As Trent Cole‘a biggest fan on this forum (I have his jersey, get at me losers), I think it would be fair to say that BG>Cole.
Trent Cole was an excellent undersized pass rusher that would probably excel as a 34 edge in today’s game. His pass rushing ability overall is better than BG. As a run defender he did his job most of the time. Whenever people described Trent Cole the first thing they mention is his unrelenting motor.
BG is by far a better more rounded DE than Trent Cole was. While BG might not have the same stats as Trent Cole, he is arguably as/more impactful as TC was. The first thing people describe about BG is his leadership. I don’t remember for sure, but TC wasn’t considered a “leader” in the locker room. People really take into account BG’s leadership when evaluating him as a player which can imo lead to over/underrating him depending on how you factor in his off field performance
TL;DR - I’m TC’s biggest fan on the forum, I think BG is better than TC because he’s a better/more rounded DE than TC was.
god damn PE has to be seething after last season’s 11 sacks for BG. I miss his short arms tirade