Shaquil Barrett stat that proves Buccaneers were right

The Buccaneers were more than right to pay Shaquil Barrett.

There was never any doubt amongst those who saw Shaquil Barrett play for the Buccaneers that he was one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and his subsequent contract that paid him so well was absolutely the right decision by the franchise.

A good pass rusher is one of the most important positions on the field, and a player like Barrett that constantly gets pressure on the quarterback is invaluable for a defense that wants to establish itself as one of the best in the league.

While some of the boxscore watches scoffed at the notion of paying Barrett because “he didn’t get enough sacks after year one,” the advanced metrics tell a very different and much more credible story.

Sacks aren’t everything with a pass rusher. Even with the best players, this stat will fluctuate, so looking at other numbers will paint a more accurate picture.

According to ESPN’s Seth Walder on Twitter, Barrett is winning on pass rush attempts at the eighth-highest level in the NFL on the edge. This is better than the Bosa brothers, Chase Young, and Cameron Jordan, to name a few.

This is not to say that win rate is the only stat that matters, but it is telling that Barrett is doing it at a higher level than some of these other high-profile players. Winning on these blocks is the first step to putting pressure on the quarterback, but there are many other factors at play after the initial win that could determine whether or not a sack occurs.

As for the double team rate part of the graphic, Barrett can only handle what he is given. If the league wants to slow him down, perhaps he should be further to the right on the graphic, but even that may not be enough to slow him down.

Shaquil Barrett is clearly doing his job and doing it at a very high level, for that matter, and the sacks will come over time. Some fans may not be satisfied with 5.5 sacks so far on the season, but that number doesn’t actually show you how good the EDGE1 in Tampa is.

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