2026 Positional Spending Rankings: Defensive Tackles

By
Logan Ulrich
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To help pass the time from now until the start of training camp, we’ll be looking at where every team ranks in positional spending. All the offensive positions are in the book, so now we’re turning our attention to the defensive side of the ball and starting with defensive tackles. There’s been a big boom in spending here in recent years as teams continue to prize players who can affect the opposing quarterback. 

Chris Jones

One note: rather than count dead money toward the positional groups, we will have it ranked separately in a post of its own. For example, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa‘s $55.4 million dead cap hit won’t count toward Miami’s quarterback spending, but it will be included in their league-leading $179 million dead cap figure. 

Here’s how the league’s defensive tackle rooms shake out from most expensive to least expensive: 

Resources:

1 – New England Patriots: $60,461,453

2 – Kansas City Chiefs: $57,451,407

  • Percentage of total cap: 19.07 percent
  • 2025 rank: 15th
  • Top cap hit: Chris Jones, $44,850,000 (14.89 percent)
  • PFF grade: 69.3 (9th)
  • Starters: Jones, Khyiris Tonga
  • Key depth: Peter Woods, Omarr Norman-Lott

3 – Washington Commanders: $54,847,936

4 – Cincinnati Bengals: $53,035,600

5 – Seattle Seahawks: $48,839,920

6 – Baltimore Ravens: $48,759,694

7 – Indianapolis Colts: $46,298,333

8 – Carolina Panthers: $45,400,056

9 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $44,553,227

10 – Dallas Cowboys: $43,455,458

11 – Denver Broncos: $42,026,387

12 – Detroit Lions: $41,112,487

13 – Jacksonville Jaguars: $40,772,819

  • Percentage of total cap: 13.54 percent
  • 2025 rank: 25th
  • Top cap hit: Arik Armstead*, $19,385,294 (6.44 percent)
  • Other notable cap hit: DaVon Hamilton, $12,448,800 (4.13 percent)
  • PFF grade: 59.5 (22nd)
  • Starters: Armstead, Hamilton
  • Key depth: Ruke Orhorhoro, Albert Regis
  • *For some reason, OTC classifies Armstead as an edge rusher instead of an interior DL. Those numbers have been updated to what I believe is more accurate

14 – Green Bay Packers: $33,114,444

15 – Tennessee Titans: $31,497,212

16 – Pittsburgh Steelers: $29,774,879

17 – Chicago Bears: $29,714,911

18 – New Orleans Saints: $27,647,193

19 – Los Angeles Rams: $25,137,392

20 – Arizona Cardinals: $24,433,381

21 – Miami Dolphins: $24,140,731

22 – Buffalo Bills: $23,910,904

23 – Philadelphia Eagles: $22,309,156

24 – New York Giants: $21,975,061

25 – Cleveland Browns: $20,695,548

26 – New York Jets: $20,511,494

27 – Los Angeles Chargers: $20,013,685

28 – Las Vegas Raiders: $18,722,609

29 – Houston Texans: $17,482,764

  • Percentage of total cap: 5.8 percent
  • 2025 rank: 26th
  • Top cap hit: Logan Hall, $4,625,000 (1.54 percent)
  • PFF grade: 73.6 (6th)
  • Starters: Sheldon Rankins, Tommy Togiai
  • Key depth: Hall, Kayden McDonald

30 – San Francisco 49ers: $13,405,584

  • Percentage of total cap: 4.45 percent
  • 2025 rank: 32nd
  • Top cap hit: Osa Odighizuwa, $5,122,000 (1.7 percent)
  • PFF grade: 50.5 (31st)
  • Starters: Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins
  • Key depth: CJ West, Gracen Halton

31 – Minnesota Vikings: $12,428,126

32 – Atlanta Falcons: $11,292,731

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