RADIO
John's fantasy football D/ST sleepers, sneaky fantasy football team defenses with upside to finish as the overall D/ST1 in 2025. His favorite defenses to draft.
The D/ST roster spot has been eliminated from some fantasy football leagues because, well, it's so tough to predict. While you can trust your best wide receivers and running backs to at least get you a meager 10 points in the worst of their games when they're not injured, not so for defenses.
It's the only position that regularly awards negative points depending on their performance in games. While it's rare for a top-10 RB, WR, or QB to ever get negative points, unless they have a bad play early in the game and get injured and knocked out of the game, negative points performances are pretty run-of-the-mill for D/STs.
While it may seem like drafting a defense that rarely scores negative points might seem like a good thing, you also want one that has week-winning upside. It's tough to find defenses that do both that aren't reached for at least a little bit, and in the middle rounds, it's still important to get non-D/ST or kicker players. So let's break down five dark horse overall top D/ST candidates for 2025!
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Baltimore Ravens D/ST
Yes, I know, the Ravens already have a good defense. But in leagues with typical scoring settings, the Ravens actually tied for 11th in points per game last season. Their pass defense, while it was solid, was gashed by multiple opponents, like the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.
While the Browns offense no longer has gunslinger Jameis Winston, the Bengals are in the same division as the Ravens. Two games against Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Joe Burrow, and co. should be pretty tough. I wouldn't blame you for looking for another D/ST to start those weeks.
I know it's only pre-season, but it's scary to see how good Zach Orr has this Baltimore Ravens defense without getting too tropical or having the 1's in! pic.twitter.com/imS8QctF17
— Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) August 20, 2025
They're a well-coached and talented defense, anchored in the secondary by elite safety Kyle Hamilton. That pass defense also features newly-signed cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), who plays very well when healthy, nickel back Marlon Humphrey, and speedster Nate Wiggins.
Roquan Smith, an elite middle linebacker, has a transformative impact on the defense and is a fantastic run defender. The team also had a good pass-rush last season, racking up 54.0 sacks, good for second-most in the league for any defense. They also added linebacker Mike Green, college football's sack leader, in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Billed primarily as a Pass Rush threat, Mike Green has been utterly disruptive at the point of attack across two pre-season games. On this 4th and 1 against the Cowboys in Wk 2, the Rookie resets the LOS vs the TE, then settles in C Gap to make the stop.#RavensFlock #Ravens pic.twitter.com/1Y99jjLmRj
— All 22 Films (@All_22_NFL_Cuts) August 20, 2025
Green fell in the draft due to legal issues. If he's able to stay out of trouble in the NFL, he could end up as an absolute steal. He's a massively talented athlete and could swing the games against the Bengals in the Ravens' favor, given the struggles Cincinnati has had along the offensive line.
A dominant pass-rush is the most important thing a defense can have to slow down opposing offenses. Pressure on the quarterback is the great equalizer in the big leagues.
Chicago Bears D/ST
After the departure of former head coach Matt Eberflus, who was fired during the 2024 season, the Bears' defense fell off a cliff. Eberflus was, for all his faults, a very good defensive coach. It's no surprise that he was hired quickly to be the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears hired another very good defensive coach to be their DC, though. Dennis Allen, former head coach of the Saints, is now the defensive coordinator for the Bears. Allen's defenses with the Saints were excellent before last season, when the team basically gave up on itself.
#Bears NT Andrew Billings on why he thinks the team will have a top-five defense this season... pic.twitter.com/uaevbrrFeO
— Barroom Net | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork) August 21, 2025
The Bears have plenty of talent on their roster as well. Allen is known for coaching his defensive backs to be physical, which will help throw opposing receivers off their routes. Defensive end Montez Sweat anchors the pass-rush, and the defense as a whole improved markedly after he joined the team.
But their secondary is where their true strength lies. Elite cornerback Jaylon Johnson (leg) should be ready by the team's season opener, where he'll join talented DBs Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard, and Kyler Gordon (hamstring), who is also getting healthy.
This defense produced 28 takeaways in 2023 and 24 in 2024, both good for top-10 in the league. Getting those takeaways is crucial for putting up good fantasy numbers.
New York Jets D/ST
The Jets were another defense that essentially collapsed after their defensive-minded head coach was fired mid-season. And before he was canned, they were one of the best defenses in the league, as they were in 2023. They retain an extremely talented core and now have a new defensive-minded head coach in Aaron Glenn.
Glenn transformed the defense of the Detroit Lions from one of the worst in the league to one of its best during his tenure as their defensive coordinator. His handiwork got him poached quickly after the 2024 season. The Lions' defense started hot in 2024, before being absolutely decimated by injuries.
Aaron Glenn GAME BALL.
NO Edge rushers
NO LB depth
DPOY favorite ejected.Holding the Packers without a touchdown. The Detroit Lions DC is coaching his ass off. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Q1MvA65N7W
— Spencer Raxter (@Spenmorax) November 3, 2024
Glenn's pedigree is undeniable. He flipped the script. As of November 22, 2024, at a time when the Lions' defense had already had many key injuries, the team was allowing just 17.7 points per game. Glenn was hired after a season in which they allowed a whopping 32.4 points per game, the most in the league.
Glenn lowered this to 27.5 PPG in 2021, his first season, followed by 25.1 in 2022, 23.4 in 2023, and just 20.1 in 2024, though that number would have been much lower had the team not had 21 players on injured reserve by the middle of December last year.
The Jets have a ton of talent on defense, with one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Sauce Gardner, anchoring the secondary. Their linebacker and pass-rusher groups are also among the strongest in the league. Expect a big bounce-back from the Jets this season.
San Francisco 49ers D/ST
Some of these might seem like slam-dunk picks, and I get it. But San Francisco finished as the 25th-ranked defense in fantasy points per game last season. Seriously. They're a well-respected group, but the coaching seemed to be severely lacking last season.
They hired their former defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, in the offseason, after he was fired by the New York Jets. It's a huge pickup for the 9ers, who had the talent on defense last season, but weren't able to capitalize. They dealt with a few key injuries as well.
Good play call by 49ers DC Robert Saleh.
Most of rookie LB Nick Martin's troubles last week were reading and reacting. Just go = he can do that. pic.twitter.com/JikOP1dEiY— Chris Wilson (@cgawilson) August 16, 2025
Saleh is one of the most well-respected defensive minds in football. His defenses with the Jets were among the best in the league in many categories from 2022-2023. Saleh's Jets defense finished 10th in the league in fantasy points per game in 2022 and fourth in 2023.
Defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner are two of the best players in the league at their positions. The team also added an elite athletic talent in defensive end Mykel Williams (knee) in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, though he's dealing with an injury that could take some time to recover from.
The defensive leap from Nick Sorensen to Robert Saleh is insane, my god was Sorensen awful
— Smiley (@30GotNext) August 10, 2025
The combination of Saleh and the talent on this roster could help the 9ers have one of the best defenses in the league yet again.
Washington Commanders D/ST
The biggest of the dark horse candidates to have a D/ST1 overall season is perhaps the Commanders. They didn't have a great defense, but they'll have a pretty soft schedule of opponents this season. Two games against the Dallas Cowboys and two against the Philadelphia Eagles won't help, but the other games are smoother sledding.
They've quietly built their roster last offseason, though. Marshon Lattimore, one of the best cornerbacks in the league when healthy, joined the team last season. They also signed longtime veteran Von Miller, who should provide some decent level of play as well as veteran mentorship.
Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn - Creating Team/Staff Alignment with the Culture/Standard
- "People problems sink you well before football problems."
- "You have to say the hard things, but don't say them in a hard way."
- "Confront the issues when they come up, don't wait… pic.twitter.com/QASskxbWl0— James Light (@JamesALight) July 17, 2025
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn brought Washington's defense a long way last season. Their roster definitely lacked talent, though. In the second year of his scheme, the players will likely be more accustomed to the system and play more cohesively as a result.
Even if they don't finish as the D/ST1 overall, they should take another leap this season, especially in fantasy scoring.
