- The Browns’ defensive line continues to hold the top spot in overall, run defense and pass-rush grades: The unit has earned a 90.5 overall grade, led by Myles Garrett at 92.9. Maliek Collins has been dominant on the interior with a 90.2 grade — seventh-best among interior defenders — while seven Browns defenders have overall grades of 71.5 or better.
- The Jets are shutting down the run: The Jets have led the NFL in run stops for two consecutive weeks and now sit atop the league in total for the season. Quinnen Williams leads all players in run stops (16), earning a 92.3 run-defense grade and an average depth of tackle of -0.08 yards.
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
The defensive line is the heart of any successful defense, tasked with both disrupting the opposing quarterback with a pass rush and shutting down rushing attacks at the line of scrimmage.
Elite defensive lines can change the course of a game by applying pressure, forcing hurried throws and creating turnovers while also stifling run plays to control the tempo.
This season, we will closely monitor NFL defensive line play all season long. Unlike our offensive line rankings, which in some cases consider previous-season rankings, these rankings will be based purely on 2025 play.
A fixture near the top of last year’s rankings, the Cleveland Browns’ defensive line reclaims the No. 1 spot, powered by the dominant duo of Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins. These early-season rankings are still in flux and should begin to stabilize as we head into October.
Here are the highlights for the top defensive lines after Week 4 of the 2025 season.
| Rank | Last Week | Team | PFF Grade | Top-graded Player | Move |
| 1 | 1 | Cleveland Browns | 90.5 | Myles Garrett | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Los Angeles Rams | 85.4 | Jared Verse | 0 |
| 3 | 5 | Houston Texans | 80.1 | Danielle Hunter | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | Green Bay Packers | 79.5 | Micah Parsons | -1 |
| 5 | 13 | Detroit Lions | 78.8 | Aidan Hutchinson | 8 |
| 6 | 9 | New York Giants | 78.8 | Brian Burns | 3 |
| 7 | 7 | Seattle Seahawks | 77.3 | Leonard Williams | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | 76.5 | Joshua Uche | 0 |
| 9 | 6 | Buffalo Bills | 76 | Ed Oliver | -3 |
| 10 | 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 72.5 | Cameron Heyward | 1 |
| 11 | 15 | Indianapolis Colts | 71.6 | Laiatu Latu | 4 |
| 12 | 4 | Washington Commanders | 70.4 | Javontae Jean-Baptiste | -8 |
| 13 | 16 | Denver Broncos | 69.5 | Nik Bonitto | 3 |
| 14 | 10 | New England Patriots | 68.7 | Harold Landry III | -4 |
| 15 | 18 | Los Angeles Chargers | 67.8 | Teair Tart | 3 |
| 16 | 12 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 66 | Josh Hines-Allen | -4 |
| 17 | 26 | Las Vegas Raiders | 65.2 | Maxx Crosby | 9 |
| 18 | 23 | Atlanta Falcons | 64.3 | Jalon Walker | 5 |
| 19 | 17 | Arizona Cardinals | 64.1 | Calais Campbell | -2 |
| 20 | 14 | San Francisco 49ers | 64.1 | Bryce Huff | -6 |
| 21 | 22 | Carolina Panthers | 63.8 | Derrick Brown | 1 |
| 22 | 29 | Tennessee Titans | 63.7 | Jeffery Simmons | 7 |
| 23 | 27 | New York Jets | 62.6 | Quinnen Williams | 4 |
| 24 | 20 | Minnesota Vikings | 62.4 | Jalen Redmond | -4 |
| 25 | 21 | Dallas Cowboys | 61.2 | Osa Odighizuwa | -4 |
| 26 | 24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 61 | Haason Reddick | -2 |
| 27 | 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | 60.6 | Trey Hendrickson | -8 |
| 28 | 28 | Chicago Bears | 56.3 | Montez Sweat | 0 |
| 29 | 25 | Baltimore Ravens | 55 | Nnamdi Madubuike | -4 |
| 30 | 30 | New Orleans Saints | 53.7 | Chris Rumph II | 0 |
| 31 | 31 | Kansas City Chiefs | 48.9 | George Karlaftis | 0 |
| 32 | 32 | Miami Dolphins | 40.2 | Jaelan Phillips | 0 |
Week 3 Highlights
Best defensive line: Detroit Lions
With the Browns starting two backup offensive tackles, the Lions’ defensive line was expected to dominate — and they delivered. Aidan Hutchinson looked like his 2024 self, earning a league-best 94.2 pass-rush grade with three sacks, three hits and nine total pressures. Al-Quadin Muhammad and Trevor Nowaske also feasted, posting 86.4 and 84.8 overall grades, respectively. DJ Reader and Tyler Lacy were stout against the run, anchoring a unit that disrupted the Browns’ offense from start to finish.
Best pass-rush unit: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams narrowly edged out the Lions for the top defensive line performance of the week, consistently harassing quarterback Daniel Jones from start to finish. Jared Verse led the charge with a dominant 93.1 pass-rush grade, while Kobie Turner wasn’t far behind at 87.0. Verse posted an elite 32.3% pass-rush win rate, continuing to overwhelm opposing offensive linemen. Byron Young paced the group with seven total pressures.
Best run-defense unit: Seattle Seahawks
The Cardinals called just 12 designed runs on Thursday Night Football, but the Seahawks shut down the ground game early and built a comfortable fourth-quarter lead. Seattle’s defensive line recorded six run stops for a 50% run-stop rate. Their -0.230 EPA per rush allowed ranked fifth-best in the NFL for the week, and their 75.0% positive grade rate led all teams.
Jarran Reed and Derrick Hall anchored the unit with run-defense grades of 78.2 and 75.7, respectively. Hall and Uchenna Nwosu each contributed two run stops.
Most pressures: Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ defensive line generated an impressive 27 pressures on 45 pass-rush snaps, led by second-year UCLA product Laiatu Latu, who notched nine. Latu posted an elite 35.5% pass-rush win rate and earned an 87.8 pass-rush grade for the game. Samson Ebukam and DeForest Buckner each added five pressures as the unit finished with a 42.2% pressure rate, keeping Matthew Stafford under duress throughout the game.
Most Run Stops: New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens
For the second straight week, the Jets lead the NFL in run stops—this time tied with the Ravens at 11 apiece. Quinnen Williams once again led the way with four stops, followed by Michael Clemons with three and Will McDonald IV with two.
On the Ravens’ side, Odafe Oweh paced the team with three run stops, while four others chipped in with two each. Rookie Mike Green was the only player on either team to record a tackle for loss.
Season Highlights
Best defensive line, best pass-rush unit and best run-defense unit: Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ defensive line continues to hold the top spot in overall, run defense and pass-rush grades. The unit has earned a 90.5 overall grade, led by Myles Garrett at 92.9. Maliek Collins has been dominant on the interior with a 90.2 grade—seventh-best among interior defenders—while seven Browns defenders have overall grades of 71.5 or better.
In the pass rush, Garrett once again leads the team and ranks second in the NFL behind Micah Parsons with a 93.0 grade. Collins follows closely at 90.9. Despite being the most double-teamed edge rusher in the league, Garrett leads all players with a staggering 35.4% pass-rush win rate.
Garrett is also in the midst of his best season as a run defender, posting an 85.9 run-defense grade and leading the team with seven run stops. In Week 4, Shelby Harris led the unit in run-defense grade at 84.5, while Collins led the way with four run stops.
Most pressures: Denver Broncos
The Broncos lead the NFL with 100 total pressures through four weeks, and edge rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper are pacing the group with 21 each. Bonitto leads the team with a 22.5% pass-rush win rate, closely followed by Cooper at 22.1%. After leading the league with 477 total pressures in 2024, Denver appears well on its way to repeating that feat in 2025.
Most Run Stops: New York Jets
The Jets have led the NFL in run stops for two consecutive weeks and now sit atop the league in total for the season. Quinnen Williams leads all players in run stops (16), earning a 92.3 run-defense grade and an average depth of tackle of -0.08 yards. Harrison Phillips ranks second on the team with six run stops, while Jowon Briggs — acquired from the Browns before roster cutdowns — has made an immediate impact. He ranks second on the unit with a 74.3 run-defense grade and has recorded five run stops.
This news was originally published on this post .
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