Broncos linebacker Von Miller had three sacks on Sunday, giving him the NFL lead with 13 on the season. That lead held up for one day, until 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith had 5.5 sacks on Monday night, giving him the NFL lead with 15 on the season.
Smith, whom the 49ers chose with the seventh overall pick in last year’s NFL draft, said after the game that he planned to make sure Miller, whom the Broncos chose second overall last year, is aware of the current state of the sack race.
“I’ll probably text him as soon as I leave here,” Smith said.
Miller is a phenomenal player who was last year’s defensive rookie of the year, but Smith is making a strong case that he’s the premier pass rusher from last year’s draft. Smith had 14 sacks last year to Miller’s 11.5, and Smith’s total of 29 sacks in his first 26 NFL games are the most any player has ever had in the first 26 games of his career.
Whether Smith or Miller is the better player may boil down to a matter of personal preference. Suffice to say, both the 49ers and the Broncos are very pleased with their first-round draft picks from last year.