2025 NFL defensive line rankings ahead of Week 11: The Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles are on the rise

• Browns remain the gold standard: Fresh off their Week 9 bye, the Browns returned looking refreshed and dominant up front, finishing Week 10 with the fifth-best overall defensive line grade and a top-three pass-rush grade. Myles Garrett continues to anchor the NFL’s most balanced front, leading all defensive linemen in overall grade (91.8 ). His 92.2 pass-rush grade ranks third at the position, and his 84.8 run-defense grade sits second.

• Pittsburgh fielded the most complete defensive line of Week 10: The group posted a 78.6 run-defense grade, the top mark among all defensive lines. They paired it with a 79.4 pass-rush grade, second only to Denver for the week.

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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 throughout the season. Unlike our offensive line rankings, which in some cases consider previous-season rankings, these rankings will be based purely on 2025 play.

Here are the highlights for the top defensive lines after Week 10 of the 2025 season.

Rank	Last Week	Team	PFF Grade (Unit)	Top-graded Player	Move	PFF WAR	PFF WAR Rank
1	1	Cleveland Browns	90.1	Myles Garrett	0	0.5107	1
2	5	Pittsburgh Steelers	83.0	Cameron Heyward	+3	0.4532	2
3	2	Los Angeles Rams	80.4	Jared Verse	-1	0.3137	7
4	6	Houston Texans	80.2	Will Anderson Jr.	+2	0.4100	3
5	3	Detroit Lions	77.7	Aidan Hutchinson	-2	0.2774	11
6	4	Green Bay Packers	76.3	Micah Parsons	-2	0.3380	5
7	11	Philadelphia Eagles	73.0	Joshua Uche	+4	0.2421	16
8	8	Seattle Seahawks	72.4	Byron Murphy II	0	0.2972	8
9	10	Buffalo Bills	70.1	Ed Oliver	+1	0.2712	12
10	7	Indianapolis Colts	70.1	Laiatu Latu	-3	0.2561	14
11	9	New York Giants	68.6	Brian Burns	-2	0.3324	6
12	16	Denver Broncos	68.0	Nik Bonitto	+4	0.3577	4
13	14	Minnesota Vikings	67.1	Jalen Redmond	+1	0.2896	9
14	12	Washington Commanders	66.8	Dorance Armstrong	-2	0.2418	18
15	15	Tennessee Titans	66.5	Jeffery Simmons	0	0.1971	22
16	19	Carolina Panthers	65.8	Derrick Brown	+3	0.2806	10
17	13	New England Patriots	65.8	Cory Durden	-4	0.2004	20
18	18	New York Jets	64.9	Jowon Briggs	0	0.1668	27
19	22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	63.9	Anthony Nelson	+3	0.2687	13
20	17	Los Angeles Chargers	63.8	Teair Tart	-3	0.1855	25
21	21	Dallas Cowboys	63.2	Dante Fowler Jr.	0	0.2420	17
22	20	Atlanta Falcons	62.8	Jalon Walker	-2	0.2426	15
23	25	Kansas City Chiefs	58.9	George Karlaftis	+2	0.1889	24
24	27	New Orleans Saints	58.9	Chase Young	+3	0.1707	26
25	26	Arizona Cardinals	58.6	Josh Sweat	+1	0.2042	19
26	24	Jacksonville Jaguars	58.4	Josh Hines-Allen	-2	0.1369	29
27	28	Las Vegas Raiders	57.1	Maxx Crosby	+1	0.1973	21
28	29	Chicago Bears	56.6	Montez Sweat	+1	0.1498	28
29	23	San Francisco 49ers	56.3	Bryce Huff	-6	0.1947	23
30	30	Baltimore Ravens	55.8	Travis Jones	0	0.1242	30
31	31	Cincinnati Bengals	51.5	Trey Hendrickson	0	0.0947	32
32	32	Miami Dolphins	50.5	Bradley Chubb	0	0.1018	31

Week 10 Highlights

Best defensive line overall & best run-defense unit: Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh fielded the most complete defensive line of Week 10, becoming the only front to earn 75.0-plus grades in both run defense and pass rush. The group posted a 78.6 run-defense grade, the top mark among all defensive lines. They paired it with a 79.4 pass-rush grade, second only to Denver.

On 29 snaps against the run, the Steelers produced 10 defensive stops and four tackles for loss or no gain, while their 1.17 average depth of tackle ranked fourth among defensive lines in Week 10. It was a true ensemble performance: Yahya Black led the way with a dominant 91.0 PFF grade, and five other linemen — Cameron Heyward (89.5), Alex Highsmith (79.3), Keeanu Benton (78.5), Nick Herbig (76.2) and Derrick Harmon (72.7) — all cleared 70.0 while playing at least 24 snaps.

Best pass-rush unit: Denver Broncos

Denver turned in the week’s most overwhelming pass-rush performance, finishing with an 87.2 PFF pass-rush grade — the only defensive line to clear 73.0 in Week 10. Across 35 opposing dropbacks, the Broncos generated 17 total pressures for a 48.6% pressure rate (fifth among defensive lines), piling up six sacks and three quarterback hits while reaching the quarterback in an average of 2.23 seconds, the second-fastest mark of the week.

Zach Allen (91.0) and Nik Bonitto (90.1) set the tone once again, each recording two sacks and combining for 15 pressures — seven from Allen, eight from Bonitto — with both clearing a 25% win rate.

Most pressures: Seattle Seahawks (27)

Seattle claims this week’s volume superlative by sheer opportunity and execution. The Seahawks led all teams with 54 pass-rush opportunities — five more than any other defense — and converted that workload into 27 total pressures, good for a 50% pressure rate that ranked third among all defensive lines in Week 10.

It was a full-rotation effort: Uchenna Nwosu led the group with six pressures, while Byron Murphy II, Derick Hall and Leonard Williams each added five, and Boye Mafe chipped in four.

Most Run Stops: Carolina Panthers (16)

Carolina’s defensive line set the tone against the run in Week 10, piling up 21 solo tackles and a league-high 16 run stops — six more than any other front. They paired that with four tackles for loss, consistently winning early and forcing offenses off schedule.

D.J. Wonnum led the unit with a 73.6 run-defense grade and four stops of his own, while Derrick Brown matched him with four stops and added a strong 69.8 run-defense grade.

Risers and fallers

• Biggest Mover: Denver Broncos & Philadelphia Eagles (+4)
• Biggest Faller: San Francisco 49ers (-6)

Season Highlights

Best defensive line, best run-defense unit & best pass-rush unit: Cleveland Browns

Fresh off their Week 9 bye, the Browns returned looking refreshed and dominant up front, finishing Week 10 with the fifth-best overall defensive line grade and a top-three pass-rush grade.

Myles Garrett continues to anchor the NFL’s most balanced front, leading all defensive linemen in overall grade (91.8 ). His 92.2 pass-rush grade ranks third at the position, and his 84.8 run-defense grade sits second.

But the strength of this unit goes far beyond its superstar. Alex Wright (88.8), Maliek Collins (80.8), Adin Huntington (74.3) and Cameron Thomas (74.1) are each grading at starter-quality levels, and nine of the Browns’ 11 defensive linemen hold overall grades above 65.0.

Even more impressive: eight of those players have cleared the 70.0 threshold.