Trey Hendrickson is going into his third season with the Cincinnati Bengals, and he's been worth every penny. Hendrickson has tallied 22 sacks (a career-high 14 in 2021) during his time in Cincinnati, and he's been rewarded with back-to-back Pro Bowl nods.

Hendrickson ended his last season with the New Orleans Saints on a high note with 13.5 sacks, so he's been constantly producing for a nice little stretch. However, he doesn't get mentioned with the best edge rushers in the game that often.

Some recent data that came to the surface shed some light on why Hendrickson is without question worthy to be talked about when it comes to getting after the quarterback from the outside. 

When it comes to overall pass-rush grades from a season ago, Hendrickson finished tied with Haason Reddick of the Philadelphia Eagles at 90.0 which trailed only Cleveland's Myles Garrett, Dallas' Micah Parsons, and San Francisco's Nick Bosa. But it was another category that truly shows how good Hendrickson is.

The money downs in the NFL and third and fourth down, that's where the men get separated from the boys. Hendrickson proved to be as manly as they come as his 91.0 pass-rush grade in those situations last year for second for all edge rushers behind Garrett and slightly ahead of Parsons. 

Myles Garrett leads the pack when it comes to third and fourth downs, as well. Cowboys edge defender Micah Parsons had the third-most opportunities to rush the passer on third and fourth downs, and he also picked up the third-most pressures in these situations, with 37, which was tied with Bengals edge defender Trey Hendrickson. Miami’s Jaelan Phillips was second with 38 pressures. Vikings edge defender Danielle Hunter led the position with 39 pressures on third and fourth downs, but he also had more such snaps than most other edge defenders. –Zoltan Buday, PFF

Hendrickson doesn't stop getting after it there, though. 

Bengals' defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo likes to create chaos with his unit. He did a great job last season of putting Hendrickson in great spots to make plays when stunts were executed. The 87.4 grade of Hendrickson in that area was ranked fifth.

It's kind of easy to get forgotten about when you're in a category with Parsons, Garrett, and Bosa. But the facts show that Hendrickson belongs with the elite edge rushers in football. 

Major outlet gives Bengals veteran huge props

It’s about time.

Feature image via Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports