How Superior Is Trey Hendrickson To Any Recent Raven Pass Rusher? We Quantify

There are three or four players who absolutely must perform at a Pro Bowl level for the Ravens to get anywhere close to a title.

Trey Hendrickson is undoubtedly one of them.

He has a skillset and resume and body of work as a pass rusher unlike anything seen in these parts since Terrell Suggs was menacing quarterbacks a decade ago. The defense is going to have to lead the way from Week 1, with head coach Jesse Minter a proven solution-finder on that side of the ball. Far more probing and potentially-menacing problems exist for the offensive staff to deduce.

This simply cannot be another season where the pass rush, especially from the edge, is entirely scheme-reliant and it’s sack-by-blitz-only. That’s why the Ravens agreed to a trade with the Raiders most thought they would never see in their lifetime and after they pulled out of the Maxx Crosby deal, they threw $30M a year at Hendrickson after trying for years to get by with $5M-$10M leading pass rushers off the edge.

So, yeah, it has to work. And we’ve already done the calculus on how Hendrickson stands up to Crosby as an all-around football player (it ain’t close), and how he ranks as a pure pass rusher (better bang for your buck). But how does Hendrickson compare to the best of what the Ravens have trotted out there since 2020?

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Here’s how Hendrickson stacked up from 2020-2024 (he barely played last season due to an injury/hold-in/contract impasse/whatever with the Bengals) in key metrics vs the edge who led the Ravens in sacks each season.

2024 Sacks Pressures Press % QB Hits Hurries Time2Sack

Hendrickson 17.5 83 17.1% 36 49 2.90

K. Van Noy 12.5 52 13.8% 21 30 3.07

2023 Sacks Pressures Press % QB Hits Hurries Time2Sack

Hendrickson 17.5 79 17.3% 25 49 3.03

J. Clowney 9.5 71 15.7% 19 51 3.41

2022 Sacks Pressures Press % QB Hits Hurries Time2Sack

Hendrickson 8.0 62 17.0% 24 35 3.36

J. Houston 8.5 39 14.6% 17 22 3.32

2021 Sacks Pressures Press % QB Hits Hurries Time2Sack

Hendrickson 14.0 75 17.8% 27 46 3.29

T. Bowser 7.0 49 12.7% 15 25 3.09

2020 Sacks Pressures Press % QB Hits Hurries Time2Sack

Hendrickson 13.5 49 14.4% 25 24 3.80

M. Judon 6.0 39 14.2% 21 18 2.59

That’s a massive disparity almost each and every year, and it’s not like Hendrickson was blessed with having a stellar pass rusher coming off the other side most of those years, either. He is of a different class than what has been on recent Ravens rosters and he must produce accordingly (avoiding injury is paramount).

When Bucky Brooks of NFL Network joined me on “The Daily Flock” he was quick to point out how big a hole Hendrickson fills.

“One of the things I do like about Trey Hendrickson is his ability to make things happen,” Brooks said. “He is a very dynamic rusher who is technically sound off the edge. And I know he’s over 30 and I know people talk about that.

“But when you look at the number of sacks that he has compiled over the last four seasons, he is one of the best of the business. And if you can get him in a situation where (he plays) on pass-heavy downs, and you create opportunities for him to get one-on-ones against tackles, he is going to win those.

“The one thing the Ravens have not had in a long time is a signature pass rusher. Someone that when you came into the game, you needed to game plan for him, because if not he could take the game over for the defense. And they’ve missed that and they’ve needed that and he gives them that.

“But they need … Mike Green, Zion Young, one of those young guys - to step up, and they need (Nnamdi) Madubuike back (from neck surgery) on the inside. If they get that they can get back to playing the style of defense we became accustomed to seeing in Baltimore.”

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