06-05-2021, 10:45 PM
(06-05-2021, 07:32 PM)fredtoast Wrote: #1..... T.J. Watt
#2..... Joey Bosa
#3.....
Trey Hendrickson
New Orleans Saints · DE
Disruption rate: 17.5%
Sack rate: 4.1%
Total disruptions: 57
Sacks: 13.5
The pleasant surprise of the league's edge rushers in 2020, Hendrickson's appearance on this list should not be surprising to anyone who followed the most recent campaign. Hendrickson was incredibly effective at getting home, posting the highest sack rate of any of the top disruptors on this list. In fact, Hendrickson became the only player in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) to post a sack rate of 4 percent or better in a single season (min. 300 pass rushes). Even when he didn't get home, he still made a difference. His pressure rate trailed only T.J. Watt's league-best mark. He posted 53 pressures on 326 pass-rush snaps, marking the second-fewest pass-rush snaps by any player with 50-plus pressures in a single season in the Next Gen Stats era. Hendrickson, who had 6.5 sacks and 49 pressures in his first three seasons combined, broke out in his contract year, earning himself a healthy deal (four years, $60 million) with the Bengals in March.
#4.... Myles Garrett
#5.... Bud Dupree
#6.... Aaron Donald
#7.... Carl Lawson
https://www.nfl.com/news/next-gen-stats-top-10-disruptors-of-2020-aaron-donald-ranks-high-but-not-no-1
I know a lot of people thought Hendrickson was a boring consolation prize to losing out on Lawson, but I think he has a lot more upside and will be an every down player for the Bengals. I was excited for the signing.
A really interesting podcast after the signing came from Paul Dehner Jr & Jay Morrison on Hear That Podcast Gowling from The Athletic. They interviewed Kat Terrell (if I recall) who used to cover the BEngals for ESPN and has been down doing that same job for ESPN with the Saints the past few years. They asked her to talk about Hendrickson and his rise. She had this to say...
Hendrickson, even as a rookie, really flashed and popped in practice to her as someone who was always getting after it. He was someone she noticed having these great practices, but he never got a lot of consistent opportunity in the games. She thought it was strange and kind of spoke on that... Basically, the Saints had invested a high draft pick in another player and the coaches/GM made sure that that guy got the major bulk of the on field opportunities and Hendrickson was there to just rotate in. But, once Hendricks got an actual chance to be a major contributor (last season), he exploded. Unfortunately for the Saints, they saw it too late, are in cap hell, and couldn't afford him.
These numbers are interesting to go through. I think Hendrickson will be a really valuable add!
