Washington Redskins 2018 season edge rusher grades
By Ian Cummings
Ryan Anderson
With snap information, Ryan Anderson’s second year statistics appear fairly modest. The team’s 2017 second-round pick finished the year with just two sacks, four quarterbacks hits, and eighteen total tackles.
Without more specific metrics, it would appear that Anderson’s “bust” narrative is picking up steam. But that’s where Pro Football Focus comes in.
Per Pro Football Focus, Anderson logged 11 total hurries (sacks, quarterback hits, and hurries combined) on just 91 total pass rush snaps over the course of the season. That equates to a pass rush productivity rating of 12.1 percent, which is better than Preston Smith’s rating, and on par with Ryan Kerrigan’s.
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For perspective, Von Miller, per Pro Football Focus, logged a pass rush productivity rating of 12.6 percent. None of the Redskins outside linebackers are in Miller’s league, as a pass rusher, but the fact that Anderson was so productive in limited snaps bodes well for his future.
On top of his opportunistic play, Anderson also logged seven run stops on 62 run defense snaps, and didn’t allow a completion in eleven coverage snaps over the year. It’s a small sample size, so it can be taken with a grain of salt, but in 2018, Anderson received less snaps than he did in his rookie season, and he produced far more efficiently. That is a sure mark for improvement. And for the Alabama product, who was labeled a bust after his very first year in D.C., this was a chance to prove he belongs in the NFL. So far, he’s putting up a good case. Hopefully, it’ll get even more compelling in 2019.