Giants' Dexter Lawrence, Jets' Quinnen Williams near top of PFF's interior defenders

The pass rushers for the Giants and Jets made a huge impact for both teams all season long. In fact, four members from both teams performed well enough to land among the top 25 interior defenders for Pro Football Focus.

Leading the way was Dexter Lawrence of the Giants, coming in at number two on the list.

In his first season in Wink Martindale’s defense, the big man put together the best season of his pro career. He was named to his first-career Pro Bowl and was awarded NFL Second-Team All-Pro honors.

The Clemson product has quickly propelled himself up there as one of the very best defensive tackles in the game today. He posted a career-high 7.5 sacks on the season and was consistently wrecking havoc in the backfield.

PFF said about the 25-year-old pass rusher:

There isn’t much that separates Lawrence from [Chris] Jones among the top two spots, and it doesn’t get much closer than the final grades. Lawrence earned the highest run defense grade (81.9) and pass-rush grade (92.4) at the position in what turned out to be a career year across the board for the former Clemson Tiger, significantly out-performing his previous (strong) season marks.

Next up representing the Big Apple is Gang Green stud pass rusher Quinnen Williams.

Williams, who placed right behind Lawrence at No. 3, also put together the best second of his four-year career. He was also named to his first-career Pro Bowl and was named First-Team All-Pro last month by the AP.

He racked up a career-high 12.0 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 28 quarterback hits, while also forcing a fumble.

The Jets already picked up the Alabama product’s fifth-year option for 2023 ($9.5 million), but he has said that he wants to sign a new contract before the Jets’ offseason program begins in April.

About Williams, PFF said this:

While Williams earned the fourth-highest grade at the position, he moves up this final list one spot after only missing one game all year and finishing with the third-most sacks (12) at the position. Williams also posted a slightly higher run-defense grade (77.7) than Aaron Donald (75.6), creating enough of a tie-breaker in the former No. 3 overall pick’s favor.

Big Blue's Leonard Williams (No. 13) and Sheldon Rankins (No. 21) of the Jets also made their way onto the list following solid 2022 seasons.

Alongside Lawrence, Williams had a really solid season for Big Blue. Despite appearing in just 12 games, he recorded 45 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, and 12 quarterback hits.

Rankins bounced back in a big way, posting some of his best numbers since joining the Jets. The former first-round pick is heading into free agency after posting 25 tackles, three sacks, and seven QB hits across 15 games played.