2025 NFL defensive rankings before 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 fresh and dominant up front, finishing Week 10 with the fifth-best overall defensive line and a top-three pass-rush grade. Myles Garrett continues to anchor the NFL’s most balanced front, leading all defensive linemen overall (91.8). His pass-rush grade of 92.2 ranks third at the position, and his run-defense grade of 84.8 ranks second.

• Pittsburgh fielded the most complete defensive line of Week 10: The group posted a run-defense grade of 78.6, the highest of any defensive line. They combined it with a pass-rush grade of 79.4, second only to Denver for the week.

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 10 of the 2025 season.

Week 10 highlights

Best overall defensive line and best run defense unit: Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh fielded the most complete defensive line of Week 10, becoming the only front to post grades above 75.0 in both run defense and pass rush. The group posted a run-defense grade of 78.6, the highest of any defensive line. They combined it with a pass-rush grade of 79.4, second only to Denver.

With 29 snaps against the run, the Steelers produced 10 defensive stops and four tackles for loss or no gain, while their average tackle depth of 1.17 in Week 10 ranked fourth among defensive lines. It was a true ensemble performance: Yahya Black led the way with a dominant PFF grade of 91.0, 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 earned 70.0 while playing at least 24 snaps.

Best pass-rush unit: Denver Broncos

Denver delivered the most overwhelming pass-rush performance of the week, finishing with a PFF pass-rush grade of 87.2 — the only defensive line to post a 73.0 grade 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 getting to 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) once again set the tone, each recording two sacks and combining for 15 pressures – seven from Allen, eight from Bonitto – with both posting a 25% winning percentage.

Most pressure: Seattle Seahawks (27)

Seattle claims this week’s volume is trumped by sheer opportunity and execution. The Seahawks led all teams with 54 pass-rush opportunities – five more than any other defense – and turned 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: Uchenna Nwosu led the group with six pressures, while Byron Murphy II, Derick Hall and Leonard Williams each added five, and Boye Mafe scored four.

Most run stops: Carolina Panthers (16)

Carolina’s defensive line set the tone against the run in Week 10, recording 21 solo tackles and a whopping 16 run stops – six more than any other front. They combined that with four tackles for loss, consistently winning early and forcing offenses off the schedule.

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

Risers and fallers

Highlights of the season

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

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

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

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

Even more impressive, eight of those players have surpassed the 70.0 threshold.