Table of Contents
2026 player position rankings: Wide receivers| Cornerbacks| Offensive line| Defensive line| Tight ends| WR2s| Linebackers| Safeties| Running backs| Quarterbacks
Welcome back to Sports Illustrated’s 2026 NFL position rankings, where we’ll stack up the top 10 players across the league at each spot on the field over the coming weeks leading into training camp. We finish with edge rushers.
If quarterback is the most important position in football, then it’s fair to argue that the one tasked with taking them to the ground on a down-by-down basis is a close second.
No player can wreck what an offense is trying to accomplish quite like an edge rusher. Whether it’s setting the perimeter against the run, piling up sacks or forcing hurried throws that lead to interceptions, edge rushers play one of the more pivotal roles in football. As a result, they’ve also become one of the highest-paid positions in the sport.
We’ve ranked the top 10 edge rushers in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. Eva Geitheim, Mike Kadlick and Karl Rasmussen voted to determine the rankings.
10. Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Bosa was one of many 49ers players who were hit with the injury bug last season, playing only three games before sustaining a torn ACL and missing the remainder of the campaign. Before that? He was rolling, logging two sacks and two forced fumbles over the course of the first three weeks.
Bosa, 28 years old, has already put together quite the résumé since being drafted with the No. 2 pick in 2019. His accolades include a Defensive Rookie of the Year award (’19), a Defensive Player of the Year award (’22), a first-team All-Pro honor (’22) and five Pro Bowls (’19, ’21 to ’24). Bosa has 278 total tackles, 91 tackles for loss, 64.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles and two interceptions over his career. —Mike Kadlick
9. Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos
After a somewhat quiet start to his career, Bonitto has developed into one of the league’s best pass rushers over the past two seasons, a span in which he’s racked up 27.5 sacks. Bonitto’s 24% pass rush win rate last season ranked second among all players in the NFL, and only Will Anderson Jr. had more pass rush wins (62) than Bonitto’s 57.
The 26-year-old racked up 14 sacks last season, the fifth-most in the league. Bonitto boasts brilliant get-off speed, which enables him to beat offensive linemen and regularly disrupt the quarterback. He could stand to improve as a run defender, but his prowess at getting after the quarterback more than makes up for that. —Karl Rasmussen
<section data-block="SingleChoice"><h2>Who is the Top Edge Heading into the 2026 NFL Season?</h2><ul><li>Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans</li><li>Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos</li><li>Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers</li><li>Brian Burns, New York Giants</li><li>Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders</li><li>Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams</li><li>Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans</li><li>Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions</li><li>Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers</li><li>T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers</li></ul></section>
8. T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Watt had a relatively quiet season last year, but still made his eighth consecutive Pro Bowl. The Steelers’ star recorded 7.0 sacks in 14 games, along with 10 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback hits. By his standards, it was a down year, but his longevity of dominance off the edge warrants him a spot on this list. Watt remains an elite run stopper and a great pass rusher, even if his production dipped last year.
Watt has 115 sacks in 135 games in his career. He’s a four-time first-team All-Pro selection, and up until the 2025 season, he was the league’s joint all-time leader for sacks in a single season, tied with Michael Strahan at 22.5 until Myles Garrett surpassed them with his 23-sack campaign. He’ll look to prove he’s still one of the game’s best defensive linemen in ’26. Watt is a future Hall of Famer and is still a productive edge rusher, even if he’s past his prime. —K.R.
7. Brian Burns, New York Giants
Originally a first-round draft pick by the Panthers in 2019, Burns played five seasons in Carolina, earning two Pro Bowl selections in ’21 and ’22 before being traded to the Giants ahead of the ’24 season—and then signing a five-year, $141 million extension with the club.
Despite being part of a loaded defensive front in New York that includes Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Burns still managed a career season in 2025, logging the second-most sacks in the NFL (16.5, a career-high) behind Garrett. He also tallied 67 total tackles, seven passes defensed and three forced fumbles, earning second-team All-Pro honors and another Pro Bowl selection. Burns, 28, is a major building block for the Giants as they enter a new era under coach John Harbaugh. —M.K.
6. Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans
Often overlooked because he plays alongside Will Anderson Jr., Hunter is one of the best pass rushers in the league. He and Anderson form the NFL’s best pass-rushing duo, combining for 27 sacks and six forced fumbles last season.
Hunter, who will turn 32 midway through the 2026 season, continues to play great in the second decade of his career. He’s put together some of his best work after sustaining two season-ending injuries in ’20 and ’21 and since turning 30—the age many players begin to decline—recording double-digit sacks over each of the past two seasons. This past season, Hunter tallied 15 sacks and added three more in the playoffs. Hunter will look to continue his and the Texans’ dominance in ’26. —Eva Geitheim
5. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders will welcome back Crosby in 2026, despite agreeing to trade him to the Ravens during the offseason, a deal that ultimately fell through after Baltimore pulled out of the deal. Now entering his eighth season in the NFL, Crosby has proven to be one of the league’s premier edge rushers with 69.5 career sacks in 110 games.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Crosby is relentless in pursuing the quarterback. He had 10.0 sacks in 2025 and racked up a career-high 28 tackles for loss, despite having something of a down year by his standards, though he was playing through a knee injury. He’s elite against the pass and is also a formidable run stopper, leading all edge rushers with a 39% run stop win rate. —K.R.
4. Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
After a leg injury limited him to five games in 2024, Hutchinson bounced back with the best season of his career in ’25. He led all defensive linemen by playing 950 snaps for the Lions last year. The 25-year-old racked up 14.5 sacks, the fourth-most in the NFL, and had 33 quarterback hits and 14 tackles for loss, all of which were career bests. He also tallied 63 pressures, the second-most in the league.
Hutchinson is a terrific athlete with an unremitting motor, and he didn’t lose a step in his return from injury. He ranked second in the NFL with four forced fumbles and was PFF’s fourth-highest-rated edge rusher for the ’25 season. He can take on just about any offensive lineman in a one-on-one situation, and his ability to draw double-teams should enable other members of Detroit’s revamped defensive line to find success getting after opposing quarterbacks. —K.R.
3. Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans
Anderson has had plenty to celebrate over the past year, including earning first-team All-Pro honors for the first time. And most recently, he became the highest-paid nonquarterback in NFL history.
Anderson has quickly ascended as one of the league’s best pass rushers, and presumably hasn’t even hit his peak. In 2025, he ranked fourth in pass rush win rate and third in pressure rate, tallying 12 sacks, three forced fumbles and 54 total tackles. He was exceptional in the postseason, too, recording 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles over two games against the Steelers and Patriots. —E.G.
2. Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
Parsons has been a star since the day he stepped on the field with the Cowboys in 2021, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors as a rookie. Since then, he’s developed into one of the top edge rushers in the NFL and is the first player in league history to record 12-plus sacks in each of his first five seasons.
After a contract standoff and subsequent holdout in Dallas last offseason, Parsons was traded to the Packers for two first-round picks. He then signed a four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay, decided to wear jersey No. 1—becoming the first Packer to do so since Curly Lambeau—and was off and running. Parsons recorded 12.5 sacks over 14 games before his season ended due to an ACL injury. Still, he earned first-team All-Pro honors for the third time and was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl.
It doesn’t sound like Parsons will be ready to return to the Packers’ lineup for the start of the 2026 season, but when he does, he’ll immediately return to his perch as the second–best edge defender in the league. —M.K.
1. Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams
Without question, Garrett is the best edge rusher in the NFL—and perhaps even the best player in the game.
This past season, Garrett made history, breaking the NFL’s official single-season sack record, tallying 23 sacks during the season as he captured his second Defensive Player of the Year award. He also owns the record for most consecutive seasons with at least 12 sacks, having achieved this feat in six consecutive years from 2020 to ’25. He has now been a first-team All-Pro in three consecutive seasons, and five times overall. He continues to make even the league’s best offensive linemen lose sleep as he adds more signal-callers into his quarterback graveyard.
In 2026, Garrett will take his talents to Hollywood—O.K., Inglewood—after the Browns traded him to the Rams. With the trade, he’ll get the opportunity to add postseason success—and perhaps a ring—to his Hall of Fame résumé. —E.G.
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EVA GEITHEIM
Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.
KARL RASMUSSEN
Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.
MIKE KADLICK
Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.
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