The title of “Best Defensive Tackle in the NFL” is open for the first time in at least seven years, and New York has two viable candidates.
The Giants’ Dexter Lawrence and Jets’ Quinnen Williams are among 10 NFL defensive tackles earning more than $20 million per year — all of whom would like to ascend to the throne vacated by Aaron Donald.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year surprisingly retired from the Rams in March.
So, who’s the best now? Could it be Lawrence, whose 81 quarterback pressures when lined up as a true nose tackle over the last two seasons are five times more than co-runners-up Christian Barmore (Patriots) and Derrick Brown (Panthers), with 16 apiece?
“It could be,” Lawrence said. “I’ve just got to keep working on my weaknesses and getting better with my strengths. A lot of respect to [Donald] for what he brought. There probably won’t be another one of him.”
Or maybe the best now is Williams.
He was anointed before last season to eventually “surpass” Donald by then-teammate John Franklin-Myers, who played on defensive lines with both stars.
Donald finished last season as the No. 2-graded interior defender in the league by Pro Football Focus, sandwiched between Lawrence (No. 1) and Williams (No. 3).
“A guy who did it the right way, he laid the blueprint for every person after him, such as myself,” Williams said. “He helped build the attributes of every D-tackle behind him because every one of us watches film and tries to take tools from him and do the things that he can do — with the ab workouts [at] 285 pounds and different stuff like that.”
Donald changed the way defensive tackles were scouted and deployed — expanding beyond big-bodied run-stuffers to more athletic pass-rushers with a straight line to the quarterback’s face.
When Donald entered the league as the No. 13 pick in the 2014 draft, defensive tackles accounted for only six of the 50 biggest defensive contracts.
That number has increased to 16 in 2024 and it would have been 17 if Donald — who became the NFL’s first $22 million-per-year defensive tackle in 2018 and first $30 million-per-year non-quarterback in 2022 — hadn’t walked away with one year left on his deal.
Pass-rushers get rewarded.
Donald totaled 111 sacks over 10 seasons.
“I can do a lot of good things in pass rush, but I feel like I have a lot of things to work on when it comes down to more moves and different counters,” said Williams, who has 33 career sacks and led all defensive tackles last season with 15 tackles for loss or no gain. “Adding a bigger pass-rush bag was really my main [offseason] focus.”
Lawrence was challenged by Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson to not be satisfied after back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons.
“Coach Dre kind of shifted my mindset a little bit to work on things that I wasn’t good at,” Lawrence said. “That’s the next step in being better. Kudos to him for helping me think about things that I wasn’t necessarily. You go to your natural habits to do what you can do to improve in the game. More tools is what I’m working on — speed rushes, using my hands a little more in my rushes.”
The most likely immediate successor to Donald is the Chiefs’ Chris Jones, a First-Team All-Pro in each of the last two seasons who has 75.5 career sacks and three Super Bowl rings in eight seasons.
He is about to turn 30, however, after signing a five-year, $158.75 million extension earlier this offseason.
Lawrence and Williams, both 26, entered the league together as 2019 first-round picks and both signed four-year extensions in excess of $87 million before the 2023 season.
They are halfway to the length of Donald’s career before he gave in to burnout.
“Look, 10 years is a long time, but, you know, you expect more,” Lawrence said. “But he left the game on top.”
Lawrence has played in two career playoff games.
Williams has played in zero, but envies Donald “going out as a champion” for the Super Bowl ring he won by making a game-sealing play in 2021.
“I’m just focused on winning football games now,” Williams said. “We haven’t had the success we want to have, but … we’re going in the right direction to where we want to be — the playoffs and the Super Bowl.”
