- The Browns dominated in Week 3: The Packers resorted to calling seven screen passes — after just two over the first two weeks — in an attempt to slow Cleveland’s pass rush. Myles Garrett faced constant double and triple teams, yet Jordan Love was still under pressure on 45.2% of his dropbacks (53.6% on non-screens) and was sacked six times.
- The Denver Broncos' pass rush has stepped up: After racking up 38 pressures in Week 3, the Broncos’ defensive line now leads the NFL with 81 total pressures on the season. Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper each have 17, followed by Zach Allen with 14 and Jonah Elliss with 11.
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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 3 of the 2025 season.
| Rank | Last Week | Team | PFF Grade | Top-graded Player | Move |
| 1 | 1 | Cleveland Browns | 90.6 | Myles Garrett | 0 |
| 2 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 81.4 | Jared Verse | +1 |
| 3 | 11 | Green Bay Packers | 79.3 | Micah Parsons | +8 |
| 4 | 5 | Washington Commanders | 78.3 | Eddie Goldman | +1 |
| 5 | 9 | Houston Texans | 77.6 | Danielle Hunter | +4 |
| 6 | 2 | Buffalo Bills | 77.5 | Joey Bosa | -4 |
| 7 | 10 | Seattle Seahawks | 76.7 | Leonard Williams | +3 |
| 8 | 7 | Philadelphia Eagles | 76.5 | Joshua Uche | -1 |
| 9 | 6 | New York Giants | 75.4 | Brian Burns | -3 |
| 10 | 8 | New England Patriots | 74.7 | Harold Landry III | -2 |
| 11 | 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 72.7 | Cameron Heyward | +1 |
| 12 | 14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 71.4 | Josh Hines-Allen | +2 |
| 13 | 17 | Detroit Lions | 70.2 | Aidan Hutchinson | +4 |
| 14 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers | 67.8 | Bryce Huff | +2 |
| 15 | 23 | Indianapolis Colts | 67.6 | Laiatu Latu | +8 |
| 16 | 13 | Denver Broncos | 66.2 | Nik Bonitto | -3 |
| 17 | 15 | Arizona Cardinals | 65.8 | Calais Campbell | -2 |
| 18 | 24 | Los Angeles Chargers | 65.8 | Teair Tart | +6 |
| 19 | 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | 63.8 | Trey Hendrickson | 0 |
| 20 | 30 | Minnesota Vikings | 63.6 | Jalen Redmond | +10 |
| 21 | 18 | Dallas Cowboys | 62.8 | Osa Odighizuwa | -3 |
| 22 | 21 | Carolina Panthers | 62.2 | Derrick Brown | -1 |
| 23 | 20 | Atlanta Falcons | 61.7 | Brandon Dorlus | -3 |
| 24 | 27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 61.0 | Yaya Diaby | +3 |
| 25 | 4 | Baltimore Ravens | 59.3 | John Jenkins | -21 |
| 26 | 25 | Las Vegas Raiders | 58.8 | Maxx Crosby | -1 |
| 27 | 22 | New York Jets | 58.5 | Quinnen Williams | -5 |
| 28 | 26 | Chicago Bears | 57.8 | Montez Sweat | -2 |
| 29 | 29 | Tennessee Titans | 56.7 | Jeffery Simmons | 0 |
| 30 | 28 | New Orleans Saints | 54.4 | Chris Rumph II | -2 |
| 31 | 32 | Kansas City Chiefs | 48.4 | George Karlaftis | +1 |
| 32 | 31 | Miami Dolphins | 41.0 | Matthew Butler | -1 |
Week 3 highlights
Best defensive line overall and best pass-rush unit: Cleveland Browns
The Packers resorted to calling seven screen passes — after just two over the first two weeks — in an attempt to slow Cleveland’s pass rush. Myles Garrett faced constant double and triple teams, yet Jordan Love was still under pressure on 45.2% of his dropbacks (53.6% on non-screens) and was sacked six times.
Six Browns defenders posted pass-rush grades of 76.0 or higher, with five earning overall grades above 83.0. Cleveland’s front has now faced three of the league’s top offenses — including two elite offensive lines — and heads into another tough matchup as they face the Detroit Lions in Week 4.
Best run-defense unit: Minnesota Vikings
The biggest blowout of the weekend was fueled by a dominant showing from the Vikings’ defensive line, especially against the run. Six players earned run-defense grades of 67.7 or higher, led by Jonathan Greenard’s 86.3. Levi Drake Rodriguez paced the group with three run stops, while Jalen Redmond and Jonathan Allen each added one. The Vikings were the biggest riser in this week’s defensive line rankings, thanks to their complete effort against a Bengals team playing without Joe Burrow.
Most pressures: Denver Broncos
The Broncos’ defensive line did everything it could to swing Sunday’s game, generating a staggering 38 pressures on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Jonathan Cooper led the charge with 11 pressures and an 87.5 pass-rush grade, winning on 40.6% of his reps. Nik Bonitto added six pressures, while John Franklin-Myers, Jonah Elliss and Zach Allen each chipped in five.
Most Run Stops: New York Jets
The Jets leaned heavily on their run defense in a late comeback attempt, with Quinnen Williams leading the charge. The star defensive tackle racked up six of the team’s 13 total run stops, dominating the Buccaneers‘ offensive line. Michael Clemons added two stops, and four other defenders earned run-defense grades of 64.9 or higher. While the rally ultimately fell short, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort from the Jets’ defensive front.
Season Highlights
Best defensive line overall, best pass-rush unit and best run-defense unit: Cleveland Browns
The Browns' defensive line remains dominant across the board, holding the top spot in overall grade (90.6), run-defense grade and now pass-rush grade. Myles Garrett leads all NFL defenders in PFF grade (92.4), while Maliek Collins continues to shine on the interior with a 90.8 mark, fourth-best leaguewide. Undrafted rookie Adin Huntington has been outstanding in limited snaps, earning an 87.5 grade. Even Mason Graham, who holds the group’s lowest grade at 64.2, has performed at a respectable level.
Myles Garrett once again tops the NFL in pass-rush grade at 92.0, with Maliek Collins close behind at 91.5. Undrafted rookie Adin Huntington continues to make an impact in limited snaps, earning an 82.1 grade. While Garrett’s dominance is expected, Collins has been the breakout story—his 22.4% pass-rush win rate leads all interior defenders and is comparable to Aaron Donald territory. While sustaining that level over a full season is unlikely, it underscores just how impressive Collins has been through three weeks.
The Browns' run defense has faced two of the league’s most dangerous rushing threats in back-to-back weeks and shut them down. Derrick Henry was limited to just 22 rushing yards, and Cleveland's defense has allowed the lowest combined rushing grade (55.5) in the NFL. Opposing backs are averaging just 2.3 yards per carry and -0.2 yards before contact. Myles Garrett, not typically known for run defense, ranks third in the league with an 87.3 run-defense grade. Overall, five Browns defenders own run-defense grades of 67.5 or better, and the unit has missed just four tackles against the run all season.
Most quarterback pressures: Denver Broncos
After racking up 38 pressures in Week 3, the Broncos’ defensive line now leads the NFL with 81 total pressures on the season. Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper each have 17, followed by Zach Allen with 14 and Jonah Elliss with 11.
If Denver’s front continues to generate pressure at this pace, expect the secondary to benefit and improve as the season progresses.
Most Run Stops: Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers
The Broncos and Steelers remain neck and neck in run defense after Week 3, each posting 28 run stops and 11 tackles for loss or no gain. Denver holds the edge in run-stop percentage, achieving the same production on 13 fewer run snaps.
For the Broncos, Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, and Eyioma Uwazurike lead the way with five stops each, while Dondrea Tillman and DJ Jones have added four apiece.
Pittsburgh is anchored by T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward, who each have five run stops. Alex Highsmith and Keeanu Benton have chipped in with four each.
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