Rashan Gary Snubbed From Top 10 Edge List

Is Rashan Gary one of the best edge defenders in the NFL? Not according to an ESPN poll.

Author:
Jacob Westendorf
Publish date:
Jul 11, 2023 12:27 PM EDT

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Go back to the night of the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

The Green Bay Packers took Rashan Gary out of Michigan. The reaction from a lot of the fan base was not positive.

The thought was the Packers took someone who was not ready to contribute immediately.

Those fears were realized when Gary’s first season wrapped up, and he remained a distant fourth on the depth chart behind Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Kyler Fackrell.

Much like Gary’s progression, his snap counts steadily increased each of the next two seasons.

Brian Gutekunst envisioned a buzzsaw of a pass rush with his two prized free-agent additions along with using the 12th overall pick on Gary.

While they never really got a full return on that investment due to Gary’s development timeline and Za’Darius Smith’s injury and subsequent release, the Gary selection has to be considered a wild success. He’s grown from an afterthought as a rookie to a cornerstone the Packers feel pressure to give a mega contract extension before he hits free agency.

When the offseason hits this period – the calm before the training camp storm – it’s time for lists. Everyone loves a good list. That includes the NFL. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN polled executives, players, scouts and coaches around the league to determine the best pass rushers in the NFL.

Rashan Gary was on his way to having one of the best seasons at his position last year before a torn ACL knocked him out for the final two months of the season.

He started the season with a sack in each of the first four games for a total of five, and he had six sacks before the injury, well on his way to surpassing his career high of 9.5 set in 2021.

According to ESPN’s pass rush and run stop win rate, there’s only one edge defender in the top 10 of both metrics.

It’s Gary.

Despite that, Gary was not selected by his peers as one of the best players at his position.

San Francisco’s Nick Bosa was at the top of the list with Cleveland’s Myles Garrett finishing as the runner-up. Gary’s draft classmate, Brian Burns, was seventh.

The injury could have been used as a reason that Gary missed out on the list, but Von Miller ranked ninth.

Miller, who ranks No. 1 among active players with 123.5 sacks and suffered a torn ACL two weeks after Gary, could be on track for a Hall of Fame career. All this means is the injury was not considered for Gary to miss the list.

Honorable mentions included former Chicago Bears standout Khalil Mack, Detroit Lions super-sophomore Aidan Hutchinson and New Orleans Saints star Cameron Jordan.

Because he lacks the gaudy sack numbers, It appears Gary remains under the radar.

If Gary’s healthy and has a year like the one he was on pace for last season, those that helped make this list will be lining up to sign him if the Packers are unable to come to an agreement on an extension.