2025 NFL defensive line rankings ahead of Week 18: The Cleveland Browns remain the league's best unit

• The Lions did not lose because of their pass rush in Week 17: Detroit’s defensive line posted an 82.6 PFF pass-rush grade and a dominant 39.3% pressure rate, generating five sacks and three quarterback hits while consistently disrupting rookie quarterback Max Brosmer.

• Despite losing Breakout Player of the Year candidate Maliek Collins to injury in Week 13, the Browns’ defensive line is still on track to finish the 2025 season as the NFL’s best overall unit: Led by presumptive Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, Cleveland’s front has been one of the few consistent bright spots during an otherwise difficult season.

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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. 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 17 of the 2025 season.

Rk.	Previous Rk.	Team	PFF WAR	PFF Grade	Top-graded player	Move
1	1	Cleveland Browns	1.250	88.2	Myles Garrett	0
2	2	Houston Texans	1.057	81.2	Will Anderson Jr.	0
3	3	Pittsburgh Steelers	0.961	76.7	Cameron Heyward	0
4	5	Los Angeles Rams	0.783	85.4	Byron Young	+1
5	6	Denver Broncos	0.776	70.1	Nik Bonitto	+1
6	4	Detroit Lions	0.749	79.5	Aidan Hutchinson	-2
7	9	Dallas Cowboys	0.712	74.9	Quinnen Williams	+2
8	7	Philadelphia Eagles	0.696	72.5	Joshua Uche	-1
9	11	Seattle Seahawks	0.681	74.2	DeMarcus Lawrence	+2
10	10	Minnesota Vikings	0.674	68.6	Jonathan Greenard	0
11	12	New York Giants	0.652	66.8	Dexter Lawrence	+1
12	8	Green Bay Packers	0.640	65.9	Micah Parsons	-4
13	13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0.529	62.8	Vita Vea	0
14	15	Atlanta Falcons	0.508	65.3	David Onyemata	+1
15	14	Buffalo Bills	0.483	66.0	Greg Rousseau	-1
16	18	Tennessee Titans	0.465	69.5	Jeffery Simmons	+2
17	16	New England Patriots	0.436	63.7	Cory Durden	-1
18	19	Indianapolis Colts	0.359	63.8	Laiatu Latu	+1
19	21	Los Angeles Chargers	0.357	67.4	Khalil Mack	+2
20	17	Kansas City Chiefs	0.323	59.4	George Karlaftis	-3
21	23	New Orleans Saints	0.313	59.4	Chase Young	+2
22	20	Las Vegas Raiders	0.297	53.9	Maxx Crosby	-2
23	22	Washington Commanders	0.258	55.2	Dorance Armstrong	-1
24	25	Jacksonville Jaguars	0.255	60.6	Josh Hines-Allen	+1
25	26	New York Jets	0.235	65.7	Jowon Briggs	+1
26	27	Carolina Panthers	0.228	59.1	Derrick Brown	+1
27	28	San Francisco 49ers	0.215	51.6	Bryce Huff	+1
28	24	Arizona Cardinals	0.210	51.7	Josh Sweat	-4
29	29	Chicago Bears	0.175	51.4	Montez Sweat	0
30	31	Cincinnati Bengals	0.140	56.8	Trey Hendrickson	+1
31	30	Baltimore Ravens	0.115	60.4	Travis Jones	-1
32	32	Miami Dolphins	-0.050	49.7	Zach Sieler	0

Week 17 Highlights

Best defensive line & best run-defense unit: Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ defensive line did its part in the Week 17 win over the Washington Commanders. The unit combined for an impressive 89.4 PFF overall grade and an 89.9 PFF run-defense grade, and it was led by Quinnen Williams’ 91.2 run-defense grade.

Williams recorded four run stops, including two tackles for loss or no gain, while interior defender Kenny Clark complemented the effort by earning an 80.3 run-defense grade and a 41.7% positive grade rate.

Edge defender Jadeveon Clowney has consistently been one of the NFL’s top run defenders for several seasons and again showed that ability, earning an 80.3 run-defense grade highlighted by a 4-yard tackle for loss.

Best pass-rush unit: Detroit Lions

The Lions did not lose because of their pass rush in Week 17. Detroit’s defensive line posted an 82.6 PFF pass-rush grade and a dominant 39.3% pressure rate, generating five sacks and three quarterback hits while consistently disrupting rookie quarterback Max Brosmer.

Edge defender Aidan Hutchinson once again led the way, earning an 88.7 PFF grade with two sacks and an elite 29.6% pass-rush win rate. Al-Quadin Muhammad added two sacks of his own and paced the team with a 23.1% pressure rate, capping off a relentless performance up front.

Risers and fallers

• Most improved: Dallas Cowboys
• Biggest faller: Washington Commanders

Season Highlights

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

Despite losing Breakout Player of the Year candidate Maliek Collins to injury in Week 13, the Browns’ defensive line is still on track to finish the 2025 season as the NFL’s best overall unit. Led by presumptive Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, Cleveland’s front has been one of the few consistent bright spots during an otherwise difficult season.

Garrett leads the NFL with a 92.7 PFF overall grade and a 92.9 pass-rushing grade, while his 82.7 run-defense grade ranks eighth among all defenders and third among edge rushers. To fully capture how dominant Garrett has been, he sits just half a sack shy of breaking the single-season sack record despite facing the highest rate of chips and double teams of any edge defender in the league.

edge rusher double team/chip rate and performance when 1v1 pic.twitter.com/RgeeAnqeuA

— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) December 31, 2025

Edge defender Alex Wright was rewarded with a midseason contract extension, and his play has justified the investment. Wright has posted an 80.6 PFF overall grade while excelling against the run, recording a minuscule 6.1% downgrade rate and just three missed tackles on the season in run defense.

Isaiah McGuire has also been a reliable presence on the edge, earning a 73.0 run-defense grade, while rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham has surged after a slow start. Since Week 7, Graham owns a 74.6 PFF overall grade, second-best on the Browns and 14th among all NFL interior defensive linemen.