Fair or not, Byron Young has never received ample praise for his success so far with the Los Angeles Rams.
Young was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He had as clear of a path to playing time as you can have for a mid-round pick and joined Aaron Donald for his final season.
But when Young performed well as a rookie, his success was mostly credited to the attention opposing offenses paid to Donald.
Then Donald retired. The Rams immediately drafted Jared Verse to replace their franchise
star in the aggregate. Young stepped from one shadow to the next.
This past offseason the Rams swapped Verse for Myles Garrett. Adding the best defensive player in football puts everyone else in the shadows, except for MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford.
But Garrett has yet to play a healthy game in Los Angeles. Young is quietly putting together the best season of his career yet.
It’s time to shine the spotlight on Byron Young. He’s an elite EDGE rusher in 2026.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Young ranks sixth among all EDGE defenders in total pressures with 21. He’s notched four sacks in as many games.
Those in front of him are the usual suspects and good company to be in:
- Aidan Hutchinson – 29 pressures on 182 rushes
- Greg Rousseau – 29 on 140
- Dallas Turner – 28 on 127
- Maxx Crosby – 25 on 136
- Will Anderson – 25 on 138
- Byron Young – 21 on 103
Notice anything out of sorts from the above list? Young makes the top six with 24 fewer rushes than the next-lowest player on the list. He has 79 fewer rushes than pressure leader Aidan Hutchinson.
On a percentage basis, Young is creating pressures at the third-highest rate among EDGE rushers with at least 91 reps:
- Dallas Turner: 22.0%
- Greg Rousseau: 20.7%
- Byron Young: 20.4%
- Maxx Crosby: 18.4%
- Will Anderson: 18.1%
PFF also has a metric called pass rush productivity that quantifies how often rushers pressure, hurry, sack, or hit opposing quarterbacks compared to frequency in opportunity. Young is also third in this metric behind Turner and Rousseau.
And Young is accomplishing this level of efficiency despite a slow start. He notched only two pressures in the season opener against the 49ers. Since, he posted five pressures versus the Giants and seven against each of the Broncos and Eagles. The sacks have come in bunches. He earned one in the Giants game and three against the Eagles (PFF does not track half sacks).
It’s time to give Byron Young his flowers. He belongs in the conversation as one of football’s best and most efficient pass rushers.
He’s doing it without Myles Garrett. The defense—despite already being one of the NFL’s best units—should take another step forward once they are working in tandem.
