There are two things it's nearly impossible to win in the NFL without: A quarterback, and players who can rush the quarterback.
Having a top-tier pass rush is non-negotiable in today's NFL, and thankfully for the Packers, they have one of the best in the league in Micah Parsons. But where does Parsons stack up against his own peers in the NFC North? Who are the best edge rushers in the division overall?
With training camp on deck, we're going to do our best to rank the top 8 pass rushers -- two from each team -- in the division heading into the 2026 season. Which pass rushers are the most dangerous, and which ones are still finding their way?
Top 8 EDGE rushers in the NFC North ranked for the 2026 season
8. Derrick Moore, Detroit Lions (rookie)
There are a handful of teams in the NFC North you could really argue haven't done "enough" to properly surround and support their star pass rushers off the edge. The Detroit Lions have been on the hunt for someone to help take some pressure off of Aidan Hutchinson, and this offseason, they went back to the Michigan Wolverines well with Derrick Moore in the 2nd round.
The 44th overall pick in this year's draft, Moore has NFL-ready size off the edge at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds. He's also coming from a defense at Michigan that does a pretty good job of having guys ready to play when they get to the league, and after leading the team with 10 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss last season, he's going to need to hit the ground running in Detroit.
7. Lukas Van Ness, Green Bay Packers
With just 8.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 23 QB hits in his first three NFL seasons combined, Lukas Van Ness can't be considered anything other than a disappointment up to this point.
The Packers haven't given up on him (yet), but with Rashan Gary gone, the pressure is on -- now more than ever -- for Van Ness to live up to his 1st-round billing and become the player the Packers hoped he could all along.
Through his first three seasons, Van Ness hasn't even played more than 39 percent of the team's defensive snaps in a full season. He played 45 percent last season, but only appeared in 9 games due to a foot injury.
If the Packers don't like how he looks coming out of training camp, the worst-case scenario might be that he's traded before the start of the year. With all of the other losses in the 2026 offseason, that feels unlikely, but the Packers absolutely need more out of him if he's going to stick around.
6. Austin Booker, Chicago Bears
Last year was just Austin Booker's second NFL season, and he racked up 12 QB hits in only 10 games played overall. Booker suffered a knee injury last year in the preseason, but he came back for the second half of last season and looked really solid.
Right now, the Bears are one of those teams that feels -- on paper -- like it's lacking at least one more pass rusher, but Booker could be that guy opposite Montez Sweat.
He had 3.5 sacks in the final four games last season, and 4 sacks over the final six games including the playoffs. He really gave the Packers fits in the playoffs last season with a pair of QB hits, a sack, and a tackle for loss.
5. Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota Vikings
Although he missed a handful of games last season, Andrew Van Ginkel followed Brian Flores to Minnesota after developing under him in Miami, and he's been one of the most underrated pass rushers in the league.
He is averaging 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 19 QB hits per 17 games played, although his 2024 season was much better overall than his 2025 campaign. During the 2024 season, he was one of the top 7 finalists for Defensive Player of the Year and was a 2nd-team All-Pro selection.
Van Ginkel is a "havoc" player for Flores coming off the edge, and the ball just seems to find him. He's not on the top tier of edge players in the NFL, but he's established himself as a high-floor veteran who can make a lot of plays.
4. Dallas Turner, Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Turner might be the next edge rusher in line in the NFC North. The former 1st-round pick out of Alabama is coming off of a really solid season in Minnesota where he racked up 8 sacks, 15 QB hits, and 11 tackles for loss. He also added 4 forced fumbles, proving that he can finish plays when he gets to the quarterback.
Entering his 3rd season now, Turner should be expected to be a breakout star candidate with the Vikings clearing the way for him to play a much more consistent role.
Jonathan Greenard was traded this offseason to the Philadelphia Eagles, so Turner should be getting even more opportunities.
In his first two NFL seasons, he's got 31 total pressures. He should be a candidate for double-digit sacks and 30 QB hits if he keeps growing.
3. Montez Sweat, Chicago Bears
The Bears still need more out of Montez Sweat, but he's comfortably the 3rd-best pass rusher in the division right now.
After being acquired in a trade with Washington, Sweat dominated in the second half of the 2023 season with Chicago. That brought about huge expectations for 2024, and he was a letdown with just 5.5 sacks in 16 games.
He bounced back in a big way last season with 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 13 tackles for loss, which was just one off of his career-best.
What Sweat gives the Bears is another relatively high-floor player on their defensive front. He gives them a proven double-digit sack guy who isn't exactly going to strike fear every week into opposing offensive lines, but he's a good player.
2. Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
Aidan Hutchinson makes a really strong case to be the #1 player on this list, even over Micah Parsons. But ultimately, he's falling slightly behind. That takes absolutely nothing away from him as a star player, however, because Hutchinson might be one of the top two or three overall EDGE players in the entire league.
Hutchinson finished 2nd in the Comeback Player of the Year voting after a gruesome leg injury in 2024 with the Lions. He had 14.5 sacks last season, 4 forced fumbles, 35 QB hits, and 49 total pressures.
He earned 2nd-team All-Pro honors and managed to set career-highs in sacks and QB hits despite working his way back from a major injury. It just goes to show how high the ceiling is for a player like this. Hutchinson is one of those defensive players teams have to gameplan extensively for, because he also never comes off the field. He ranked 1st among all EDGE players in the NFL in snaps played last season (1,005), even more impressive considering he was coming off of injury.
The Lions need some help for Hutchinson, so for their sake, they better hope they can get it from Derrick Moore.
1. Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
If everyone is healthy, the only argument for a player being listed above Micah Parsons as the best edge defender in the league -- much less the NFC North -- is probably for Myles Garrett. If you asked all 32 NFL general managers who they would pick to start building their defense with, and they couldn't have Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons would probably get most of the votes.
Since he came into the league, Parsons has been one of the most consistently disruptive pass rushers in the game. That's why the Packers trading to get him was such a monumental event in NFL history. Parsons has averaged 14.5 sacks per 17 games played over the course of his NFL career, and has been a 1st-team All-Pro three times already.
He just turned 27 years old in May, so the best is likely still yet to come.
What Parsons does so well is finish plays, and he gets into the backfield with an array of skills and athletic traits that offensive linemen simply can't handle. He's got speed and get-off to beat tackles off the snap, but he also plays with great speed-to-power. The only reasonable comparison for Parsons is prime Von Miller with the Broncos.
Coming off of a serious knee injury, Parsons is going to proceed with caution, but he's still the biggest star off the edge in the division.
Add us as a preferred source on Google