Pro Football Focus metric gives surprising answer to Big Ten's best pass rusher

Pro Football Focus’ win rate metric suggests that Michigan’s Kwity Paye might be the best pass rusher in the Big Ten — and by a wide margin.

Paye has a 27 percent pass-rush win rate according to PFF, which is significantly better than the next-best output in the conference.

Here’s the top 3:

Highest pass-rush win % in the Big Ten

1. Kwity Paye, Michigan – 27%

2. Shaka Toney, Penn St – 19%
3. Jayson Oweh, Penn St – 18% pic.twitter.com/ozTjaB7Qv7

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 2, 2020

Pass rush win rate is typically defined as how often a player beats his blocker within 2.5 seconds.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, that win rate hasn’t necessarily translated to sacks — or wins. Paye has just two sacks so far this season in four games, tied for 15th in the conference. His mark of four tackles for loss is tied for 28th in the Big Ten.

Paye was outstanding a year ago, too. He recorded 6.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in 2019.

It’s also worth noting Paye has played in two fewer games than Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh.

If you prefer raw statistics, Iowa’s Daviyon Nixon leads the Big Ten in both sacks (5) and tackles for loss (11.5).

Michigan is 2-4 this season and the remainder of its regular season is in jeopardy due to a COVID-19 outbreak.