Meet Me at the Quarterback - Building the Perfect Pass Rusher

By Lee Wakefield

For this week’s edition of Meet Me at the Quarterback, I had pencilled in a deep dive of the Seattle defensive line. This would have taken the same form as I did a few weeks back with the Broncos league-leading group.

However, I wanted that to come off the back of a win against the Rams, in a matchup that, ahead of the game, looked like a titanic battle. Given the way the game unfolded with zero sacks and the Rams running out as winners, with the score only getting tight late on, despite the best efforts of the Seattle defence.

With that said, I will hit that topic in the next few weeks. This week, I thought I’d bring you another unique look at the defensive linemen across the league and build my perfect pass rusher. One rule to bear in mind that I have imposed on myself: I’m only allowed to use a player in one category. Once I’ve picked him, he’s frozen out the rest of the way.

First Step Explosion

Jonathon Cooper, Denver Broncos

I’ll kick this off with a player who might not be a true household name, but is a player who every single offensive tackle around the league will fear. In truth, I considered Cooper as well as his Denver running mate, Nik Bonitto, for this category, but have opted for the Denver rusher who did not make my top-10 rushers when I published my list around the quarter mark of the season. 

Both of the Broncos’ rushers are often clocking in amongst the top-5 get-off times in the league each week. Cooper registered an average time of 0.69 seconds earlier this year, per NextGenStats.

Myles Garrett has a season-long average of 0.73 seconds at this point, and Bonitto isn’t far behind, but I opted to keep my powder dry with those two, given I’m only using a player once at any stage of this exercise. 

Hand Usage

Joey Bosa, Buffalo Bills

When it comes to hand usage, I feel like it’s a trait that is most often found amongst veteran players who’ve been around the block a few times. They’ve learned their craft through time, repetition and experience; they’ve faced a multitude of offensive tackles, listened to more battle-hardened teammates and worked out, sometimes through failure, what they need in their bag and what they don’t.

Joey Bosa, as well as his brother, Nick, both came into the league as masters of their craft in terms of their hand usage and pass-rushing arsenal. Joey has always been a good-not-great athlete for the edge position, but has a career total of 76 sacks in 118 games, so not being an uber athlete hasn’t affected him too much!

The reason for that is that he’s always had elite hands and counter moves that he’s been able to use to bamboozle offensive tackles and stay a step ahead with his rush.

Over his time in the league, Bosa has also become a master at forcing fumbles, which has become a superb secondary method of adding splash plays. Bosa has four forced fumbles this season, and with some luck, continued health and strong play, he has a chance to at least match his career high of seven, set back in 2021.

Sidenote: One player who gets almost no love for his hands is Malcolm Koonce of the Raiders. If you like smooth pass rushers who have excellent hands despite not being the biggest, strongest or fastest, Koonce is your guy.

Tackling/Finishing

Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Could I have used Myles Garrett for all seven sections of this, or was he at least under consideration? Honestly, he was for the majority. I don’t consider Garrett a particularly bendy rusher, he’s more of a power guy, but he’s a freak athlete who can probably turn the corner better than most.

But still, when we’re discussing pass rushers, we can talk about pass rush win percentage, pressures, QB hits and all that, but as much as all of those underlying metrics and aspects of getting the quarterback off his game are really important, is there anything better than seeing the opposing QB on the ground?

And equally, is there anything more frustrating as a fan than seeing your pass rush closing in and one of your guys missing his finish on the QB, and then it becomes a positive play for the offence?

Myles Garrett doesn’t allow that to happen.

Garrett almost single-handedly beat the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday with a gargantuan performance. Garrett is now the first player to record 12 or more sacks in six consecutive seasons since sacks became an official stat in 1982, and he has 15 for the season at the time of writing. 

Could I have used Myles Garrett for all seven sections of this, or was he at least under consideration? Honestly, he was for the majority. I don’t consider Garrett a particularly bendy rusher, he’s more of a power guy, but he’s a freak athlete who can probably turn the corner better than most.

But still, when we’re discussing pass rushers, we can talk about pass rush win percentage, pressures, QB hits and all that, but as much as all of those underlying metrics and aspects of getting the quarterback off his game are really important, is there anything better than seeing the opposing QB on the ground?

And equally, is there anything more frustrating as a fan than seeing your pass rush closing in and one of your guys missing his finish on the QB, and then it becomes a positive play for the offence?

Myles Garrett doesn’t allow that to happen.

Garrett almost single-handedly beat the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday with a gargantuan performance. Garrett is now the first player to record 12 or more sacks in six consecutive seasons since sacks became an official stat in 1982, and he has 15 for the season at the time of writing. 

Run Defending

Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

Maxx Crosby has not been featured in a Meet Me at the Quarterback so far this season, which is quite surprising. Crosby is one of the most talented rushers in the league, but is, by his standards, having a down year on a Raiders team who simply aren’t relevant. Not that relevancy means I’ll necessarily talk about you, but I’m sure that Crosby himself would admit that his team’s play hasn’t been up to the required standard in 2025.

However, Crosby, who is an NFL ironman, is not only one of the most talented pass rushers in the league but is also one of the most sound and solid when it comes to setting a hard edge in the run game.

Crosby boasts 17 defensive stops, which is joint second in the league amongst edge rushers who’ve played 50% of their team’s snaps, with an average depth of tackle of 0.8 yards.

The Vegas star isn’t being talked about as much this season, but don’t forget about him; he’s still one of the best around, and I am sure he will rebound in 2026.

Power/Play Strength

Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams

When I scouted Jared coming out of Florida State, I scored his power a 10/10. That was comparing him against other college players. With that said, if I were re-evaluating Verse now, against NFL competition, I’d still give him top marks.

Verse transformed his body whilst in college, once he transferred from Albany to FSU and has only gone from strength to strength, literally, since being drafted by the Rams. Who we were blessed to see in London earlier this year.

Verse hasn’t had the sack numbers (only four so far this year), but leads the NFL in QB hits (15) and is seventh in the league in pressures (49), so he is affecting the play of opposing QBs as part of a dynamic Rams unit which is one of the best in the league.

Verse uses his sheer power to affect the opposing run game as well. There are multiple plays on tape this season where the former Seminole has walked a player into the backfield, which has meant that the running back has had to divert, or he’s been able to blow up the play himself.

Not many players overpower offensive linemen like Jared Verse. One of the better young pass rushers in the league.

Bend/Flexibility

Will Anderson, Houston Texans

The current NFL leader in pressures (64 at the time of writing) is right up there with Verse as one of the best young pass rushers in the league. Anderson is currently on an absolute tear, with another 2.5 sacks against the Bills on Thursday Night Football last night, which is the sixth game in a row in which he’s registered a sack. That’s 10.5 sacks in eleven games, and means the former Alabama edge rusher has only been shut out by the Ravens and Titans all season, with at least one sack registered in the other nine games he’s played in to date.

Anderson came into the league regarded as a better run defender than a pass rusher, probably because at Alabama under legendary coach Nick Saban, he often aligned as a 4i technique in their front, and was tasked with taking on guards and double-teams, not getting wide and pinning his ears back.

Since entering the NFL, he’s been under to tutelage of another former Alabama defender, DeMeco Ryans, and he’s blossomed into one of the best all-around rushers in the NFL and is often primarily tasked with getting after the QB.

Anderson is one of the strongest defenders in the league, pound-for-pound, and is now in a position to show off his skills when it comes to flattening the arc, to flatten the passer.

Versatility

Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers

This is perhaps a selection that is at least in part based on history, because since Parsons has been in Green Bay, he’s moved around the formation, but not with the variety that we used to see in Dallas.

Some would argue lining one of the best pass rushers in the league at corner is somewhat of a waste. But then again, I am just a humble writer and not an NFL defensive coach.

By the way, yes, that did happen. Throughout his career in Dallas, Parsons took 48 snaps at either slot or outside corner and even one snap as a safety.

Most will remember that Parsons began his career as an off-ball linebacker, which is something he still does on around 5% of snaps for the Packers, and he can still be effective at those spots. Although most often is used as an edge rusher, who kicks inside to rush against guards and generally as a mismatch advantage for Green Bay, depending on down and distance, as well as the game state.

Wherever he’s used, Parsons is a plus player who will find a way to use his suddenness, power and aggression to affect the offence.

I would say that so far in Green Bar, year one has been a good-not-elite showing, but as time goes on and with more comfort around the team, with the coaching staff and having spent a training camp with the Packers, I’d back Parsons to be making an even bigger impact in 2026 and beyond.

Lee Wakefield

NFL Content Lead

Lee Wakefield IS A defensive line enthusiast, Chargers Sufferer, and LONG-TIME writer and podcaster with a number of publications. @Wakefield90 on twitter/X.