With Von Miller gathering some of the league's best pass-rushers together this week in California, our crew of Insiders picks the NFL's top sack artist.

Who is the league's best pass-rusher and why?

Matt Bowen, NFL writer: Von Miller is the top pass-rusher in the NFL based off the consistent havoc he creates on tape. He shows the ideal blend of acceleration off the line, technique (hands) and the ability to convert speed to power. While J.J. Watt is a very close second in this discussion, and Khalil Mack is continuing to develop his enormous skill set on the edge, Miller impacts opposing offenses more than any other pass-rusher in the league. You'd better have a plan to limit Miller or he will take over the game.

Dan Graziano, NFL Insider: I'll go with Miller over Watt, just because Watt is coming off injuries, and we don't know yet how close he'll be to what he was before. Miller's consistency -- especially for a guy who can drop into coverage, play the run and handle other assignments at a high level -- gets overlooked sometimes because he has played so well for so long. Offensive coordinators spend their weeks designing protection schemes to try to keep Miller from destroying the game.

KC Joyner, NFL Insider: Over the past four seasons, only six defensive linemen have posted a 3.0 or higher disrupted dropback percentage, which measures how often a defender registers a sack, interception, batted pass or pass defensed on a per-snap basis. Watt is the only player to have done this on multiple occasions in this time frame, posting that mark in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Assuming he hasn't lost any speed because of last year's back injury, Watt is hands down the NFL's best pass-rusher.

Mike Sando, senior NFL writer: I'll take Aaron Donald as the best inside rusher, Miller as the best outside rusher and a healthy Watt as the best in-between rusher. Whether charting sacks, hits or hurries, it's interesting to evaluate production based on where players aligned before the snap. Donald does his damage from the defensive end and nose tackle spots. Miller dominates from the outside linebacker position. Watt piled up production from defensive end before his back gave out.

J.J. Watt, despite coming back from injury, is still considered to be one of the best pass-rushers in the league. Mike DiNovo/US Presswire

Aaron Schatz, editor of Football Outsiders: My answers: Watt if he can return as good as he was before last year's injuries, Miller otherwise, with Mack right behind them. Rather than quote the same stats as everyone else, I want to point out a surprise name who I think clearly belongs in the top four, even if he's not No. 1: Olivier Vernon of the New York Giants. Vernon had "only" nine sacks last year, but based on Sports Info Solutions charting, he far surpassed the rest of the NFL's pass-rushers with 66 hurries. Nobody else had more than 52. He also tied for sixth with 19 QB knockdowns. The year before, in Miami, Vernon had 7.5 sacks but also 36 hurries (third) and 30 QB knockdowns (second). Sacks are the best way for a pass-rusher to influence a game, but not the only way, and Vernon forces a lot of bad passes and throwaways without receiving credit in the standard play-by-play.

Kevin Seifert, national NFL writer: Miller sits atop this list, even if by process of elimination. Watt must demonstrate that he can return to full speed after multiple back surgeries wiped out his 2016 season. Although Mack has made rapid gains in the past two years, Miller remains at the top of his (future) Hall of Fame game and, amazingly, is still only 28 years old. Sack totals in any given season could be skewed, but over time they reveal reliable evaluations. The only player since 2011 with more sacks than Miller's 73.5 is Watt (76). No one else is within 10 sacks of their totals.

Field Yates, NFL Insider: There are two players who occupy a neighborhood of off-the-charts sack production over the past six seasons: Watt and Miller. Watt edges Miller by 2.5 sacks, but the damage of his 76 sacks has been done in five fewer games. Picking between these two players is like splitting the finest of hairs -- either choice suffices -- but Watt is the selection because sack production is far from the only way to measure pass-rush acumen. Watt has rare power, explosion, quickness, closing speed and an array of pass-rush techniques to get home. When he doesn't, he's about as good as any defensive player in the league at getting his hands in passing lanes. Watt has more passes defensed than all other defensive linemen in the NFL since entering the league in 2011 and more than all but just two linebackers. He's remarkable.