How Good Were the Commanders’ Edge Defenders at Stopping the Run and Pressuring the Passer in 2024?

Examining the weakest part of Washington’s unexpectedly strong game: Part 4 of 4

As training camp gets under way, the revamped defensive line has been getting a fair amount of attention. Rightly so, since rushing defense was the Commanders’ biggest last season. The teams’ offseason moves sent a clear signal that the defensive line would be a key area for improvement. There are also concerns about the pass rush, since last year’s sack leader Dante Fowler was allowed to walk with only low key additions brought in to replace him.

This four part series is examining the strengths and weaknesses of the Commanders’ DL in 2024. The first two articles focussed exclusively on run defense. The results pointed toward the Right Defensive End position as the weak link in run defense. The left side of the DL was generally stronger in run defense than the right side, with the left edge standing out as the strong point.

This article concludes the series by examining the individual performances of the Commanders’ Edge Defenders (EDs) in 2024. It will attempt to shed light on which player(s) was the weak link in run defense, and whether we can expect the new additions to shore up that vulnerability and replace Dante Fowler’s production in the pass rush.

In case you missed the previous articles or want to refer back to them, here is the full set:

Where Did Opposing RBs Have the Most Success Against the 2024 Commanders?
Who Played Where on the 2024 Commanders’ DL?
How Good Were the Interior Defenders at Stopping the Run and Pressuring the QB?
How Good Were the Edge Defenders at Stopping the Run and Pressuring the QB? <You are here>

Defensive Performance Metrics

This article uses the same metrics to quantify defensive performance as the previous article on the iDL. Run defense performance was measured by Run Stop Rate, which is the percentage of rushing downs on which a defender made a Stop. Pass rush performance was measured by Pressure Rate, which is the percentage of pass rush snaps on which the defender pressured the QB. The rationale for these metrics and technical details is provided in the previous article.

Since these metrics are likely to be less familiar than traditional production stats, the following reference ranges are provided to give readers a sense of what the numbers mean. The sample is the 64 Edge Defenders who logged the most playing time in 2024, which is intended to approximate the NFL starters.