PFF ranks college football's Top 10 edge defender candidates for the 2023 NFL Draft

The edge position didn’t even exist a decade ago in college football. Now, edge rushers are arguably the most impactful players on a given defense. There’s nothing more valuable on that side of the football than a guy who can get to the quarterback. Look no further than the 2022 NFL Draft. Without a franchise-altering quarterback talent available, the three teams at the top all loaded up on primary pass rushers.

Georgia’s Travon Walker, Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux went 1-2-3 back in April — all because of their ability to generate pressure and finish sacks. If you can’t draft a great quarterback, you might as well draft the type of dude who can neutralize even the best ones.

So, ahead of the 2022 College Football Season, Pro Football Focus (PFF) laid out their top-10 edge rushers for the upcoming season. A list that likely features several future first round picks.

Without further ado, here is PFF’s list of top edge’s in 2022, per PFF writer Michael Renner:

Top 10 edge rushers in College Football

*Name (position) | School

1. Will Anderson Jr. (JR) | Alabama

2. Myles Murphy (JR) | Clemson

3. Andre Carter (JR) | Army

4. Felix Anudike-Uzomah (JR) | Kansas State

5. Nolan Smith (SR) | Georgia

6. Isaiah Foskey (SR) | Notre Dame

7. B.J. Ojulari (JR) | LSU

8. Zach Harrison (SR) | Ohio State

9. Durell Nchami (SR) | Maryland

10. Eyabi Anoma (SR) | UT-Martin

As expected, Will Anderson sits atop the list. Many college football analysts will tell you Anderson was the best pure football player in the country last season. Statistically, a superior pass rusher to all three of the top picks in the draft. The only thing keeping him from wrecking NFL backfields this coming season rather than those in the SEC is age. Anderson enters 2022 as a true junior and is very likely to be the first non-QB taken in the 2023 Draft. Absolute stud.

Across the rest of the list the appropriate powers are represented. College Football Playoff frequenters like Ohio State Notre Dame, Clemson, Georgia and obviously Alabama each landed a guy in there. As did 2019 champion LSU. Not a shocker that the best programs typically have the best talent at crucial positions.

In fact, every single national champion in the CFP era is represented on this list. That’s right, eight straight years of champions still produce top edge rushing talent. Also, every program except Oregon that has played in the title game of the CFP has a guy on the list.

Even the guy from UT-Martin, Eyabi Anoma, is a former five-star and top-five recruit who spent a year at Alabama.

So what have we learned? The best teams load up on edge rushers.