Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

It's an outlandish number, something few players have ever accomplished in NFL history, but Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Thursday that he wouldn't be surprised if Ziggy Ansah reached 20 sacks this year.

"I wouldn't," Austin said.

Ansah finished third in the NFL with a career-high 14.5 sacks last year and fell just short of breaking Robert Porcher's franchise record (15, set in 1999).

He had a great season by any measure, making the Pro Bowl for the first time and recording at least one sack in 11 of the Lions' 16 games.

But 20 sacks has historically been a difficult milestone to attain.

Since the sack first became an official stat in 1982, 10 players have reached the 20-sack mark a total of 11 times, with only six of those seasons coming in the last 25 years.

Michael Strahan set an NFL record with 22.5 sacks in 2001, and since then DeMarcus Ware (20 in 2008), Jared Allen (22 in 2011), Justin Houston (22 in 2014) and J.J. Watt twice (20.5 in both 2012 and 2014) are the only players to accomplish the feat.

Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Chris Doleman, Derrick Thomas and Mark Gastineau - all Hall-of-Famers except Gastineau - are the only other players with official 20-sack seasons.

Austin mentioned 20 sacks as a possibility on Thursday when asked how Ansah can get better this fall.

"If you ask (defensive line coach) Kris (Kocurek), it’s 20 sacks," Austin said. "I think he just has to continue to improve, just like we said the last couple years. Just continue to improve on his pass rush techniques, get better in the run game and he’ll continue to grow. He’s got a lot of room for growth still.”

That's because Ansah, who turned 27 last week, remains relatively new to the game after picking up football in college, starting just one season at BYU and showing steady improvement in his first three years in the NFL.

He should have a deep group of defensive tackles to play off of as well, and the hope is that helps free him to harass quarterbacks.

"He’s got an unbelievable motor for a 270-pound man," Austin said. "He plays as hard as I’ve seen a guy play. He runs. He’s tough. Those are special traits for a guy like that. A lot of times you see big guys, they take plays off. I’ve never seen the guy take a play off."

Note: Former Carolina Panthers tackle Nate Chandler, who visited the Lions this week, has signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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