EDGE Analysis

This grouping includes 4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside linebackers, with the primary classification coming from their initial draft status but then cross-referenced to team rosters, public-access contract websites such as Spotrac and Overthecap, and the public-view classification assigned by PFF.

Edge defenders are selected early and often in the draft, with roughly eight players per draft going in the first two rounds. Two-thirds of all Pro Bowlers are taken in the first round, and of the 20 players drafted in ten years who averaged 8+ sacks per year, 15 of them were taken in the first round. After the first three rounds, it becomes functionally impossible to replace first-round value (it happened twice from 2011-2020 out of more than a hundred selections). That is only slightly more common to find a regular starter that way, as only five selections managed to achieve that status. 

The typical Day Two edge defender is going to be in the range of a reliable contributor–not a starter–who manages two or three sacks a season. Teams need that depth at edge defender, and twice as many reliable contributors are drafted (102) as regular starters (51), with half of all fourth-round selections ending up being reliable contributors–with a median for the round of 7 disruptive plays per season.