Most NFL Sacks in 2019: Top 10 Odds and Predictions

Few things take the wind out of an NFL offense’s sails quicker than a quarterback sack, and there are certain players in the league who specialize in that particular hunting skill.

The football beast who easily won the title for most sacks in 2018 is the same player who is the obvious frontrunner in 2019, and when you look at the top contenders for this rough and tumble title, you will see a lot of familiar names.

Every season, it is a battle to see who brings the most quarterbacks down, so here we take a look at the odds and predictions of which players are the top-ten candidates for sacking the most quarterbacks in 2019, as well as analyze each player’s chances to win.

If you are new to the game of football, a sack happens when a defensive player tackles the quarterback (or anyone on offense who is acting as the passer) behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw the ball.

A sack can also occur when the passer is tackled behind the line of scrimmage while he is either in the pocket and his intent is “unclear” or when he runs out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.

A sack is a critical play for the defense since it not only creates a loss of yardage but it also creates a loss of down, which tends to throw off the offensive game plan.

Who Had the Most NFL Sacks Last Season?

During the 2018 NFL season, Los Angeles Rams’ defensive end Aaron Donald accumulated the most sacks in the league with 20.5.

The runner up was the Houston Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt, who had 16.0 sacks of his own.

The NFL franchise with the most sacks in 2018 ended up being a tie between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers, both with 52.0 total sacks.

Top 10 NFL Players With Most Sacks in 2019

The odds for most sacks in 2019 are provided by New Jersey sportsbook 888Sport NJ.

Good luck!

10) Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 4

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 252-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 14.5 sacks, 72 tackles (21 for loss), 19 quarterback hits, 0 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery (returned 32 yards for a touchdown), 0 passes defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: Last season, the Minnesota Vikings were tied for third in the league for most sacks with 50.0 total, and 14.5 of those went to defensive end Danielle Hunter, tied for fourth-most in the league with Denver Broncos’ Von Miller.

The Vikings lost Hunter’s sacking partner, Sheldon Richardson, to free agency, but thankfully general manager decided to use what little salary cap the Vikings did have to re-sign two defensive potential free agents, linebacker Anthony Barr and defensive end Everson Griffen.

That means that the defensive stage will be set for coordinator George Edwards to dial up Hunter’s number again in 2019, so expect the twenty-four year old 6-foot-5 speedy giant to make another run at the sacking title.

9) Bradley Chubb, Denver Broncos Outside Linebacker

Seasons in the NFL: 1

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 269-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 12.0 sacks, 60 tackles (14 for loss), 21 quarterback hits, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: As a highly-touted rookie in 2018, Bradley Chubb did not disappoint, racking up 12.0 sacks and finishing tied for 14^th most in the league while being named to the Professional Football Writers Association’s (PFWA) All-Rookie Team.

General manager John Elway drafted Chubb to help draw attention from outside linebacker Von Miller, whose talent tended to attract double-team attention until young Chubb came along and became an equally menacing threat.

The Denver Broncos tied for the eighth-most sacks in 2018 with 44.0 of them, with Chubb and Miller accounting for almost 60 percent of them, so look for a repeat performance in 2019 by the duo and count on both of them to contend for the sacking title.

8) Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas Cowboys Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 5

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 265-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 10.5 sacks, 64 tackles (15 for loss), 23 quarterback hits, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defended and 1 interception.

Analysis: Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end Demarcus Lawrence accounted for over a fourth of the team’s sack total of 39.0, which only ranked tied for sixteenth most in the NFL last season.

Lawrence’s 10.5 sacks put him tied for 17^th most among his peers in 2018, yet he has cracked this top ten list for possible sack kings in 2019, so the oddsmakers must be counting on him to play again as he did in 2017, when he posted 14.5 sacks, tied for second-most for that season.

Cowboys’ other defensive end, Robert Quinn, also keeps offensive lines busy as he racked up 6.5 sacks in 2018, so if these two can continue their quarterback hunting counter-attacks, it stands to reason Lawrence will up his game and increase his numbers once again.

7) Frank Clark, Kansas City Chiefs Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 4

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 265-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 13.0 sacks, 41 tackles (10 for loss), 27 quarterback hits, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 passes defended and 1 interception.

Analysis: The Kansas City Chiefs ranked number one in sacking last season with 52.0 total, and now they just got a huge boost from a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for Frank Clark, the defensive end that tied for seventh-most sacks in the league last season with 13.0.

Now Clark will join together with defensive end Chris Jones to try and make the disappearance of outside linebacker Dee Ford via a trade to the San Francisco 49ers seem irrelevant, though Ford’s are big shoes to fill having accounted for 13.0 sacks and 7 forced fumbles of his own last season.

Clark will be working with newly hired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who is converting the Chiefs’ defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3 (meaning now there will be four defensive players on the line, two tackles and two ends, with three linebackers behind them), so it will be up to Clark to adjust to the new scheme and still find a way to chase down quarterbacks in 2019.

6) Joey Bosa, Kansas City Chiefs Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 3

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 280-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 7

2018 Passing Stats Line: 5.5 sacks, 23 tackles (7 for loss), 9 quarterback hits, 0 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 0 passes defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: Most defensive players who started in all sixteen games last season would kill for Joey Bosa’s 2018 stats with the Los Angeles Chargers, so imagine how impressive they would have been had he played in more than 7 games.

If you double Bosa’s 2018 sack total, you will start to get in the ballpark of his typical numbers, having posted 10.5 sacks his rookie season and 12.5 the following year in 2017.

The Chargers not only picked up the fifth-year option on Bosa’s contract, but they also let him change his number over to 97, his Ohio State University number, and his foot has healed up, so expect the big kid from Florida to get back to business in 2019.

5) Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 2

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 272-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 13.5 sacks, 44 tackles (12 for loss), 29 quarterback hits, 3 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: In 2018, the football world saw what Myles Garrett could do for the Cleveland Browns after being limited to just 11 games his rookie season due to an ankle injury he suffered during a practice.

Garrett posted the sixth-most sacks by a player last season with 13.5, and that should increase even more in 2019 with the addition of two Pro Bowlers to the Browns’ roster, defensive end Oliver Vernon and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.

No doubt 2019 will be a monster year for Garrett (barring injury), and with an upgraded roster the goal will be for new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to keep Garrett free of double-teams and to use the elite secondary to give him enough time to get at the quarterback early and often.

4) Von Miller, Denver Broncos Outside Linebacker

Seasons in the NFL: 8

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 250-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 14.5 sacks, 48 tackles (14 for loss), 26 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defended and 1 interception.

Analysis: Denver Broncos’ outside linebacker Von Miller went from sacking 10 quarterbacks in 2017 to taking down 14.5 of them last season in just as many games, leading the football world to speculate that yes, adding rookie linebacker Bradley Chubb did indeed take some of the offensive attention away from Miller.

With an adjusted offense now led by former Super Bowl Champion and recently acquired quarterback Joe Flacco, who knows how much playing time the Broncos defense might get this season.

But now that Miller and crew are being led by the newly hired defensive guru head coach Vic Fangio, who got his Chicago Bears tied for third in total sacks last season with 50.0, expect there to be an aggressive approach to tackling quarterbacks with Miller benefitting as a result.

3) Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears Outside Linebacker

Seasons in the NFL: 5

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 252-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 14

2018 Passing Stats Line: 12.5 sacks, 47 tackles (10 for loss), 18 quarterback hits, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 passes defended and 1 interception that he ran back twenty-seven yards for a touchdown.

Analysis: After holding out for the entire Oakland Raiders’ pre-season in 2018, outside linebacker Khalil Mack finally got what he wanted, which was a trade, and he went to the Chicago Bears and immediately set about proving his worth.

An effective pass rusher with 18 quarterback hits, Mack didn’t even break the top ten in sack totals last season with 12.5, but keep in mind the man only played in 14 games due to an ankle injury he suffered in Week 6.

Despite that injury, Mack made himself a dominant presence (as usual), and in 2019, with the help of quarterback snuffing defensive end Akiem Hicks, who posted 7.5 sacks himself in 2018, a healthy Mack should be able to continue his rushing dominance and make a run for the sacking award.

2) J.J. Watt, Houston Texans Defensive End

Seasons in the NFL: 8

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 288-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 16.0 sacks, 61 tackles (18 for loss), 25 quarterback hits, 7 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries, 4 passes defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: After two seasons of limited play due to various injuries (back and leg), Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt finally played a full season in 2018 and the results were better than spectacular, his numbers reflecting that.

Not only did Watt post the second-most sacks in the NFL with 16.0, but he was also (for the fifth time each) selected to play in the Pro Bowl as a First-team All-Pro.

If Watt can stay healthy in 2019, he and JACK linebacker Jadeveon Cowney, who had 9 sacks himself last season, will help improve a Texans pass rush that ranked tied for 11^th in total sacks last year with 43.

1) Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams Defensive Tackle

Seasons in the NFL: 5

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 285-pounds

Total number of 2018 games played: 16

2018 Passing Stats Line: 20.5 sacks, 59 tackles (25 for loss), 41 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 pass defended and 0 interceptions.

Analysis: Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is arguably the best player in the NFL, the man being a 4x First-team All-Pro who has played in the Pro Bowl all five of his NFL seasons and who was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice.

Last season he easily toppled his peers on the way to becoming the league’s sack leader with a career-high 20.5, which also happened to be exactly half of the Rams’ total of 41, ranking them 15^th among NFL teams in 2018.

It doesn’t hurt that Donald’s defensive squad is being coordinated by guru Wade Phillips, so expect the sacking king to defend his crown in 2019 and put up some even more impressive numbers during his team’s attempt to return to the Super Bowl.