At least one analyst is predicting the Detroit Lions to have one of the NFL’s more formidable pass rushes off the edge in 2026.
CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns ranked all 32 NFL edge rusher groups for 2026 Tuesday, and placed the Lions’ corps at No. 8 in the league.
Detroit is ranked above the division rival Green Bay Packers, which the late return of superstar Micah Parsons from a torn ACL likely has something to do with. They are also ahead of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, who both pair a proven star (Trey Hendrickson, Nick Bosa), with a rising youngster (Mykel Williams, Mike Green). San Francisco also has both of its edges recovering from serious injuries, however.
As far as the Lions themselves go, Bahns wrote:
"The defense has to be better in order for the Lions to get back into the playoffs. The onus falls on the rest of the unit rather than the edge rushers, though. Detroit should have full confidence that Hutchinson and Wonnum will do their part."Carter Bahns, CBS Sports
Bahns stated Hutchinson is “rounding into a superstar”, which shouldn’t be a hot take at this point. He’s coming off a 14.5 sack season with 35 quarterback hits, 49 pressures, 35 quarterback hits and 20 quarterback knockdowns, all of which ranked top 5 in the NFL.
His pass rush win rate of 23.1% also ranked third in the league according to Pro Football Focus. It’s hard to deny him as one of the five best edge rushers in football. He raises this group's floor quite a bit by himself.
But as has become a tradition with Hutchinson’s Lions career, the rest of the edge rushing crop around him isn’t nearly as inspiring.
Lions' edge rusher group still isn't popping off the page
The likely Week 1 starter opposite Hutchinson is free agent addition DJ Wonnum. Wonnum has two career eight sack seasons to his name, in 2021 and 2023 playing opposite Danielle Hunter as a Minnesota Viking.
But last season he managed just three sacks, seven pressures and four quarterback hits in 16 games with the Carolina Panthers. He often looked stiff and was a liability defending the run. Bahns referred to him as a “fine free agency addition fit for a No. 2 role,” but he’s going to need to rebound in a major way to help Detroit become a premier edge rushing unit in the NFL.
There’s also rookie second rounder Derrick Moore, a Michigan man who recorded 10 sacks and a 20.5 pass rush win rate while showing off some nice run defending chops.
The Lions will likely give Moore every opportunity to win a starting job during the season, but he is a rookie and it may take time for him to adjust to the league. Still, there’s no doubt Detroit wants him to develop into its No. 2 edge rusher of the future.
The Lions also signed former first-round pick Payton Turner this offseason, who didn’t play in 2025 due to injury and has five sacks in the four years preceding last season. He might be on the roster bubble.
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2025 sixth-rounder Ahmed Hassanein is another depth piece, along with 2026 sixth-rounder Tyre West.
Anything the Lions can get out of those three guys will be more than welcome, but it’s not the deepest group in the world on paper barring a significant breakout.
Last year, the Lions finished with the fourth-most sacks and ninth most pressures in the NFL. But the pressure took longer to get there than any team in the league.
Detroit’s 2.92 second average time to pressure was the slowest in the NFL, meaning quarterbacks had a relative eternity to throw.
Al-Quadin Muhammad is gone from last year’s team after signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Muhammad had a career-high 11 sacks, but his week-to-week impact was inconsistent and he was a non-factor against the run. 7.5 of his sacks came in just three games, and the Lions were wise to not overpay him.
Still, Muhammad did a good job of taking advantage of the opportunities he got when offenses focused their protection plans squarely on stopping Hutchinson. If Hutchinson once again has to account for the entire pass rush, this is not going to be a great unit as a whole.
The Lions can’t afford to have teams slide their entire line towards Hutchinson, bring chip help and effectively take him out of most plays just with the sheer amount of attention he’s getting. If opponents can dare the other Lions edge rusher to beat them one-on-one and they can’t do it, it could spell disaster for this defense.
Someone has to capitalize on their opportunities and win their one-on-ones. Maybe that’s Wonnum, who’s shown in the past he can benefit from playing opposite an elite edge rusher.
Maybe it’s Moore having an excellent rookie season. Either way, the Lions need to find their long-awaited running mate for Hutchinson this season to have a good defense — especially with everything going on with their secondary.
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