Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith currently leads the NFL in quarterback hits with 28. If he continues his current pace over the final four games of 2019, he’ll finish the season with 37 quarterback hits – a number that would put him in rare air statistically.
Quarterback hits have been tracked officially since 2006. Only two players – J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald – have ever produced 37 or more quarterback hits in a single season. Watt has done it four times; Donald, two.
Since the start of last season, only Donald (59) has more quarterback hits than Smith, who has 53. He was 10th in the NFL in hits last season with 25.
Smith, the Packers’ prized free-agent signing of the offseason, didn’t know he was leading the NFL in quarterback hits.
“For real? I didn’t know that. That’s awesome,” Smith said Thursday.
Smith has tallied at least three quarterback hits in seven of 12 games this season, including a current run of three-straight games. He set a season-high with five hits last week against the New York Giants. Up next for Smith and the Packers is rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who was hit nine times and five sacked last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
With just six more quarterback hits, Smith can join the top eight since 2006.
Here’s the list of leaders he’s chasing:
| Player | Season | QB Hits |
| J.J. Watt | 2014 | 51 |
| J.J. Watt | 2015 | 50 |
| J.J. Watt | 2013 | 46 |
| J.J. Watt | 2012 | 43 |
| Aaron Donald | 2018 | 41 |
| Aaron Donald | 2015 | 37 |
| Olivier Vernon | 2015 | 36 |
| Ezekiel Ansah | 2015 | 34 |
| Fletcher Cox | 2018 | 34 |
| Carlos Dunlap | 2015 | 34 |
| Robert Quinn | 2013 | 34 |
Smith signed a four-year, $66 million deal with the Packers in March. He’s tied for sixth in the NFL with 10 sacks. Smith, T.J. Watt, Shaquill Barrett and Cameron Jordan are the only four players with at least 10 sacks and 25 quarterback hits this season.
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