2025 NFL defensive line rankings ahead of Week 9: New England Patriots surge

• Patriots climb five spots after Week 8: All nine Patriots defenders who saw snaps earned an overall grade of 60.0 or better, with Anfernee Jennings leading the group at an elite 90.7. Jennings posted a dominant 44.4% pass-rush win rate, recording one sack and three additional wins.

• Bills pass rush shows out in Week 8: Joey Bosa continues to look like his prime self, turning in another excellent performance during the Bills’ dominant Week 8 victory. He recorded two sacks, one hit and a 31.3% pass-rush win rate. On the opposite edge, Greg Rousseau consistently collapsed the pocket, finishing with a 20% pass-rush win rate and a 79.3 pass-rush grade.

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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 8 of the 2025 season.

Rank	Last Week	Team	DL Grade	Top-graded player	Move
1	1	Cleveland Browns	90.2	Myles Garrett	0
2	4	Los Angeles Rams	83	Jared Verse	+2
3	5	Detroit Lions	82.7	Aidan Hutchinson	+2
4	3	Green Bay Packers	82.7	Micah Parsons	-1
5	2	Houston Texans	80.7	Will Anderson Jr.	-3
6	6	Pittsburgh Steelers	77.2	Nick Herbig	0
7	7	Seattle Seahawks	75.4	Leonard Williams	0
8	10	Indianapolis Colts	73.4	Laiatu Latu	+2
9	9	New York Giants	72.8	Brian Burns	0
10	8	Washington Commanders	71.9	Daron Payne	-2
11	12	Buffalo Bills	71.4	Joey Bosa	+1
12	11	Philadelphia Eagles	71.3	Joshua Uche	-1
13	18	New England Patriots	67.3	Khyiris Tonga	+5
14	16	Minnesota Vikings	66.7	Jalen Redmond	+2
15	13	Carolina Panthers	66.1	Derrick Brown	-2
16	14	Denver Broncos	65	Nik Bonitto	-2
17	17	New York Jets	64.8	Quinnen Williams	0
18	20	Los Angeles Chargers	64.3	Teair Tart	+2
19	15	Tennessee Titans	64.1	Jeffery Simmons	-4
20	21	Atlanta Falcons	62.9	David Onyemata	+1
21	19	San Francisco 49ers	62.2	Bryce Huff	-2
22	26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	62.1	Anthony Nelson	+4
23	23	New Orleans Saints	61.3	Chase Young	0
24	22	Jacksonville Jaguars	60.3	Josh Hines-Allen	-2
25	24	Arizona Cardinals	59.5	Calais Campbell	-1
26	25	Dallas Cowboys	58.6	Dante Fowler Jr.	-1
27	27	Las Vegas Raiders	58.6	Maxx Crosby	0
28	28	Cincinnati Bengals	56.8	Trey Hendrickson	0
29	31	Kansas City Chiefs	56.1	George Karlaftis	+2
30	29	Chicago Bears	55.8	Montez Sweat	-1
31	30	Baltimore Ravens	55	Nnamdi Madubuike	-1
32	32	Miami Dolphins	49.3	Jaelan Phillips	0

Week 8 Highlights

Best defensive line: New England Patriots

All nine Patriots defenders who saw snaps earned an overall grade of 60.0 or better, with Anfernee Jennings leading the group at an elite 90.7. Jennings posted a dominant 44.4% pass-rush win rate, recording one sack and three additional wins. Defensive tackle Cory Durden was the top run defender (77.7 run-defense grade), while also creating pressure as a pass rusher with a 28.6% win rate.

Best pass-rush unit: Buffalo Bills

Joey Bosa continues to look like his prime self, turning in another excellent performance during the Bills’ dominant Week 8 victory. He recorded two sacks, one hit and a 31.3% pass-rush win rate. On the opposite edge, Greg Rousseau consistently collapsed the pocket, finishing with a 20% pass-rush win rate and a 79.3 pass-rush grade. In total, the Bills deployed five defenders who earned at least a 73.2 pass-rush grade, as the unit combined for an impressive nine sacks.

Best run-defense unit: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins shut down superstar Bijan Robinson and the Falcons’ vaunted rushing attack, thanks largely to their defensive line’s dominance at the line of scrimmage. Seven defenders avoided a single downgrade in the run game, with Jaelan Phillips leading the group with a 79.4 grade. While no individual player filled the stat sheet, Miami’s front won by playing disciplined, gap-sound football, executing at an elite level in Week 8.

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Season Highlights

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

It’s getting difficult to find new ways to describe the Browns’ dominant defensive line, but Myles Garrett added another chapter by breaking team records with five sacks against quarterback Drake Maye. Garrett earned a 92.7 overall grade, third among all defensive players, while teammates Alex Wright (87.4) and Maliek Collins (86.6) have been nearly unblockable all season.

Garrett’s 86.7 run-defense grade leads all NFL edge rushers and ranks fourth among all defensive linemen. Four Browns linemen rank inside the top 31 in run-defense grade, and seven defenders hold run-defense grades of 63.5 or better.

Best pass-rush unit: Houston Texans

The Texans feature five defenders with pass-rush grades of 75.3 or better. The group is led by superstars Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, both of whom rank inside the NFL’s top 10 in pass-rush grade. Anderson’s 27.6% pass-rush win rate is tied for first in the league with Myles Garrett, while his 22.6% pressure rate leads all defenders outright. Hunter’s 23.3% pass-rush win rate ranks fifth, as the duo has helped power a Texans defense that has allowed the fewest points in the NFL.

Most pressures: Denver Broncos

The Broncos’ defensive line has reclaimed the league lead in total pressures. The relentless trio of Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper and Zach Allen has combined for 95 pressures, anchoring a unit that has racked up an impressive 153 overall. Four Broncos defenders own pass-rush win rates above 12%, while seven have posted double-digit pressure rates.

Most Run Stops: Washington Commanders & Carolina Panthers

The race for the most run stops remains extremely tight, with the Commanders and Panthers tied for the league lead at 64. Six other teams sit within four.

Washington is led by Javon Kinlaw, who has recorded 13 run stops along with seven tackles for loss or no gain. Daron Payne is close behind with 12 run stops, while Jer’Zhan Newton has added nine and Dorance Armstrong has contributed eight.

For Carolina, A'Shawn Robinson also leads the way with 13 run stops, with Derrick Brown right behind at 12. Five more Panthers defenders have recorded at least five run stops, including Tershawn Wharton with eight and D.J. Wonnum with seven.