Could it be that Khalil Mack is better than most people give him credit for? While many agree Mack is an elite edge rusher for the Bears, Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the sixth-best player in the league, across all positions, and the second-best defensive player.
PFF finished releasing their annual list of the top-50 players in the league on Friday. The only guys ranked ahead of Mack were Aaron Donald, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Quenton Nelson and Davante Adams. It also marks a big jump for Mack, as PFF had him ranked the No. 18 overall player going into last season.
“Mack was once again the highest-graded edge defender in the NFL last season, finishing the campaign with an overall PFF grade of 92.3,” said Sam Monson in the PFF writeup. “Only Mack and T.J. Watt finished the year with PFF grades above 90.0 in run defense and as a pass-rusher.
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“For Mack, it was his fifth PFF grade above 90.0 in seven years at the NFL level, with the other two seeing him slip only to the level of 86.0. He recorded 59 total pressures, including the playoffs.”
While Mack earned high marks from PFF, he didn’t produce up to his expectations in 2020. His nine sacks and 50 tackles at season’s end both ranked third-lowest across his seven-year career.
The Bears got one more man on the list besides Mack: Allen Robinson came in at No. 34 overall.
