Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks knows the ins and outs of this league, providing keen insight in his notebook. In today's installment, he identifies the best 10 defenders to build around ahead of the 2025 season ...
The ongoing question of what an extension for Micah Parsons might look like is shining a spotlight on the escalating costs of elite defensive players.
Fellow pass rusher Myles Garrett just signed a four-year, $40 million-per-year extension (with $123 million guaranteed) with the Browns that made him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Parsons is entering the final year of his rookie contract as a two-time All-Pro and former Offensive Rookie of the Year with 52.5 sacks, 63 tackles for loss, 112 quarterback hits and nine forced fumbles to his name. He will surely seek -- and deserves -- a deal that rewards him for his accomplishments and dominance as a disruptive force at the point of attack, confirming his status as a franchise player. By locking Parsons up with such a contract, the Cowboys would be committing to build around a 25-year-old four-time Pro Bowler just entering his prime.
Parsons would also join a parade of defenders who have inked hefty new pacts this offseason, including Garrett, pass rusher Danielle Hunter (now receiving $35.6 million per year) and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. ($30 million per year) of the Texans and Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby ($35.5 million per year), who currently all rank among the five highest-paid defensive players in the NFL. Between the rash of paychecks that have been (and still could be) cut and the Parsons saga, I got to thinking: Which defensive players -- drawing from a pool including everyone in the NFL and prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft class -- would I most want to build around now, entering the 2025 season?
Below is my list, ranked from No. 1 to No. 10:
Micah Parsons is the ultimate front-line hybrid force, excelling as an off-ball linebacker and line-of-scrimmage pass rusher in a scheme that allows him to flourish as a "see ball, get ball" defender. A splash-play specialist with a high-revving motor and an elite competitive spirit, the fifth-year pro overwhelms opponents with energy and passion. Throw in his elite skills as a playmaker, and it is hard to find a better stud to build around than Dallas' perennial All-Pro.
Myles Garrett has racked up eight seasons' worth of NFL mileage and will turn 30 in December -- but he remains the kind of disruptive playmaker that defensive coordinators covet in a designated pass rusher. Thanks to his NBA power forward-like athleticism, violent hands and crafty pass-rush moves, Garrett keeps blockers guessing, able to win with power or finesse. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year became the youngest player to reach 100 sacks in NFL history (he has 102.5) in 2024 and has logged 10-plus sacks in seven straight seasons. Befitting the extension that will keep Garrett in Cleveland through 2030, he should be a defensive anchor for years to come.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is a polished technician who leans on an expansive toolbox to blanket receivers utilizing various methods. As the game's premier shutdown corner, Patrick Surtain II eliminates half of the field for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph; he also enables the ultra-aggressive Broncos play-caller to concoct exotic pressure schemes to keep opposing quarterbacks on the run. Though he lacks the flash and pizzazz of some of his counterparts, the fifth-year pro is a rock-solid corner worthy of a spot on this list.
T.J. Watt is an extraordinary playmaker who's racked up 108 career sacks, 126 tackles for loss, 225 quarterback hits and 33 forced fumbles in eight seasons. The four-time All-Pro is a game-changing force on the edge with a knack for knocking the ball loose from quarterbacks in the pocket. Though he is the oldest player on this list, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year has the instincts, awareness and pass-rushing prowess to continue serving as the defense's designated playmaker, with the call sheet constructed to showcase his skills. A big-play generating consistent sack producer, he should be an annual lock to finish as a top-five defender.
Nick Bosa is coming off a disappointing season by his standards, tallying nine sacks in 14 games in 2024. But the five-time Pro Bowler and 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year remains a hot commodity in the NFL scouting community, due to his pass-rushing prowess off the edge. He's totaled 62.5 sacks over 82 games, including 18.5 in 2022, when he won Defensive Player of the Year. As a masterful technician with exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills, Bosa whips blockers with the kinds of arm-overs and two-handed swipes that could serve as teaching tape at an NFL coaching clinic. Given the importance of featuring a "closer" on the front line who can wrap up a game with a key sack or pressure, the veteran's impact potential would be sure to pique the interests of team-builders seeking a blue-chip building block.
The two-time All-Pro has been as good as advertised as a shutdown corner for the Jets. Sauce Gardner immediately made his mark as a sticky man-to-man defender, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, and over the past three seasons, he's collected 40 passes defensed in 48 starts, exhibiting the shadowboxing skills that made him a star at the University of Cincinnati. Even taking into account Gardner's dip in performance and production in 2024, it is hard to ignore the impressive cover skills that the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder frequently shows off when isolated on the island. Considering how Gardner shrinks the strike zone for quarterbacks targeting wideouts outside of the numbers, the Jets’ CB1 is exactly the kind of defensive weapon every play-caller wants in the secondary.
It's challenging to think of a player who sets the tone better with his effort, energy and execution than the recently extended Maxx Crosby. The four-time Pro Bowler outworks and outlasts blockers on the edges with a relentless approach that meshes violence with exceptional technical skill. Yes, his numbers dipped in 2024, when he generated 7.5 sacks (while playing in a career-low 12 games and dealing with ankle trouble) for a defense that featured no one else with more than five. The high points on his résumé -- he has totaled at least 10 sacks three times in his six pro seasons, including 14.5 sacks in 2023, and was the league leader in tackles for loss in 2022 and 2023 -- speak louder. The veteran’s superb production (59.5 career sacks) reflects his dominance as a high-motor pass rusher and unstoppable one-man show for a team that has rarely played with a lead during his career.
Off-ball linebackers are rarely viewed as essential pieces to a championship puzzle, but Roquan Smith is a unicorn, a sideline-to-sideline menace with outstanding instincts, awareness and diagnostic skills. The three-time All-Pro is a tackling machine with underrated pass-rushing skills (21.5 career sacks) as a blitz specialist. He's a disruptive presence on the field and leader of a Ravens defense that strikes fear in the hearts and minds of opponents -- an ideal second-level cornerstone.
Dexter Lawrence has evolved from a run-stopping specialist to a pass-rushing phenom over the past three seasons. The 6-4, 340-pounder has totaled 21 sacks since 2022, exhibiting heavy hands and nimble feet as a destructive force at the point of attack. The three-time Pro Bowler’s dominance in the middle forces opponents to overhaul their game plans to reroute the ball on the ground or through the air. As more teams focus on building elite defenses from the inside out, Lawrence’s value as a disruptive defender at the line of scrimmage continues to skyrocket.
Jalen Carter is the total package as a dominant defensive tackle with an aggressive game. The third-year pro's exceptional first-step quickness and heavy hands put blockers in a bind when they are isolated against the Pro Bowler in crucial moments. Presuming Eagles coordinator Vic Fangio continues exploring ways to unleash the 6-3, 314-pounder as a disruptive playmaker at the point of attack, the football world could quickly begin to view the former first-round draft pick as the premier interior defender in the league -- and the perfect candidate to lead a unit up front.