Rams fans won't be surprised by name of NFL's most versatile pass rusher

The Los Angeles Rams hit a home run by drafting Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Already a highly esteemed young player, Young took another leap in his third season. The Los Angeles Rams linebacker led the team with 12 sacks, a career-best, and also posted personal highs in pressures and tackles.

While Jared Verse and Kobie Turner menaced quarterbacks on the defensive line, Young established himself as the biggest threat of the Rams' pass rush from the linebacker position. 

Not just on LA's defense but league-wide, he is recognized as a premier weapon, earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2025. His 12 takedowns tied for eighth in the league. In Pro Football Focus pressures, Young's 64 ranked 13th among 115 edge rushers. His 84.9 overall PFF grade came in ninth. 

While he makes his highlight tapes by racking up sacks, the former third-round draft pick does a lot more than that. NFL.com's Tony Holzman-Escareno, a senior researcher, shared this stat: among players with 10+ sacks last year, Young led the league with 56 run tackles. That might not surprise Rams fans, but it's a startling testament to just how dominant a force he is.

Byron Young is the best two-way wrecking ball in the business

Consider the other names in the top five: the Raiders' Maxx Crosby (55 tackles), the Titans' Jeffery Simmons (49), the Lions' Aidan Hutchinson (36), and Houston's Danielle Hunter (35). Crosby, Hutchinson, and Hunter are all elite defensive ends. Hunter and Hutchinson both finished in the top four in sacks this season.

That's the kind of company Young has as a pass rusher who also stuffs the run. 

(Apologies to Simmons, a defensive tackle. Does anyone watch Titans games?)

As a linebacker, Young naturally has more opportunities to wrap up ball carriers, partly explaining his ability to pile up run tackles. That doesn't detract from his status as a dual-threat game-wrecker. Only three players at the position had more sacks (Brian Burns in New York, Nik Bonitto in Denver, and Tuli Tuipulotu for the Chargers). 

Top tacklers on the sacks leaderboard? Among 66 players with more than five sacks, Vikings 'backer Eric Wilson was the only one to surpass Young in total tackles (115). Wilson tied for 46th in sacks with 6.5.

Young is evidently something of a unicorn. Among players PFF categorizes as edge rushers, he is first in solo tackles, assists, and stops. He accomplished all that while ranking 5th in quarterback hits. His all-around ferocity makes it safe to say that Young is the league's most versatile pass rusher.

That's mind-boggling dominance, but for anyone who watched him play last season, it's anything but difficult to believe.