The Dallas Cowboys’ Quinnen Williams has been one of the NFL’s best defensive lineman over the first seven years of his career, with four Pro Bowls and an All-Pro selection.
ESPN recently asked executives, scouts and coaches who the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL were. While he slipped one spot in the rankings from last year, Williams was still a top-10 choice, coming in at No. 6.
The Cowboys acquired Williams from the New York Jets in a midseason trade last year. Williams earned a Pro Bowl nod after finishing the season with 53 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss combined with both teams.
What was the reasoning for Williams’ ranking?
“The Jets will knock you down — the same thing happened to Leonard Williams — but I expect Quinnen to be better in Dallas, be rejuvenated a bit,” an NFL coordinator said.
Williams finished fifth in run stop win rate (43%) among 204 qualified players in 2025. As a pass rusher, his 19 pressures in seven games with Dallas more than doubled his total in eight games with New York (eight) before he was traded. And the Cowboys are hopeful Williams increases his pass-rush profile in 2026. His 2.5 sacks marked his lowest total since his rookie year in 2019.
The top spot in the rankings went to the Seattle Seahawks’ Leonard Williams after an impressive 2025 season with 62 tackles, seven sacks and nine tackles for loss en route to his second straight All-Pro selection.
The entire top 10 list is below:
Leonard Williams, Seattle Seahawks
Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles
Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Dexter Lawrence, Cincinnati Bengals
Zach Allen, Denver Broncos
Milton Williams, New England Patriots
Jordan Davis, Philadelphia Eagles
Cowboys teammate Kenny Clark also received votes in the poll, as did Osa Odighizuwa, whom Dallas traded to San Francisco in the offseason.
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Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.
