5 best edge rushers the Detroit Lions will face in 2022

2. Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings

When healthy, Hunter is one of the elite edge rushers in the NFL. Of course that has become the thing, as he missed all of the 2020 season with a neck injury and the final 10 games last year due to a torn pec. In those seven games last year, he flashed nicely with six sacks. But dominant 2018 and 2019 campaigns (14.5 sacks in each) are becoming faded memories.

The Vikings’ change to a 3-4 base defensive scheme will make Hunter into a stand-up edge rusher on a regular basis, rather than having his “hand on the ground” as a 4-3 end. But it’s ultimately a distinction without much difference, as long as he gets after the quarterback the way he can and is on the field to do so.

Lions games against Hunter: Week 3, Week 14

1. Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers

After posting nine sacks in each of the last two seasons, Burns has made it clear what his next frontier is when asked this offseason about posting a double-digit sack season this year.

Via the Charlotte Observer:

"It’s a very big deal for me. It’s been pissing me off that I’ve been at nine for these past two years,” Burns said. “It’s something I’ve been pushing towards since I’ve been in the league. And it’s not gonna stop now.”"

In ESPN’s recent positional rankings, tapping executives, coaches, scouts and players, Burns was ranked as the eighth-best pass rusher in the league (h/t to SI.com). So he’s not a secret to people who know the game most intimately (at least theoretically), with one NFC scout calling Burns a “rare athlete.”

"Rare athlete,” an NFC scout said. “Can be deployed any way in any scheme, and you have to know where he is. Can cover better than some stack linebackers. Commands attention every down for where he lines up.”"

Burns lost Haason Reddick as a force opposite him off the edge for Carolina this offseason. But with more double teams and general attention from blocking schemes will also come an opportunity to take his game up a notch in his fourth season.

Lions game agains Burns: Week 16

Honorable Mentions: Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas Cowboys; Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles; Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Eagles; Za’Darius Smith, Minnesota Vikings; Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami Dolphins; Carl Lawson, New York Jets

Notes: I’ve excluded Robert Quinn of the Chicago Bears, as trade rumors surround him. The Lions don’t face the Bears until Week 10, and he may be in another uniform by then. Chase Young looks likely to miss the start of the season as he works his way back from a torn ACL, and the Lions face Washington in Week 2.