2026 player position rankings: Wide receivers | Cornerbacks | Offensive line
Welcome back to Sports Illustrated’s 2026 NFL position rankings, where we’ll stack up the top 10 players across the league at each spot on the field over the coming weeks leading into training camp. We continue with defensive tackles.
Despite often being overlooked for their edge rush counterparts that typically compile more sacks, defensive tackles are one of the most important—yet unheralded—positions on defense. Whether it’s handling double teams, creating pressure up the middle or stuffing the run game, the best defensive tackles are wreaking havoc in the trenches, keeping opponents from running their offenses smoothly. Defensive tackles are often front and center on the NFL’s best defenses. As such, it’s no coincidence that each of the past seven Super Bowl champions have had at least one elite defensive tackle.
We’ve ranked the top 10 defensive tackles in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. The quality of defensive tackle play in the NFL is so great that 11 players made the list, with a tie for the No. 10 spot. Rankings were determined by a vote between Eva Geitheim, Mike Kadlick and Karl Rasmussen.
T-10. Zach Allen, Denver Broncos
A third-round pick out of Boston College in 2019, Allen has ascended to one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL over the past two years. Allen began his career with the Cardinals, spending the first four seasons of his career in Arizona before signing with the Broncos in free agency in 2023.
Allen has thrived in Denver while reuniting with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. He has been a key member of a defense that has led the NFL in sacks each of the past two seasons, including 68 sacks as a team in 2025. Allen has recorded 20.5 sacks since arriving in Denver, including seven this past season. For his efforts, he was named a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler for the first time in his career. – Eva Geitheim
T-10. DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts
Buckner was selected by the 49ers out of Oregon in the first round (pick No. 7) of the 2016 draft, and even after earning second-team All-Pro honors in ’19, was traded to the Colts following his second season in San Francisco.
The former Oregon Duck—whose whopping 6'7", 295-pound frame is a hassle for the offensive linemen he faces off against—has since gone on to put together six dominant campaigns with Indianapolis, tallying 389 total tackles, 114 quarterback hits, 59 tackles for loss, 43 sacks and six forced fumbles. Buckner was named a first-team All-Pro with the Colts in 2020 and has been elected to three Pro Bowls (’18, ’21, ’23) throughout his career. – Mike Kadlick
9. Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vea has been a mainstay along the Buccaneers’ defensive line since being drafted in 2018, amassing 256 total tackles, nine pass deflections, three forced fumbles and 35 sacks—including a career-high seven in ’24, leading to his second career Pro Bowl nod. As he enters his age-31 season, Vea continues to be one of the league’s best nose tackles. According to PFF, he registered 51 quarterback pressures in 2025—the seventh-most among qualified players.
While Vea’s on-field play is what stands out, his leadership should be mentioned as well. He’s been a Buccaneers captain since 2022, and with both Mike Evans and Lavonte David leaving Tampa this past offseason, he’ll now be the team’s longest-tenured captain when he’s ultimately elected this coming season. – M.K.
8. Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
At 37, Cam Heyward is continuing to defy his age after he earned second-team All-Pro honors for the second time in his career in 2025. The 16-year veteran is also a four-time first-team All-Pro, most recently earning first-team honors in 2024.
This past season, Heyward recorded 78 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble as the Steelers returned to the postseason once again. He was ranked the No. 1 interior defender by PFF, which also noted that Heyward charted 53 pressures, the 10th-most among his position group. – E.G.
7. Leonard Williams, Seattle Seahawks
After beginning his career in New York, logging stints with both the Jets (2015 to ’19) and the Giants (’19 to ’23), Williams was traded to the Seahawks at the ’23 trade deadline and has spent the past two and a half seasons in Seattle.
The 32-year-old has notched 61.5 sacks over his 11-year career, and in 2025 earned second-team All-Pro honors and a third career Pro Bowl nod while helping the Seahawks to their second Super Bowl title. Williams is tied for the most run-stop wins when doubled-teamed over the past three seasons (120) according to ESPN, and his versatility to line up virtually anywhere along Seattle’s defensive front makes him one of the league’s toughest matchups on a week-to-week basis. – M.K.
6. Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Jones has become one of the most decorated defensive linemen in NFL history since being drafted by the Chiefs with the No. 37 pick in 2016, winning three Super Bowls while being named a first-team All-Pro three times, a second-team All-Pro three times, and being elected to seven Pro Bowls.
A monstrous 6'6", 310-pound presence, Jones is consistently able to find his way into opponents’ backfields. He’s tallied 339 total tackles and 87.5 sacks throughout his career, and set the NFL’s all-time record for consecutive games with a sack (11) in 2018. Even in his age-31 season in 2025, Jones continued to dominate, starting all 17 games for Kansas City while tallying 48 quarterback pressures, seven sacks, and 12 tackles for loss. – M.K.
5. Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
After setting the NFL’s single-season record for most tackles by a defensive lineman (103) in 2023 and earning his first-career Pro Bowl selection, Brown signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension with the Panthers the following April. Unfortunately, he then missed nearly the entire 2024 season following a severe meniscus injury in Week 1.
Brown then returned with a vengeance in 2025, starting all 17 games along Carolina’s defensive front while posting career-highs in sacks (5) and passes defensed (7). He also registered 57 run-stops, the fourth-most in the league according to NFL Pro, and 25 quarterback pressures while helping the Panthers return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. – M.K.
4. Dexter Lawrence II, Cincinnati Bengals
Lawrence is coming off a down season by his standards, recording just half a sack in 2025 as he returned from an injury, but remains a top-10 defensive tackle in the NFL. Lawrence had one of the best seasons of his career in 2024, as he recorded nine sacks and made his third consecutive Pro Bowl. He was previously a two-time second-team All-Pro in 2022 and 2023.
This offseason, the Giants traded Lawrence to the Bengals. Lawrence still ranked top-20 in pass-rush win rate in 2025, but will look to rebound in Cincinnati, and help the Bengals’ defense rise from the bottom of the rankings and make the playoffs. – E.G.
3. Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Williams has been one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL for several years, earning four consecutive Pro Bowl nods. It’s not hard to see why the Cowboys gave up a haul to acquire him from the Jets at last year’s trade deadline. Williams is a major disruptor in the trenches, even if he’s not racking up big sack numbers like he did in 2022, when he boasted a career-high 12 sacks.
Last year, he ranked seventh among interior defenders with 51 pressures. He’s also elite at beating double teams. No interior defender has more pressures off double teams over the past five years than Williams (73), per Next Gen Stats. He’s effective at making plays in the backfield, too. Williams has had double-digit tackles for loss in four of the past six seasons, including 10 in 15 games in ’25. – Karl Rasmussen
2. Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles
Carter is a nightmare for opposing offenses, thanks to his remarkably quick first step. He’s able to disrupt plays regularly because of his combination of speed and power, which often forces the offensive line to put two bodies in front of him. That, in turn, opens up pass-rushing avenues for his teammates in the trenches.
Carter can do it all on the line. His ability to quickly get through the offensive line forces quarterbacks to hurry their throws or adjust their throwing angles, and he’s recorded 13 pass defenses over the past two seasons, as well as 7.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 28 quarterback hits. – K.R.
1. Jeffrey Simmons, Tennessee Titans
The 2025 season might have been a down year for the Titans, but it certainly wasn’t for Simmons, who earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career.
Jeffery Simmons during the 2025 season (DT ranks), per @NextGenStats…
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) January 9, 2026
🔹11.0 sacks (1st)
🔹60 pressures (1st)
🔹13.9 pressure rate (1st)
🔹18 pressures after double team (1st)
🔹5 turnovers caused by pressure (1st)
🔹7.5 sacks on 3rd down (1st)@Titans | #TitanUp https://t.co/EMVQMc0sFZ
Simmons was phenomenal in ’25. According to NFL Researcher, Simmons ranked first among defensive tackles in sacks, pressures, pressures against double teams and turnovers caused by pressures. He finished second among defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, trailing only Chris Jones. To put it simply, Simmons was dominant rushing the passer in 2025. Accordingly, the Titans have recently signed him to a three-year extension that makes him the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league.
Simmons will look to build off his career year in his first season in Robert Saleh’s defense. – E.G.
