2025 NFL Defensive Line Rankings Ahead of Week 9: New England Patriots Rise

• Patriots rise five places after week 8: All nine Patriots defenders who saw snaps posted an overall grade of 60.0 or better, with Anfernee Jennings leading the group with an elite 90.7. Jennings posted a dominant pass-rush winning percentage of 44.4%, with one sack and three additional wins.

• Bills Pass Rush Shows in Week 8: Joey Bosa continues to look like himself with another standout performance during the Bills’ dominant win in Week 8. He recorded two sacks, one hit and a 31.3% pass-rush winning percentage. On the other hand, Greg Rousseau consistently dropped the pocket, finishing with a 20% pass-rush winning percentage and a 79.3 pass-rush grade.

The defensive line is the heart of any successful defense, tasked with both disrupting the opposing quarterback with a pass rush and stopping rushing attacks at the line of scrimmage.

Elite defensive lines can change the flow of a game by applying pressure, forcing rushed throws and creating turnovers, while also suppressing run plays to control the tempo.

This season, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the NFL defensive line play throughout the season. Unlike our offensive line rankings, which in some cases take into account rankings from previous seasons, these rankings will be based purely on the 2025 game.

Here are the highlights for the top defensive lines after Week 8 of the 2025 season.

Highlights from week 8

Best Defensive Line: New England Patriots

All nine Patriots defenders who saw snaps posted an overall grade of 60.0 or better, with Anfernee Jennings leading the group with an elite 90.7. Jennings posted a dominant pass-rush winning percentage of 44.4%, with one sack and three additional wins. Defensive tackle Cory Durden was the top-performing 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 himself with another standout performance during the Bills’ dominant win in Week 8. He recorded two sacks, one hit and a 31.3% pass-rush winning percentage. On the other hand, Greg Rousseau consistently dropped the pocket, finishing with a 20% pass-rush winning percentage and a 79.3 pass-rush grade. In total, the Bills deployed five defenders who earned at least a 73.2 pass-rush grade, while the unit combined for an impressive nine sacks.

Best defensive unit: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins shut down superstar Bijan Robinson and the Falcons’ vaunted offense, thanks in large part to their defensive line’s dominance at the line of scrimmage. Seven defensemen avoided a single downgrade in the run game, with Jaelan Phillips leading the group with a grade of 79.4. Although no players filled the stat sheet, Miami’s front won by playing disciplined, good football and performing at an elite level in Week 8.

Highlights of the season

Best defensive line and best defensive unit: Cleveland Browns

It’s going to be hard 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 posted an overall grade of 92.7, third among all defensive players, while teammates Alex Wright (87.4) and Maliek Collins (86.6) were nearly unblockable all season.

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

Best pass-rush unit: Houston Texans

The Texans have five defensemen 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 in the top 10 in the NFL in pass-rush class. Anderson’s pass-rush win rate of 27.6% ranks first in the league with Myles Garrett, while his 22.6% pressure rate puts all defenders ahead. Hunter’s pass-rush winning percentage of 23.3% ranks fifth as the duo has helped shore up a Texans defense that has allowed the fewest points in the NFL.

Most pressure: Denver Broncos

The Broncos defensive line has regained the league lead under all-out pressure. The ruthless trio of Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper and Zach Allen have combined for 95 pressures, creating a unit that has totaled an impressive 153. Four Broncos defenders have a pass-rush win rate above 12%, while seven defenders have posted double-digit pressure percentages.

Most run stops: Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers

The race for the most run stops remains extremely tight, with the Commanders and Panthers tied for the league lead with 64. Six other teams are 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 right behind with 12 run stops, while Jer’Zhan Newton added nine and Dorance Armstrong contributed eight.

For Carolina, A’Shawn Robinson also leads the way with 13 run stops, with Derrick Brown close behind at 12. Five more Panthers defensemen have recorded at least five run stops, including Tershawn Wharton with eight and DJ Wonnum with seven.