- Can Sam Williams turn his Year 1 flash into Year 2 consistency?: The Dallas Cowboys‘ young edge defender flashed high-end talent as a rookie, but he's missing one key detail that will enable him to become a consistent nightmare for opposing blockers in Year 2.
- James Houston IV goes from practice squad to immediate impact rookie: After being selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Houston spent the first 11 weeks on the Detroit Lions‘ practice squad, and he supplied two sacks in his four Week 12 pass-rush snaps. Houston remained on the active roster the rest of the season, which proved to be wise as he recorded a sack in each of his next three games as well.
- Josh Uche flying under the radar despite already being one of the NFL's most efficient pass-rushers: Uche's 19.2% pass-rush win rate in 2022 ranked seventh among NFL edge defenders (min. 100 pass-rush snaps) while his 20.7% pressure rate ranked third.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
The ability to consistently generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks is one of the most coveted skill sets in the NFL. Therefore, teams that can identify and acquire pass-rushing talents on team-friendly contracts gain a significant advantage from a team-building standpoint, as they get an expensive skill from a player on a cheap contract.
The NFL is littered with emerging edge-rushing talents, but these three are the most impressive that are younger than 25 years old and were picked outside of the first round.
Sam Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Known by many as Micah Parsons‘ doppelgänger, Williams is an exciting young edge-rusher who is fresh off an incredibly impressive rookie season, where he finished second among rookie edge defenders in pass-rush grade (70.9).
While Williams was stuck behind Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong and even Dante Fowler on the Cowboys' depth chart, the Ole Miss product consistently flashed an exciting pass-rush skill set that should enable him to earn more playing time sooner rather than later.
Given the 4.46-second 40-yard dash on his resume, it shouldn't be a surprise that Williams' electric get-off consistently put him in a prime position to attack opposing offensive tackles when he was able to pin his ears back and rush the quarterback without fear of run action. However, it was a bit surprising how physically imposing Williams proved to be while rushing the passer, as it showcased an improved speed-to-power pass-rush series as a rookie compared to his time with Ole Miss.
Nonetheless, Williams' inconsistent footwork, pace and hand technique caused him to deal with numerous bouts of inconsistency throughout his rookie season:
But incorporating hands & feet in conjunction is still a work in progress. Has snaps where he engages his bull rushes off the wrong foot, sapping his power. Also inconsistent with hand carriage, leading to inconsistent hand/strike timing, among other details along those lines
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) June 5, 2023
The key to Williams' unlocking his true pass-rush potential to become a feared pass-rusher instead of an impressive up-and-comer is incorporating more deceptive footwork into his rushes. Williams was often too straightforward during his approach to opposing offensive tackle, which is why the savvier offensive tackles were able to easily stymie his pass-rush attempts, especially early in the year.
However, Williams provided glimpses of his true ceiling as a pass-rusher on the rare occasion he utilized deceptive footwork. Here's an example when aligned inside against the Green Bay Packers‘ Elgton Jenkins, who only allowed three sacks the entire season:
Sam Williams hits a nice stutter swipe to beat Elgton Jenkins' hands, attack his edge and get vertical. And despite an obvious hold where EJ literally tackles SW, he powers through to sack Rodgers. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/5Po0B0khEG
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 16, 2022
Williams' stutter step gets Jenkins to narrow his pass set and slow his feet, which effectively shortens the corner for Williams, providing him with an easier path to beat Jenkins by his outside hip. Once Williams lands his two-hand swipe, Jenkins' only option to swing open the gate and essentially tackle Williams in an effort to prevent the sack. Unfortunately for Jenkins, Williams was still able to bring down Aaron Rodgers for the sack.
To further reinforce the point, Williams used deceptive footwork so rarely that opposing blockers were often completely surprised when the rookie whipped it out of his tool bag, as evidenced by this pass-rush win against the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Jordan Mailata:
— Jim Jeff (@CowboysGifs) July 10, 2023
Here, Williams uses a euro step like he's Giannis Antetokounmpo, causing Mailta to completely whiff his attempt to block Williams on the edge. Unfortunately, the Eagles were able to get the ball out quickly, preventing Williams' quick win to end in the sack that it deserved to be.
If Williams starts incorporating deceptive footwork more consistently in combination with his electric get-off and speed-to-power rushing ability, he should become a much more consistent pass-rush threat, enabling his unimpressive 9.8% pass-rush win rate from his rookie year to improve to the 15% range in Year 2.
After showing the flash as a rookie, more consistency will provide Williams will more opportunities and thus more production in his sophomore season. And given his size and athleticism, Williams could become the new Robin to Parsons' Batman once Lawrence ages out of the role in a year or two.
James Houston IV, Detroit Lions
While everyone was rightly impressed with Aidan Hutchinson‘s rookie season, it was the Lions' other rookie edge rusher that led all rookies in pass-rush grade (88.2) in 2022. While it only came 140 total snaps (92 pass-rush snaps), bringing sample size concerns into consideration, it still illustrates how spectacular Houston was in limited opportunities this past season.
After being selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Houston spent the first 11 weeks of the season on Detroit's practice squad before getting called up to the active roster in Week 12 for a Thanksgiving Day contest against the Buffalo Bills. After supplying two sacks in his four pass-rush snaps, Houston remained on the active roster the rest of the season, which proved to be wise as he recorded a sack in each of his next three games as well.
Altogether, Houston finished the season with 17 total pressures and eight sacks on the back of a splendid 19.3% pass-rush win rate — the latter of which ranked tied for sixth among all edge defenders with Micah Parsons.
Rookie EDGE James Houston was elevated from the practice squad today by the Lions, and earned a crucial sack at the end of the half.
Beats the chip, then beats the OT with a club-dip and swarms Josh Allen. Impressive play by the Jackson State product!
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) November 24, 2022
Given his short stature (6 feet and 244 pounds), Houston's ability to bend low to the ground to corner around offensive tackles is excellent for such a young player, as he's able to dip below opposing tackles' waistline, reducing his lockable surface area and forcing 300-pounders lower their pad level — a winning combination.
James Houston IV with the “change of pace” rush.@Jthouston_4 sells speed, then bounds mid rush for his hesi. Once he lands, he chops the blocker’s outside hand & gets to the QB for the sack! #passrush #onepride pic.twitter.com/vYB65Vor2X
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) December 8, 2022
Nonetheless, the most exciting portion of Houston's pass-rush repertoire given his age and previous draft status is his ability to manipulate pace to lull offensive tackles to sleep before exploding with speed, flexibility and balance around the corner in combination with his deadly effective cross chop to generate pressure.
Nonetheless, as he earns more pass-rush snaps in Year 2, it will be important for him to expand his pass-rush repertoire to limit the predictability of his pass-rush plan from snap to snap. While he uses deceptive footwork well, Houston tends to go to his outside speed rushes over and over again. It wasn't a problem given his limited snap count as a rookie, but it will become one once opposing tackles see him enough to pick up on Houston's pass-rush patterns.
Incorporating more inside and speed-to-power moves will be enough to keep tackles guessing, which prevents them from cheating to defend Houston's speed up the edge.
Unfortunately, Houston's lack of size will likely limit him to being a pass-rush specialist for the foreseeable future, but if he broadens his pass-rush repertoire, the former sixth-rounder could graduate from an efficient speed-rusher to an all-around feared pass-rusher who will receive more opportunities to get after opposing quarterbacks.
Josh Uche, New England Patriots
Saving the best for last, if it weren't for his part-time role, Uche would likely already be regarded as a top pass-rusher in the NFL, as he is fresh off a season when he ranked seventh among NFL edge defenders (min. 100 pass-rush snaps) in pass-rush win rate (19.2%) while his 20.7% pressure rate ranked third.
Unfortunately, Uche's 6-foot-1 and 250-pound frame will likely always relegate him to a pass-rush specialist role in Bill Belichick's defense; however, there may not be a player who dominates that role better than the Michigan product.
Josh Uche beats the tackle with a hesi and speed, gets the sack.
Next play, rips past the tackle and causes an INT
Bonus clip of him converting speed to power and running over the RT.
This dude is a star pic.twitter.com/WySJxga6Jd
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 15, 2022
Uche's ability to win multiple ways puts opposing offensive tackles in quite a pickle, as they have to be ready to defend a variety of moves on any given snap when lined up across from the former second-round pick. Uche can win with speed around the corner, convert speed-to-power and counter inside with equal effectiveness. Moreover, he doesn't an excellent job of manipulating pace — similar to Houston —in addition to utilizing a ton of deceptive footwork — unlike Williams — which enables him to maintain consistency as a pass-rusher.
More sacks!
This time Josh Uche gets in the action 💪pic.twitter.com/TXK1NRhHK5
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) August 19, 2022
And despite his size, Uche does a great job absorbing and bending through contact at the apex of his rush as well (as illustrated above).
Uche's 87.8 pass-rush grade is helped by the fact that he's essentially playing in a part-time role; however, don't get it twisted, that “part-time” role is incredibly valuable for the Patriots defense, and luckily for New England, Uche's pass-rush production shouldn't slow down anytime soon given his advanced skill set.
If New England can figure out ways to get Uche more opportunities to rush the passer without allowing opposing offenses to pick on him as a run defender, it will only make the defense that much more dangerous. Moreover, if Uche can improve his run defense and earn an every-down role, don't be surprised if his volume production reaches the top of the NFL.
"Josh Uche got that sauce" 🗣️
Cam Jordan shows @_Uche35 some love and compares his move to one of the GOAT pass rushers 👀
🎙 @camjordan94 | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/Wnm0wMA09A
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 7, 2022
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