step, has more bend than Gumby, and can translate speed to power with incredible leverage to bull rush his way to the QB. Even though he's on the wrong side of 30, he still has the goods to lead the league in sacks.
Going back to 2018, Chubb was a DRoY candidate that pushed for the league's rookie sack record. Though he fell short of both achievements, Chubb showed that his plug and play skill-set was going to vault him to the upper echelon of edge defenders. That all came to an end in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, when Chubb tore his left ACL for the second time in his playing career going back to high school.
That's what makes this ranking tricky. Chubb has the potential and a proven season worth of production to warrant being placed at the top of the division, but we don't know how he is going to look coming off of another major injury. Early reports are promising, so we will hold true to what we have seen to this point.
Rounding out the Broncos' edge group is Jeremiah Attaochu and Malik Reed, a pair of players that provided quality snaps in Chubb's absence.
Attaochu was most certainly the better player in 2019, especially in the running game. His 8.1 run-stop percentage was the highest amongst depth edge defenders last season.
Reed flashed early in the season offering quality pass rush snaps en route to a 5.3 pass-rush productivity percentage, the second-best percentage amongst depth players. But a run defender he was not, oftentimes playing out of position and being overpowered on the edge. Word out of Broncos camp says that Reed has improved dramatically in that sense, and he has made multiple plays in the backfield.
If Chubb can return to form in 2020, this group offers the best starters and best depth players amongst the division.
Don't miss the previous installments of Mile High Huddle's AFC West positional rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Offensive Line
Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.
