Dexter Lawrence has reached a new milestone in his career with the New York Giants. The defensive lineman was ranked No. 17 on “The NFL Top 100 Players of 2025,” making him the highest-ranked Giants defender ever on the list, which started in 2011. The rankings are determined by votes from current NFL players.
Lawrence, who is coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection, surpassed former Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s previous high mark of No. 24 in 2012. Pierre-Paul had achieved that ranking after helping lead the team to a Super Bowl XLVI victory with 16.5 sacks, which remains one of the top single-season performances in franchise history.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continues to hold the record for the highest overall ranking by a Giant, reaching No. 8 in 2017.
This marks Lawrence’s third appearance on the list; he was previously ranked No. 24 last year and No. 28 in 2023.
He is joined this year by wide receiver Malik Nabers, who set a new single-season reception record for the Giants as a rookie and made his debut at No. 67 on the list. This is also the third straight year that multiple Giants players have been included among the Top 100.
Last season, Lawrence led the team with nine sacks despite missing five games due to a dislocated elbow. It was his second time leading all Giants defenders in sacks, having first done so in 2022 with 7.5 sacks.
Since being drafted as the 17th overall pick out of Clemson in 2019, Lawrence has accumulated 30 career sacks, placing him at thirteenth all-time for the franchise. He is close to breaking into the top ten; Jessie Armstead and Erik Howard each have half a sack more than Lawrence’s total, while Carl Banks (36) and Mathias Kiwanuka (38.5) are next up on the leaderboard.
For this year’s countdown, two players are revealed each weekday over ten weeks ahead of the NFL season kickoff, culminating with an announcement of the top ten players on September 1 at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
The history of Giants representation on “The NFL Top 100” includes names such as Brian Burns (No. 55 in 2024), Saquon Barkley (as high as No.16 in previous years), Leonard Williams (No.97 in 2022), James Bradberry (No.74 in 2021), and several others stretching back to when Justin Tuck and Antrel Rolle appeared on inaugural lists.
