When it comes to winning a football game on the defensive end, the goal of every coach and coordinator is to disrupt the offense as often and as violently as possible. That can be accomplished by just about anybody on the field, but the defensive line arguably makes the most impact. They have large responsibilities in both the run game and the pass game. The AFC East has defensive linemen in spades, but where do they rank amongst one another? Let’s find out in this edition of the LWOS “Best Of” series!
The Best AFC East Defensive Linemen for 2026
5. Jowon Briggs, New York Jets
The first entrant on the top AFC East defensive linemen list is one that most NFL fans may not be well acquainted with. Jowon Briggs was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Jets before the 2025 season as GM Darren Mougey looked to fill out the roster. Luckily for him, Briggs has done much more than just be filler. He put together a pretty good season in 2025, posting 38 pressures and 4 sacks. Briggs’ most important statistic was his 15.3% pass rush win rate, though, as this was 6th in the NFL at his position.
Briggs’ odds to climb this list next year are high, given the Jets leveled up the floor of their defense in the offseason. He is also only 25 years old, so youth is on his side as well. He sits in the 5th spot due to having only one good season under his belt, and isn’t a great run defender. His growth will certainly be one to monitor.
4. T’Vondre Sweat, New York Jets
The next entrant on the AFC East DL rankings is another Jet. This time, though, it’s the big man in the middle, T’Vondre Sweat. The Jets acquired Sweat in a trade with the Tennessee Titans earlier this offseason in an effort to make him their new defensive anchor in the post-Quinnen Williams era. There is a lot to like with T’Vondre Sweat. He is an absolute mammoth of a human, standing at 6’4″ and weighing 362 pounds. The raw statistics don’t tell the whole story (4 sacks, 45 pressures, 52 tackles), but he moves differently and is already one of the best space eaters in the league due to his size.
T'Vondre Sweat had a sack in his first game back for the Titans. Great display of the crazy quickness for a player listed at 360+ pounds. pic.twitter.com/rL87alKP0J
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 22, 2025
The rest of the entrants on this AFC East DL list have been doing it at a high level for a long time, so Sweat can’t be higher than 4th, but he has a high ceiling. Now under the tutelage of elite defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, Sweat could get to that next level as soon as 2026. Watch out for the young duo of him and Briggs in New York.
3. Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills
The first, and only, Bill on these AFC East DL rankings is none other than former first-rounder Ed Oliver. Oliver has been very good for quite a while now as a core part of the now perennial contenders. He has 35 career sacks and 250 career pressures as well as 106 “stops” (tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense) in the run game. His best season came in 2023 when he had 11 sacks, but he hasn’t quite built on it. A large part of that has to do with him missing almost all of last season due to injury.
Oliver is still very much the top dog on the Buffalo DL. The next best man up is former Kentucky Wildcat and now second-year man Deone Walker. Ed Oliver will have plenty of opportunities to rise into the next echelon of play in this league after a bounce-back 2026. For now, though, he sits at #3 among the AFC East DL.
2. Zach Sieler, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins make their debut on the AFC East defensive linemen rankings with Zach Sieler. Following the roster gutting of this team in 2026, Sieler is one of the few bright spots left on this Dolphins team. Sieler has been pretty underrated across the last four seasons. During that period, he has posted 174 pressures and 32 sacks. He is also a stout run defender, having posted 86 “stops” in the run game. One must wonder if a change of scenery may be in his future if this Dolphins team struggles in the midst of their rebuild. Although he has stated that he wants to retire as a Dolphin.
Zach Sieler barely beat out Ed Oliver for the 2nd spot on this list due to his aforementioned stoutness in run defense. He’s not quite in that next tier of guys that #1 is a part of, but he could very well rise to that in 2026. He’ll look to become a true alpha with little competition around him this season, the most relevant guy being former first-rounder Kenneth Grant. However, the domino could very well fall the other way, as the lack of talent around him could impact his play.
1. Milton Williams, New England Patriots
Finally, the top spot on the AFC East defensive linemen rankings goes to none other than Milton Williams. Williams, among others, was a catalyst for the Patriots’ reentry into NFL relevancy in 2025. The Patriots gave him a large contract in free agency preceding last season, and he has more than lived up to the dollar amount. Williams had a solid regular season, one held back due to injury, as he registered 4 sacks, 36 pressures, a pass rush win rate of 12.1%, and 10 “stops” in the run game.
He then rose greatly in the playoffs. Williams had 3 sacks and 23 pressures en route to a second straight Super Bowl appearance. The first being with the Eagles in 2024. Wherever Milton Williams goes, winning seems to follow.
Milton Williams – worth the money pic.twitter.com/nOttvitglX
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) September 15, 2025
Being a dominant force and creating a winning environment is ultimately what pushed Williams to the top spot on this list. The scariest part of it all is that he is still only 27 years old and hasn’t had that truly elite season yet that many know he is capable of. The #1 spot lands in New England, and all signs point to it staying there for the foreseeable future.
