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.
This week, we will be evaluating two players on the 2015 Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos.
Malik Jackson
Jackson left the Broncos and signed the fourth largest contract for a pass rushing defensive linemen during the offseason. Jackson’s 6 year, $85.5 million deal ranks only behind Muhammad Wilkerson (franchise tag), Fletcher Cox, and Olivier Vernon. Jackson’s 9 QB hurries trail only Aaron Donald through the first quarter of the season. However, Jackson has only recorded one sack on the season. While creating pressure is key to a defense’s pass rush, defensive pass rushers are ultimately evaluated on how often they actually sack the quarterback.
Derek Wolfe
Three months before Malik Jackson inked his lucrative deal in Jacksonville, the Broncos and John Elway agreed to a 4 year, $37.5 million contract with fellow defensive lineman, Derek Wolfe. Wolfe’s contract seems more and more like a bargain as each game of this season goes by. Through four games, the Broncos defense seems just as strong as the unit that won them the Super Bowl last season. Wolfe trails only teammate Von Miller in sacks this season with four. The duo has wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season, and have done so in large part with the absence of DeMarcus Ware. Wolfe’s contract ranked as the 7th highest in terms of APY for a defensive end this offseason, however, his production has seemed to surpass that value.
Here are the current stats for the newly contracted rushers as tabulated by Sportingcharts.com.
| Player | Team | APY | % Def Snaps | Solo Tackle | Tot Tackle | TFL | TFL % | Sacks | Hurries | Stuffs |
| Olivier Vernon | Giants | $17,000,000 | 94% | 8 | 10 | 3 | 30% | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| Fletcher Cox | Eagles | $17,100,000 | 74% | 9 | 11 | 2 | 18% | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Derek Wolfe | Broncos | $9,175,000 | 70% | 14 | 16 | 3 | 19% | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Malik Jackson | Jaguars | $14,250,000 | 64% | 8 | 9 | 2 | 22% | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | Giants | $10,000,000 | 98% | 12 | 18 | 2 | 11% | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Muhammad Wilkerson | Jets | $17,200,000 | 97% | 11 | 16 | 5 | 31% | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Dwight Freeney | Falcons | $2,000,000 | 41% | 3 | 3 | 2 | 67% | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Chris Long | Patriots | $2,375,000 | 73% | 7 | 11 | 2 | 18% | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Adrian Clayborn | Falcons | $4,250,000 | 62% | 7 | 7 | 1 | 14% | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Jared Crick | Broncos | $2,000,000 | 74% | 5 | 8 | 2 | 25% | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Mario Williams | Dolphins | $8,500,000 | 67% | 5 | 7 | 2 | 29% | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Jason Jones | Lions | $1,535,000 | 62% | 5 | 13 | 1 | 8% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Charles Johnson | Panthers | $3,000,000 | 64% | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Andre Branch | Dolphins | $2,750,000 | 49% | 3 | 9 | 1 | 11% | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| William Hayes | Rams | $5,833,333 | 35% | 6 | 11 | 2 | 18% | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Derrick Shelby | Falcons | $4,500,000 | 61% | 4 | 6 | 1 | 17% | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Benson Mayowa | Cowboys | $2,750,000 | 51% | 2 | 3 | 2 | 67% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stephen Paea | Browns | $1,900,000 | 33% | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Eugene Sims | Rams | $3,333,333 | 37% | 5 | 8 | 1 | 13% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Robert Ayers Jr. | Buccaneers | $6,500,000 | 32% | 4 | 4 | 1 | 25% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wallace Gilberry | Lions | $1,250,000 | 48% | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Vinny Curry | Eagles | $9,250,000 | 45% | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mitch Unrein | Bears | $1,130,000 | 58% | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tyrunn Walker | Lions | $1,600,000 | 38% | 6 | 11 | 1 | 9% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cedric Thornton | Cowboys | $4,250,000 | 32% | 5 | 9 | 1 | 11% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ziggy Hood | Redskins | $935,000 | 62% | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Winn | Broncos | $760,000 | 27% | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ricardo Mathews | Steelers | $760,000 | 20% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Quinton Dial | 49ers | $4,000,667 | 48% | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tank Carradine | 49ers | $2,650,000 | 35% | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarvis Jenkins | Jets | $3,000,000 | 21% | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendall Reyes | Redskins | $2,500,000 | 14% | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Jerod-Eddie | 49ers | $1,000,000 | 2% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Trattou | Vikings | $810,000 | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aldon Smith | Raiders | $5,750,000 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Ninkovich | Patriots | $2,500,000 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 .