Top 5 edge defenders in college football right now

Now a month into the 2022 college football season, I decided it was time to rank the five best players for each position at this very moment. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college football players. In this exercise, I tried to isolate them from their team and purely judge them on who can help win games at the CFB level right now.

Let's take a look at the best edge defenders (defensive ends and outside linebackers) in college football right now:

#1. Will Anderson Jr., Alabama

Louisiana-Monroe v Alabama

I’m actually pretty excited for this group of college football edge defenders and would not be surprised if they all get picked in the first round of next year’s draft. But for now, there’s not much debate about who’s the apex predator of this group. Listening to Will Anderson’s mentality already tells you he’s a dog and the tape tells you he’s an absolute game-wrecker for the Alabama Crimson Tide

He has a ton of power in his lower body and consistently plays with great leverage in the running game. He also has the speed to chase down ball-carriers from the backside. When rushing the passer, with his get-off and hand-usage, he can really stress the corner. He is also quick to take advantage of tackles getting too tall in their sets and driving through them.

He’s a special talent, but what makes him a great player at this level already is the urgency and energy he plays with. Last college football season, he racked up an absurd 31 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks. He’s pretty much right on track for that yet again, while already having added a pick-six to his resume.

#2. Myles Murphy, Clemson

Clemson v Pittsburgh

As much as I just praised Anderson for being in his own category, I still look at Myles Murphy as a legit top-ten prospect for 2023. He doesn’t nearly have the same kind of production in terms of negative plays created, but the top-ten overall recruit for Clemson has been in a system that doesn’t lend itself to racking up those kinds of numbers.

Murphy is a phenomenal edge-setter who will get his base turned at the point of attack to squeeze down plays and funnel everything inside. In the passing game, there's a lot of control rushes, read-and-react stuff. However, he packs a nasty long-arm and incorporates some very effective push-pull maneuvers while continuing to work to ultimately get home.

If not for Anderson setting an absurd standard here, Murphy’s 14 TFLs and eight sacks would be looked at as much more impressive. He also added five forced fumbles over his first two college football seasons combined.

#3. Andre Carter II, Army

Army edge defender Andre Carter II

At number three, we’re going to a program that is not nearly as much on the national radar from a football perspective. Andre Carter has a very good chance of becoming the first Army Black Knight player to be drafted in the first round since 1947. Last college football season, he was borderline, as he recorded 17 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, an interception and a 93.4 PFF pass-rushing grade.

This guy plays with his hair on fire and pursues the ball all over the field. Army put him in a ton of really wide alignments from a tilted stance. This takes advantage of his explosion off the ball, and he pairs that with highly effective club- and chop-rip combos (where he makes sure to pull that inside arm all the way through and has some room for error thanks to his freakishly long arms at 6’7”). Off that, he can hit a sudden spin move once tackles are over the outside rush. He's only had a pair of sacks through three games this college football season, but he’s been banged up.

#4. Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech

AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Mississippi State v Texas Tech

In terms of college football players I wasn’t keenly aware of before this summer and familiarized myself with, Tyree Wilson is one of those names I was blown away with. I’m not saying he’s a perfect player or even close to a finished product, but the combination of length, natural power and flexibility is just off the charts.

Standing at 6’6”, 275 pounds, you saw him line up a lot as a five-technique. He showed the ability to punch at the chest of tackles and deaden anything they tried to approach in terms of creating movement in the run game. His explosiveness makes him equally tough to handle when he crashes through a gap and rips away the hands of blockers. He’s not a very diverse pass-rusher at this point, but the force he can create on bull-rushes against anybody along the front and the balance really stands out.

My favorite play from 2021 was when he basically straight-up trucked Houston’s left tackle at one point. The fact that he only recorded 38 total tackles last year is pretty laughable to me, considering how many stops he created. The numbers are starting to come for him now, he has 27 tackles, six for loss and three sacks through four weeks.

#5. Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame

Georgia Tech v Notre Dame

Finally, I had another tough choice for this final spot. Auburn’s Derick Hall has taken another step and I thought of doing a tie at five. Ultimately I didn’t want to cheat the task too much and went with Isaiah Foskey. Among a Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense that has been filled with freaky athletes over the last couple of years, this guy may be the craziest of them all.

Foskey has played this hybrid OLB role for Notre Dame. We’ve seen him line up on the edge as well as play off the ball and be rushed from different angles in obvious passing situations. In the run game, he can punch and shed with very active hands, but also doesn’t away from accelerating into a pulling guard.

As a pass-rusher, his burst off the ball, loose hips and hand-usage to flatten at the top of the rush is a challenge for any tackle. I love the way he can convert speed to power and condense the pocket with an effective long-arm. He’ll only continue to rise on the boards of pro evaluators with a strong college football campaign.

Honorable mentions: Derick Hall (Auburn), Jacoby Windmon (Michigan State), Nick Herbig (Wisconsin), Derek Parish (Houston), B.J. Ojulari (LSU), Drew Sanders (Arkansas) & Nick Hampton (Appalachian State)

You can check out all my other college football positional rankings here or as one piece on halilsrealfootballtalk.com