2016 New Contract Tracker: Pass Rushing Linemen (Week 10)

On a weekly basis, I will be evaluating pass rushing defensive lineman that signed some sort of contract in this offseason. Players on-field performance will be evaluated against the annual salary of their new contract. In terms of on-field production, I will be taking into account stats relevant to the defensive end position such as percentage of defensive team snaps played, tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and hurries. The basis for contract evaluation will be the APY of a given player’s contract.

Jared Crick

John Elway’s revenge to the Texans for taking away Brock Osweiler came with the signing of Jared Crick. Ok, maybe not quite. But Elway continues to find diamonds in the rough to contribute to the Broncos stout defense. Over the first four years of Crick’s career, he totaled 5.5 sacks. In ten games this season, Crick already has two sacks and five QB hurries. While Crick’s play may be a byproduct of the Broncos dominant defensive line, Crick has proven to step right into his role and helped the defense at a reasonable value.

Quinton Dial

 

Quinton Dial signed a contract extension in the off-season that’s worth twice as much in terms of APY than Jared Crick’s. Dial’s production has nowhere near matched the production of Crick’s. For a defensive lineman, Dial has never quite shown the ability to get to the quarterback. In the past two seasons, Dial has recorded 2 and 2.5 sacks respectively. Thus far this season, Dial has not sacked the quarterback this season. Furthermore, he has no QB hurries and only 4% of his tackles on the season have occurred in the backfield.

 

Here are the current stats for the newly contracted rushers as tabulated by Sportingcharts.com. The chart is sorted from highest to lowest based on a production formula that takes into account some of the relevant stats shown in the table.

 

Rohan is a law student at Villanova Law School. He also writes for the Villanova Sports and Entertainment Law Society Blog. For more insight, follow Rohan on Twitter, @rmohanty3 .

PlayerTeamAPYAPY RankDef Snaps% Def SnapsSolo TackleTot TackleTFLTFL %SacksHurriesStuffsProd. Rank
Olivier VernonGiants$17,000,000360492%2639821%31851
Adrian ClaybornFalcons$4,250,0001345463%1920840%51322
Fletcher CoxEagles$17,100,000243877%1724625%41333
Jason Pierre-PaulGiants$10,000,000563296%253838%21924
Derek WolfeBroncos$9,175,000744863%2130310%51005
Andre BranchDolphins$2,750,0001937759%122329%41226
Dwight FreeneyFalcons$2,000,0002523733%69444%31207
Muhammad WilkersonJets$17,200,000152982%2233721%3538
Vinny CurryEagles$9,250,000625044%812325%11429
Charles JohnsonPanthers$3,000,0001739266%122000%214010
Malik JacksonJaguars$14,250,000439464%1517424%210211
Chris LongPatriots$2,375,0002442969%1321419%111112
Mario WilliamsDolphins$8,500,000835456%912433%28313
Jared CrickBroncos$2,000,0002558282%1528414%25114
William HayesRams$5,833,3331024540%1621419%26315
Jason JonesDolphins$1,535,0002933953%1321210%35016
Rob NinkovichPatriots$2,500,0002223437%81716%16017
Eugene SimsRams$3,333,3331624640%1115427%20318
Robert Ayers Jr.Buccaneers$6,500,000924039%1013215%30119
Benson MayowaCowboys$2,750,0001920235%48338%20120
Derrick ShelbyFalcons$4,500,0001224434%68225%05221
Cedric ThorntonCowboys$4,250,0001319334%715320%20222
Tyrunn WalkerLions$1,600,0002822939%1018317%03323
Stephen PaeaBrowns$1,900,0002722031%5800%05024
Ziggy HoodRedskins$935,0003339165%71517%10025
Mitch UnreinBears$1,130,0003128846%71600%03026
Jarvis JenkinsJets$3,000,0001712019%7900%03027
Quinton Dial49ers$4,000,6671536053%192814%00128
Tank Carradine49ers$2,650,0002116825%71218%00029
Ricardo MathewsSteelers$760,0003513022%25120%00030
Billy WinnBroncos$760,0003520930%61400%00131
Tony Jerod-Eddie49ers$1,000,000326610%1100%00032
Justin TrattouVikings$810,0003451%0000%00033
Wallace GilberryLions$1,250,0003000%4600%00034
Kendall ReyesRedskins$2,500,0002200%5900%00034
Aldon SmithRaiders$5,750,0001100%0000%00034