Former Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs earned Defensive Player of the Years honors, but Trey Hendrickson could top him, one analyst believes. Gordon McGuinness, formerly of Pro Football Focus, argues Trey Hendrickson could have the best season by a pass rusher in Ravens history. Signed as a street free agent after Baltimore backed out of Maxx Crosby trade, there’s much riding on his shoulders.
As a PFF alum, McGuinness unsurprisingly relies heavily on pass rush win rate to state his case. And it’s worth noting that he focuses chiefly on the best pass rusher, not the best edge defender. Unquestionably, Terrell Suggs was an elite run defender. While it’s a fine element of Trey Hendrickson’s game, it’s not DPOY-worthy play.
He's not as complete a player as Terrell Suggs, but I have three stats to prove why Trey Hendrickson is one of the Ravens most important free agency signings ever pic.twitter.com/hH7yFCdTPM
— Gordon McGuinness (@GordonNFL) June 4, 2026
“Trey Hendrickson has produced a 20% or better pass rush win rate in each of the past three seasons”, he argues. “The Ravens have never had an edge defender produce 20% or better”. Of course, he fails to note that the pass rush win rate stat isn’t all that old, and doesn’t encompass Suggs’ entire career.
“Stat No. 2: In his last full season in 2024, Hendrickson produced 83 total pressures”, McGuinness went on. “The last Ravens edge rusher to hit 83 total pressures was Terrell Suggs in 2010, and he needed an extra 142 pass rushing snaps to hit the same total that Hendrickson hit”. He also notes that Hendrickson’s pass rushing grade—again, from Pro Football Focus—was the highest of any Ravens player since 2013.
“Simply put, I think Trey Hendrickson is the best edge defender the Ravens have ever had from a pass rushing perspective”, he argued. “We may be about to see the best season we have ever seen from a Ravens edge defender”.
That’s a bold claim, given the existence of Terrell Suggs, who recorded 139 career sacks. Granted, he never had more than 14 in a season, but he was consistent. As for Trey Hendrickson, he has 81 sacks in nine seasons. Prior to posting just four last season amid injuries—limited to seven games—he posted 17.5 sacks in consecutive seasons.
Now, there’s no denying that Hendrickson is, or at least had been, an excellent player. But he’ll also turn 32 in December and isn’t exactly in the prime of his career. Sure, he’s the best pass rusher the Ravens have right now, no question. But is he really the best pass rusher the Ravens have ever had? Their history may not be littered with elite rushers, but they did have Elvis Dumervil for a spell.
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