NFL coaches, executives and scouts ranked Cleveland Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett as the league’s top EDGE player ahead of the 2024 season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler conducted an annual poll to determine the 10 best players at each position, and the results for EDGE were as follows:
- Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns)
- T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys)
- Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers)
- Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders)
- Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions)
- Danielle Hunter (Houston Texans)
- Josh Hines-Allen (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Trey Hendrickson (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Brian Burns (New York Giants)
The top three spots in the EDGE voting come as little surprise since Garrett, Watt and Parsons finished 1-2-3 in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last season.
Garrett, who was ranked No. 2 on last year’s EDGE list, moved to the top of the heap thanks to one of the best seasons of his career, as he registered 42 tackles, 14 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles in 2023.
As good as Garrett’s numbers were, his DPOY win was somewhat controversial since Watt had the better statistical season.
In addition to leading the NFL with 19 sacks, Watt had a career-high 68 tackles, plus 19 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
Both Garrett and Watt helped their respective teams reach the playoffs, but voters may have given Garrett a slight edge since the Browns led the league in total defense. Garrett finished with 23 first-place votes in the DPOY voting, compared to Watt’s 19.
Parsons is only 25 years of age, but he has finished third or better in the DPOY voting in each of his three NFL seasons.
The 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year enjoyed another dominant campaign for the Cowboys in 2023, finishing with a career-high 14 sacks, plus 64 tackles and 18 tackles for loss.
Parsons took to X to chime in on the list. While he didn’t argue with his placement, he did express his belief that he faced more than 167 double-teams in 2023:
Bosa and Crosby round out the top five despite the fact that they are coming off very different seasons.
Bosa had just 10.5 sacks last season, which was a huge drop-off from his league-leading 18.5 in 2022, which garnered him the top spot in the EDGE rankings entering 2023.
Meanwhile, Crosby had a career-high 14.5 sacks and 90 tackles last season, plus he racked up 23 tackles for loss, which was tops in the league for a second consecutive season.
Although he played for a non-playoff team, Crosby came in fourth place in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
One more notable inclusion is Hutchinson in sixth place after finishing as an honorable mention last year.
The 2022 No. 2 overall draft pick built upon a strong rookie year by recording 11.5 sacks last season and helping the Lions go all the way to the NFC Championship Game.