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The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys are the only two teams in the NFL with two edge rushers in the top 10 of pass rush win rate, according to ESPN.
Preston Smith ranks fourth in the NFL at 27 percent, while Za’Darius Smith is eighth at 25 percent.
ESPN’s data measures how often pass rushers beat their block in under 2.5 seconds. It’s one way to determine who is winning their one-on-one matchups in the passing game the most often, even if the win doesn’t produce a volume statistic such as a sack or a quarterback hit.
The Dallas Cowboys also have two in the top 10: Robert Quinn (third, 29 percent) and Demarcus Lawrence (fifth, 26 percent).
However, the Packers are the only team with two players within the top 10 in the NFL in number of sacks. Preston is fourth with 10, while Za’Darius is tied for seventh with 8.5.
They’re also the only team with two players in the top 10 of quarterback hits: Za’Darius is tied for fifth with 20, while Preston is tied for seventh with 18.
There is also this graph to consider:
Double team rate as an edge rusher (x) by pass rush win rate as an edge rusher (y).
PRWR = rate at which pass rusher beats his blocker within 2.5 seconds.
(ESPN metric, Next Gen Stats data) pic.twitter.com/7TrubcE0t3
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 18, 2019
It shows pass rush win rate and double team rate, illustrating which pass rushers are both winning matchups and drawing extra attention. Za’Darius is in the upper right quadrant, painting him as the rare pass rusher who is both productive and drawing more double teams. He’s grouped in with rushers such as Lawrence, Quinn, Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The extra attention for Za’Darius has had a trickle-down effect for Preston, who isn’t getting double teamed as often but who is winning more one-on-one matchups. He’s in the upper left quadrant.
The Packers signed both Smiths during free agency in March.