When Maxx Crosby signed a contract extension with the Raiders, it was for a reported $106.5 million over three seasons, with $91.5 million guaranteed.
When Miles Garrett signed an extension with the Browns, the return was a reported $160 million, with $122,796,125 million guaranteed.
It pays to be an edge rusher.
And for those who are among the very best of the edge-rushing bunch, NFL teams pay willingly.
The next wave is sent to ascend to the NFL via the draft and begin wreaking havoc.
**1\. Abdul Carter, Penn State, 6-3, 250 lbs. -** Carter was an inside linebacker at "Linebacker U" before switching to edge this season following the departure of Chop Robinson (drafted 21st overall by Miami in 2024). The tradition continues in Happy Valley. Among the statistics Carter amassed while helping lead Penn State to the College Football Playoff were 24 tackles for a loss (Garrett, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa and Aiden Hutchinson, among others, never had that many in a season). The inside-outside progression worked for Micah Parsons, it'll work for Carter.
**2\. Mike Green, Marshall,** **6-3 1/8, 251 lbs. -** His arm length of 32 inches is less than ideal, but a similar trait hasn't bothered Hutchinson or Trey Hendrickson at the next level. Green short-armed his way to an FBS-leading 17 sacks, along with 23 tackles for a loss, in 13 games in 2024. That's the type of production that translates, even from a Virginia transfer who wound up at Marshall (ask Khalil Mack, who reached the NFL through Buffalo). We are impressed.
**3\. Jalon Walker, Georgia, 6-1, 243 lbs. -** Like Parsons, and several of his Georgia predecessors on the way to the NFL, Walker is an established position-flexible prospect who can pressure the passer if that's what's necessary or make plays sideline to sideline if that's what's required. Line him up and turn him loose, at edge (441 career snaps in three seasons), at inside linebacker (420 snaps) or covering punts (something Walker did throughout 2024).
**4\. Mykel Williams, Georgia,** **6-5 ⅛, 260 lbs. -** Williams led UGA's national championship team with four-and-a-half-sacks as a true freshman in 2022. He registered five in a 2024 season that was hampered early on by an ankle injury that forced him to miss two games and affected him in a couple of others as he tried to play through it. Two of his sacks were registered in an overtime win against Texas in December. Williams' NFL Network NFL comparison is Travon Walker, the first overall selection by Jacksonville in 2022 out of, you guessed it, Georgia.
**5\. James Pearce Jr., Tennessee**, **6-5 ¼, 245 lbs. -** Pearce was a little but better statistically in 2023 than he was in 2024 (his sacks fell from 10 to seven-and-a-half and his tackles for a loss dropped from 14.5 to 13) but his length and explosiveness are nonetheless tantalizing traits and will make him one of the most sough after edge rushers in April. His personal highlight reel includes a 52-yard pick-six in 2023 against Iowa on which Pearce got underneath a running back in coverage in the flat, caught a ball Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill was trying to throw over him and was gone down the sideline. Pearce also had a strip-sack in the Volunteers' Citrus Bowl victory over the Hawkeyes.
**Sleeper: Oluwafemi Oladejo, UCLA, 6-2 3/8, 261 lbs. -** He might qualifies as a sleeper, barely, because of his relative inexperience as an edge rusher. But the word is probably out by now regarding Oladejo's potential after switching from linebacker a couple of games into UCLA's 2024 season. Oladejo's 4.5 sacks in 2024 might induce the uninformed to snooze on him. But the former Cal transfer has size, length and burst, all of which suggest an upside that intrigues.