What separates the NFL’s best defensive tackles from the rest?
This offseason, I’ve embarked on a quest to answer that question at several positions. For this study, I used Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) data from the last three seasons (2022 to 2024) to rank every player using a composite grading system.
Today, we begin with the defensive tackle position.
The New York Jets have a star in Quinnen Williams. Since being drafted third overall in 2019, Williams has solidified himself as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.
The Jets rewarded him for his efforts with a four-year, $96 million contract in 2023. At the time, Williams’ $24 million per year was second in average annual value (AAV). Heading into 2025, it’s tied for fifth with the Carolina Panthers’ Derrick Brown.
I did this analysis for a few reasons. First, I analyze PFF data like this after every season, and I wanted to expand it over multiple seasons. With a larger sample size, I could make a better composite grade to analyze players.
Second, I’ve seen far too many people say that Williams has mailed it in since his payday. This is simply an untrue statement made by people who only look at sack totals, which is faulty, as we’ve broken down before.
So, what comprises the rankings?
Methodology
To evaluate every defensive tackle from 2022 to 2024, I compiled and sorted Pro Football Focus (PFF) data. By combining various metrics from this data – some volume-based, some efficiency-based – I came up with a custom metric that I call “X-Grades.”
X-Grades are calculated using a weighted combination of a player’s percentile rankings in various metrics. Here is a detailed breakdown of what comprises the X-Grade of a defensive tackle.
- 10.0% Total Pressures
- 10.0% Pressure Rate (Pressures/Pass Rush Snaps)
- 10.0% Total Defensive Stops (A tackle that constitutes a “failure” for the offense)
- 10.0% Defensive Stop Rate (Defensive Stops/Total Defensive Snaps)
- 10.0% Total Impact Plays (Pressures, defensive stops, batted passes, PBUs, interceptions, forced fumbles, and safeties)
- 10.0% Impact Play Rate (Impact Plays/Total Defensive Snaps)
- 5.0% Total Tackles for Loss
- 5.0% Tackles for Loss Rate (TFL/Run Defense Snaps)
- 2.5% Total Sacks
- 2.5% Sack Rate (Sacks/Pass Rush Snaps)
- 12.5% PFF Overall Grade
- 7.5% PFF Run Defense Grade
- 5.0% PFF Pass Rush Grade
Through this breakdown, the X-Grade comprises 37.5% volume-based metrics, 37.5% efficiency-based metrics, and 25% PFF grades.
This method of analysis gives us a solid balance between totals, efficiency, and a third-party grading system to provide a thorough measure of their impact.
For context later on, the average grade among defensive tackles was a 42.1.
So, with the scoring framework in place, we can now dive into the numbers for the Jets’ All-Pro. How productive has he been relative to his peers at the position?
Quinnen Williams has dominated
There is no other way to summarize Quinnen Williams’ performance. He has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL, period.
Williams is an elite pass rusher who is also fantastic against the run. Few players at the position can match his versatility and two-way excellence.
Here are Williams’ ranks among 99 defensive tackles with at least 1,000 defensive snaps since 2022:
- Pressures: 176 (2nd)
- Pressure Rate: 13.2% (3rd)
- Sacks: 26 (3rd)
- Sack Rate: 1.95% (5th)
- Defensive Stops: 97 (9th)
- Defensive Stop Rate: 4.43% (16th)
- Tackles For Loss: 17 (6th)
- Tackles For Loss Rate: 2.01% (13th)
- Impact Plays: 254 (3rd)
- Impact Play Rate: 11.6% (2nd)
- PFF Grade: 83.4 (6th)
- PFF Pass Rush: 81.5 (6th)
- PFF Run Defense: 75.9 (6th)
- X-Grade: 82.4 (See Below)
Only all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald had a higher impact play rate (12.0%) than Williams (11.6%). With Donald retired, Williams is the active leader in this metric since 2022.
As a pass rusher, only Chiefs star Chris Jones has an edge over Big Q when it comes to total pressures. Williams also complements his totals with efficiency, as he maintains the third-best pressure rate.
While Williams is at his best as a pass rusher, he is also one of the best run stoppers in the NFL. This is best shown by his PFF run defense grade. While his stop rate isn’t as elite as his pressure rate, he would likely pick up more stops if the Jets didn’t rely on him to anchor the interior run defense on his own.
His stop rate was much higher through 2021, when he was playing alongside another quality run-stopper in Foley Fatukasi. From 2020-21, Williams had 73 stops on 1,200 defensive snaps. This amounts to a ridiculous 6.08% rate.
Since then, constant double-teams have limited Williams’ ability to rack up stops. Heading into 2025, the Jets still lack proven run stoppers alongside Williams, which creates a major problem. For him to truly dominate to the level he’s capable, the Jets need to complement him with serviceable players so the Jets’ run defense isn’t predicated on his ability to engulf two or three offensive linemen each play.
Despite his run stop rate being a bit lower than his other metrics, Williams still boasts one of the most complete profiles in the NFL at his position.
With production like this, it’s no surprise Williams has made it to the Pro Bowl for three straight seasons. The pinnacle came in 2022, when he was named to the Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro, while ranking seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He should have earned more than one All-Pro for his efforts, but sack totals are king in the eyes of voters.
I’ve talked about Williams plenty now. What about the other 98 defensive tackles I analyzed for this study? Who were the top 10 defensive tackles since 2022, and where does Williams rank among them?
The NFL’s top 10 defensive tackles since 2022
So, who makes the cut?
Based on my X-Grades, the NFL’s top 10 defensive tackles since 2022 are as follows:
- Quinnen Williams, NYJ: 82.4
- Dexter Lawrence, NYG: 81.4
- Cameron Heyward, PIT: 81.4
- Chris Jones, KC: 79.7
- DeForest Buckner, IND: 79.5
- Aaron Donald, LAR: 75.1
- Jeffrey Simmons, TEN: 70.9
- Leonard Williams, NYG/SEA: 70.6
- Calais Campbell, BAL/ATL/MIA: 69.1
- Zach Allen, ARI/DEN: 68.4
Jets homegrown star Quinnen Williams ranks as the NFL’s best defensive tackle over the last three seasons.
What makes Williams truly special is that he’s a monster against both the run and the pass. With the second-most pressures, third-most sacks, sixth-most tackles for loss, and ninth-most stops, Williams does it all in both phases.
Next up is the star of the Jets’ cross-town rival, Dexter Lawrence. Like Williams, Lawrence is a rare player who stops the run and rushes the passer at the highest level.
Lawrence is particularly adored by the PFF grading system, as he ranks first in PFF overall grade (91.8), first in PFF run defense grade (84.8), and third in PFF pass rush grade (89.6) since 2022. His lower statistical output can be attributed to him being double-teamed at a high rate, as well as playing more nose tackle than most other star defensive tackles.
Following Lawrence is Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward. He’s consistently graded as one of my best defensive tackles. He’s an underrated pass rusher and is one of the best run stoppers in the NFL. With five All-Pros (four first-team) and seven Pro Bowls in the last eight years, I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up in a gold jacket when it’s all said and done.
Next up is Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones. Jones is the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in the NFL. He ranks first in pressures, sacks, sack rate, impact plays, and PFF pass rush grade. Jones’s ranking is dropped due to his pedestrian run defense numbers. It goes to show how rare two-way interior defenders like Williams, Lawrence, and Heyward truly are.
Rounding out our top five is Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Buckner’s spot is powered by his league-leading 123 defensive stops. Buckner’s been an afterthought in national conversations since being traded by the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, but he’s still quietly getting the job done at an elite level.
Veteran defensive tackles continue to dominate the NFL. Heyward, Jones, Buckner, Donald, Leonard Williams, and Calais Campbell have an average age of almost 34, yet that hasn’t slowed them down.
Considering 37.5% of my grade is based on total statistics, it’s insane that Donald is 6th despite retiring after 2023. Excluding him would’ve added new Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner, who’s only in his second season. It is an impressive streak for the Rams, who just drafted the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jared Verse.
Another interesting trend is that the AFC dominates. Four of the top five defensive tackles hail from the AFC, and seven of the top ten. The 2019 draft class especially stands out with four of the top 10 (Lawrence, Quinnen, Simmons, and Allen) being drafted that year. The 2019 draft also includes Christian Wilkins and Ed Oliver, who made it into my top 20.
From rising stars to ageless veterans, defensive tackle is one of the deepest positions in the NFL, but these are the superstars who stand above the rest.
Other Takeaways
A few familiar faces stood out during my analysis as well.
Several former Jets players shone in this analysis. Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams is ranked seventh. The former sixth overall pick was traded back in 2019 and has consistently ranked as a top 25 defensive tackle. He had a career year in 2024, which powered him into my top 10.
Not too far behind him is Broncos defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers, who ranks 16th. Franklin-Myers’ league-leading 13.9% pressure rate and overall consistency earn him a spot in my top 20.
The Jets are in a talented division for defensive tackles. Each of the Jets’ three rivals have a top-25 defensive tackle as well: Zach Sieler of the Dolphins (64.2, 13th), Ed Oliver of the Bills (60.2, 19th), and Christian Barmore of the Patriots (56.3, 23rd). The Jets are prepared to handle this, as they have one of the better interior offensive lines in the NFL with Alijah Vera-Tucker, Joe Tippmann, and John Simpson.
The Jets have done a good job of adding help around Williams at defensive end. Unfortunately, that has come at the cost of the second defensive tackle spot, forcing more responsibility on Williams.
Heading into the 2025 season, Derrick Nnadi is the current favorite to start opposite Williams. In my analysis, Nnadi ranked 99th out of 99 qualifiers with an X-Grade of 2.3 from 2022-24.
Leonard Taylor III offers a glimmer of hope. Despite going undrafted, he delivered an impressive rookie season, ranking 68th out of 226 qualifiers (min. 200 defensive snaps) with a 49.9 grade (which excludes volume metrics for the purpose of single-season analysis). Free agent pickup Byron Cowart also played at a respectable level in a limited sample, ranking 113th out of 226 with a 40.3 grade.
I will provide a deeper breakdown of Taylor’s 2024 season soon. If Taylor succeeds in a bigger role, it would free Williams up to make more plays. There are other potential routes the Jets could take at defensive tackle as well.
If the Jets ever surround Williams with the proper talent, he could potentially reward them with a Defensive Player of the Year campaign. As the data shows, he has a legitimate argument to be the best defensive tackle in the NFL.
