Today the 2010s officially came to a close as the 2020 decade has officially gotten underway.
To celebrate the past 10 years of football, Pro Football Focus highlighted some of the bet edge rushers in the league from 2010-2019. Brandon Graham ended up being graded as the T-3rd best rusher, listed among some great players at his position.
The one knock on Graham has always been sacks production. Miller produced 106 sacks in the 2010s, Khalil Mack sacked QBs 61.5 times, and Cameron Wake had 95 sacks in the decade -- Graham finished with just 51 sacks.
Still, the edge rusher position is much more than just sacking the quarterback. Pressures, QB hits, and tackles for loss all factor into PFF's grading system, and Graham is constantly one of the better edge guys in the league at pressuring the quarterback into making mistakes and tackling running backs in the backfield.
Would would have thought back in the early 2010s that the guy many fans were calling a bust would turn out to be a Super Bowl hero and one of the better edge rushers in the league? Graham career has been fascinating to watch unfold, and we still have a couple more seasons to appreciate his play in midnight green. I'm glad Howie Roseman was able to sign him last season to allow Graham to be considered a Philadelphia Eagle for life.
