GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 15: Za’Darius Smith #55 and Preston Smith #91 of the Green Bay Packers (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
The NFC North is full of great pass-rushers ahead of the 2020 season.
The NFC North, despite the recent influx of aerial circuses, is full of several of the league’s oldest teams, many of whom built champions on the back of stifling defenses that carry the team to victories when the calendar turns to January and the thermometer drops below freezing.
Once again, some of the game’s best sack artists reside in the North ahead of the 2020 season, as every single team in that division can claim at least one player that can get to the quarterback with some degree of regularity. These five, however, stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Here are the five best pass-rushers in the NFC North.
5
Robert Quinn, Chicago Bears
Quinn spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys before the Bears gave him a jaw-dropping five-year contract to line up alongside Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. In his nine seasons as a pro, Quinn has reached double-digit sacks four times, totaling 11.5 sacks last year after outperforming DeMarcus Lawrence in Dallas.
When you’re 260 pounds and have his bendiness off the edge, getting past slower right tackles is a piece of cake for Quinn.
There is reason to believe that 2020 can be an even more productive season. With Mack on the other side taking up the attention of two offensive linemen on some plays, Quinn could be free to pounce from the edge and get to the quarterback.
For as much criticism as Chuck Pagano has received in recent years, the man can coach defense and the man can help pass-rushers take that next step. Look for Quinn to match his Dallas production in the first year of his Bears deal.