Cowboys DT Rankings: The Middle Powers the Defense

Trench Reality in 2025

When you look at defensive tackles, the stats that show if their presence is being felt are pressures, quarterback hits, early-down disruption, and snap volume.

If you watch football very much, you know defensive tackles rarely get clean lanes to rush or go untouched.

Defensive tackles’ value comes in ruining timing, compressing space, and forcing offenses into unfavorable down-and-distance situations.

The Dallas interior defensive line has finally provided a reason to dig deeper.

The League Standard for Interior Impact

Quinnen Williams has been the litmus test for elite interior defensive line play in 2025.

I found that Williams’ 90.5 run-defense grade is 1st among 128 defensive tackles. This means no DT defended the run more efficiently by PFF grading than Williams.

His 48 pressures ranks 8th, and he’s had nine QB hits while adding three sacks.

Quinnen Williams has also been a workhorse, logging 565 defensive snaps, which ranks 33rd among 222 interior defenders.

This is the blend of efficiency and workload a team expects from a superstar.

Cowboys Interior Production That Matters Most

This is where we will talk about Osa Odighizuwa, who has been one of Dallas’ most consistent interior disruptors.

At this point, he has 49 total pressures, ranking 7th among 128 interior defensive tackles.

The one thing I noticed that really made Osa special is his 18 quarterback hits, which ranks 2nd among defensive tackles.

Now if these pressures can be turned into sacks, he has three on the year, this interior defensive line will be a force.

The most telling stat I found is his 617 defensive snaps. A durable interior force that is trusted by the coaching staff.

The Third Disruptor

All fans now that the two defensive linemen talked about above are normally the most talked about, but Kenny Clark deserves his flowers.

He has been the league benchmark for what consistent interior disruption looks like without needing double-digit sacks to prove his value.

Clark currently has 43 pressures, 33 hurries, 18 defensive stops, and three sacks.

Oh, and his usage. He has 665 total defensive snaps, showing the Dallas Cowboys will use all three of their star tackles to disrupt and stop offenses with power from the middle.

The Combined 2025 Interior DT Average

When I average the three-player performance that shows the Cowboys’ interior defensive line production, here’s what it looks like:

• Total Pressures — 140
• Pressures Average Per Game — 9.3
• QB Hits — 32
• QB Hits Average Per Game — 2.1
• Hurries – 98
• Hurries Average Per Game — 6.5
• Stops — 64
• Stops Per Game — 4.2

I can say these numbers aren’t noisy, inflated, or situational. They show a defensive tackle group that influences drives and collapses play timing from the inside often enough to matter.

Now if the rest of the defense helped out, the Dallas Cowboys may have been a playoff team.