2025 IDP Rankings Breakdown: Defensive Line
Mike Woellert dives into his DL projections to see how the tiers shake out for 2025.
The defensive line landscape has evolved dramatically in recent years. You no longer have to rely on “three-down” defensive ends to anchor your IDP lineup. Premier pass rushers today are situational specialists—some dominate on early downs, others live for third-and-long, and the truly elite ones produce regardless of down and distance. Understanding these usage patterns is essential for maximizing your DL investments.
Equally important is recognizing how scheme changes impact individual production. A 4-3 end moving to a 3-4 outside linebacker role can see their tackle numbers plummet while their sack upside explodes. These positional shifts and snap count fluctuations are what separate the savvy IDP managers from the casual players.
I've factored in all these variables—from coaching changes, historical metrics and production to projected snap counts—when building my 2025 DL projections. In this breakdown, I’ll run through the tiers and my favorite targets in each tier. The key is patience: if you identify a tier you want to target, there's usually no need to reach for the top name when the bottom player in that same tier offers similar production potentially several rounds later.
Knowing which players to target is only half the battle. The other half is having a clear plan for when and how to attack the DL position throughout your draft. That's exactly what this tier breakdown will help you execute.
I’ve got six players in my first tier, with Trey Hendrickson just outside due to his contract situation. I think Maxx Crosby finishes at the top of the heap in 2025. He’s fully healthy and has his running mate Malcolm Koonce back alongside him. Injuries cut Crosby’s season to fewer than 800 snaps for the first time since 2019, and he had a pressure rate under 12%. In his previous three seasons, he generated a 14.6% pressure rate, so nagging injuries were likely impacting his effectiveness and win rate.
Aidan Hutchinson was going to dominate the league until a devastating leg injury ended his season after just 5 games. Up to that point, Hutchinson generated a 22.7% pressure rate and an astounding 49.5% win rate. He was averaging 1.5 sacks per game and 1.4 TFLs per game. He also added 8 QB hits. As of this writing, Hutchinson has been cleared for football activities, which is just good news in general.
Even with the dings of battle, T.J. Watt remains a top-tier edge rusher. His metrics might have dipped in 2024—he generated the lowest pressure rate of his career (9.5%)—but he’s still a menace who’s capable of disrupting a game. He adds additional big plays, like forced fumbles, and still produced a 6.3% big play rate in 2024.
Myles Garrett started the offseason demanding a trade, but Cleveland gave him 160 million reasons to sign an extension. He’s generated 80+ pressures in consecutive seasons, resulting in a 17.2% pressure rate and 28 sacks. It would be scary to see how productive Garrett could be if he had a legit #2 alongside him (no offense to Isaiah McGuire). Garrett has an elite first step, and he should flirt with 15+ sacks in 2025.
I wouldn’t be mad if I didn’t draft anyone from the first tier and targeted my first edge rusher here. Trey Hendrickson and Gregory Rousseau are at the top of this tier.
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter combined for 134 total pressures and a 13.7% pressure rate in 2024. Anderson generated a 14.4% pressure rate and dominated offensive lines with a 22% win rate, thanks to a 0.75 second pass rush burst off the snap. I’m targeting Anderson over Hunter.
If Jared Verse improves his pressure-to-sack conversion rate, he could be in line for a huge year. His rate was 5.1% in 2024 (4.5 sacks on 89 pressures). For comparison, Jonathan Greenard’s rate was 14.3%. However, he was a victim of bad luck, as he had 15 QB hits. Now, if your league rewards hits, you probably benefited. For a rookie, Verse’s metrics were impressive: a 16.3% pressure rate and 27.3% win rate.
I’m betting on a similar performance from Nik Bonitto in 2025. The Broncos have a dominant defensive line, and they didn’t lose anyone. Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper should see the majority of the pass-rush duties, along with Zach Allen. Bonitto finished the season with a 14.2% pressure rate and added 11 QB hits and 13.5 sacks.
Rousseau is still on an upward trajectory. He’s being undervalued as the EDGE17 and represents a real bargain heading into 2025 if you believe, like me, a career year is on the horizon. He led the Bills in quick pressures (25) and pressure rate (13.7%) among linemen who had more than 300 pass rush snaps. If he converts a few more of his QB hits, he would have hit double-digit sacks, which I think is a possibility in 2025.
This third tier of DL features a few of my favorite targets, including two potential 2nd-year breakouts. I think there are viable weekly starters here, and although this tier is more of your DL2, a case could be made for a few of the guys in this tier to be DL1. You could draft three or four from this tier and field a solid DL room. You might just have a headache on who to start each week.
I think Chop Robinson might be my favorite target in this tier. After concerns about his college production, I think he put those to rest after his rookie year. He recorded more sacks as a rookie (6) than he did during any season at Penn State. He impressed with his metrics, as he generated a 16.3% pressure rate and 23.8% win rate, leading the defense in pressures (59). The rocket has been strapped to Chop for a big second year.
With Joey Bosa out of the way, 456 snaps have opened up in Los Angeles, and I’d just give them all to Tuli Tuipulotu. Tuipulotu saw a slight reduction in snaps last season, which resulted in a slight dip in pressure rate from 2023 (11.5%) to 2024 (10.3%). Tuipulotu is a guy who needs snaps. Just let him get to the QB.
With John Harbaugh saying Odafe Oweh can be a Pro-Bowler this year, and Oweh adding 20 pounds of muscle (he’s yoked), I’m interested. Last season, Oweh generated an 11.3% pressure rate and led the edge rushers in win rate (18.8%). He recorded 10 sacks and QB hits. If I left my draft with a trio of Jared Verse, Chop Robinson, and Odafe Oweh, I’d be feeling “prettay, prettay good” in the words of Larry David.
It’s time to wonder if Khalil Mack’s effectiveness is nearing its conclusion. After producing 17 sacks in 2023, I was expecting a drop in production—just not nearly the precipitous decline that happened in 2024. He saw his snaps scaled back, as he logged just 617 regular-season snaps (the lowest number of his career). While the tiers aren’t necessarily rankings, I’ve got Mack at the bottom of this tier.
This fourth tier still has plenty of value, as long as you keep in mind that these are your DL3. This is a group of edge rushers that features a few injury bounce-backs and players in new homes. I don’t mind shopping from this tier at all.
I love me some Malcolm Koonce this year as an injury bounce-back. Koonce’s 2024 season ended before it had a chance to begin. He’s participating in activities during OTAs and should be a full participant in training camp. I’m here to remind you how good he was in 2023. He finished with 8 sacks and a 15.6% pressure rate.
Dallas Turner should see an increased workload in his second year. He saw just 300 snaps while Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel were having career years. Patrick Jones is in Carolina, leaving 459 snaps that I hope go to Turner.
YaYa Diaby suffered from bad luck last season. He generated a 14.8% pressure rate and an impressive 24.4% win rate to go along with 15 QB hits, but somehow only had a 1% sack rate. If Diaby converts a few more of his hits and pressures into sacks, he would be on track for similar numbers from his rookie year, with the upside for 10+ sacks. You can make an argument for him to be in the third tier.
The Jets have a formidable pass rush duo in Will McDonald and Jermaine Johnson, and both are solid targets in this tier. Johnson is recovering from an Achilles injury that caused him to miss most of the 2024 season. He’s on track to be ready for Week 1. McDonald enjoyed a breakout season with a 16.3% pressure rate and 10.5 sacks.
Nolan Smith is going to be a popular breakout candidate this season, and with good reason. Smith’s production skyrocketed from Week 12 through the playoffs and Super Bowl. Although he didn’t get a sack in the big game, he generated a 16.7% pressure rate, including 2 QB hits. Over that span, he produced a 12.3% pressure rate, resulting in 7 sacks and 5 QB hits. Smith saw nearly 55% of the snaps last season, and I’m expecting a bit of a usage bump, especially since Josh Sweat is now in Arizona.
I don’t know why, but I can’t quit Rashan Gary. His metrics are solid and he’s productive at generating pressure. He also has two seasons of 9+ sacks. His sack rate was just under 2% (1.9%), and he had 7 QB hits this past season.
This tier of linemen and edge rushers has a few decent options to fill out roster depth and some potential weekly starters. As you can see, I don’t buy Leonard Williams and Cam Heyward repeating their top-10 finishes in 2025. They are still solid producers, but how long can it continue? Williams just turned 31, and Heyward is 36.
I think Jalyx Hunt is going to be a popular sleeper in most IDP formats. I wouldn’t reach for him too far, but I think he’s worthy of a DL5 spot in deeper leagues. The Eagles traded Bryce Huff, which opened up some snaps. He made his presence known in the playoffs, as he generated a 13% pressure rate. He was a havoc wrecker in the Super Bowl, generating a 25% pressure rate (5 pressures) and a sack. The fact that he attended Von Miller’s Pass Rush Summit has me even more interested.
Donovan Ezeriuaku makes an appearance here. Rookie edge production can be tricky, since their usage is the great unknown. Draft capital and Lawrence’s departure work in Ezeiruaku’s favor. He was my favorite edge rusher of the class, even over Abdul Carter, as I think Ezeiruaku comes into the NFL with a more polished moveset.
Update 7/25/2025:Although it’s been a few days of camp, he’s proving to be a problem.
Boye Mafe led the Seahawks in win rate (17.6%) and generated a 13.7% pressure rate. The Seahawks are pretty stocked at the edge position, but Mafe appears to have a full-time role opposite the newly acquired Demarcus Lawrence. Lawrence should be able to draw attention away from Mafe, and he could be in line for a potential breakout season. His pass rush metrics tell me an 8-sack season is possible.
The Browns didn’t address the edge position in a deep draft, and added Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Julian Okwara, so not exactly guys you need to worry about breathing down your neck. The Browns also released Ogbo Okoronkwo, so a few more snaps open up for Isaiah McGuire. I’m a bit more excited for his upside over Alex Wright. McGuire finished the 2024 season with multiple pressures in 7 of the last 9 games. Lining up opposite Myles Garrett doesn’t hurt either.
Joseph Ossai has sneaky upside and has some situations aligning in his favor. Although I think the Bengals get a deal done with Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart, things are looking a little troubled. Talks have resumed with Hendrickson, but I don’t like the tension brewing with Shemar and the Bengals. Ossai finished the season with multiple pressures over the last five weeks and 5 QB hits.
A few rookies have entered the chat in this tier. Still plenty of value to be had here, even though these guys might be roster fillers for depth. They’ll have value as a weekly streamer or if they have an advantageous O-line matchup as your DL4/5.
In true position leagues, I like Adam Butler this season. He’s a good source for sacks, after consecutive seasons with 5, but could be a source for tackles. I think he might settle into the 40-50 range after producing a career-high (65) this past season. He’s also a decent bet to record TFLs, defended passes, and QB hits.
Another defender I like in true position leagues is Gervon Dexter. He’s entering his third year and has shown improvement, increased production year over year, basically doubling his output from his rookie year to his second.
When you get to the bottom two tiers, it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel. Dayo Oedyingbo is an interesting name here, as he looks to be a starter opposite Montez Sweat, and he attended Von Miller’s Pass Rush Summit. I’m curious how he translates his learnings to the field. He led the Colts in pressures (42) and has quite a bit of room to improve his 1% sack rate. The 13 QB hits were an impressive number, as well.
Keeanu Benton is an interesting option in true position/DT-required. Benton enters his third year after producing nearly identical stats over his first two seasons.
Tier 8 is a mixture of some rookie upside and a whole lot of yuck. I’m intrigued by the return of Samson Ekubam. Like Koonce, he missed 2024 after a promising 2023. Unfortunately for Ebukam, he’s got some roadblocks in his path to snaps. He had 10 games of 3+ pressures in 2023 and had consecutive seasons of 40+ pressures.
Is it possible that Shemar Stewart goes back into the 2026 NFL Draft pool? Stewart seems dug in that he wants certain language regarding guarantees removed from the contract. Stewart is oozing with athletic upside, but it seems both sides are entrenched, which makes Stewart a risky redraft pick.
The Falcons could have a full-blown rotation at edge, with everyone getting equal reps. James Pearce has already stood out and drawn praise from defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Leonard Floyd will be 33 as the season kicks off, and Arnold Ebikiete is coming off a decent 2024. For redraft purposes, this is probably a situation to avoid unless someone emerges from the rotation as a reliable edge.
I’m off Lukas Van Ness, as I think Barryn Sorrell will be a thorn in his side. Van Ness has 429 pass rush snaps in his two seasons and just an 8.8% pressure rate.
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What type of split do you project between Jalyx Hunt and Ojulari?