A Beginner’s Guide to Drafting D/STs (2025 Fantasy Football)

Although some leagues have chosen to eliminate them in recent years, the vast majority of fantasy football leagues still feature a lineup slot for a team defense and special teams, otherwise known as a D/ST. Most fantasy leagues include around 10 starting lineup slots, so D/STs account for 10% of each team’s lineup each week. But most managers spend far less than 10% of their time thinking about their D/ST, especially during draft season.

While I’m not going to say you should spend as much time debating your final-round D/ST pick as your first-round running back, there may be an edge to be found by taking a bit of extra time to consider which defense (or multiple defenses) you add to your roster. This article will break down the best way to approach the D/ST position in your fantasy football draft.

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Guide to Drafting Fantasy Football D/STs

Wait Until the End of Your Draft

This article is going to dive into the nitty-gritty of how to choose a fantasy defense, but I want to make one thing clear at the start: In the vast majority of leagues, defenses aren’t worth drafting until the final round (or the second-to-last round if you are also forced to draft a kicker). There are just too many factors working against D/STs to make them worth spending a premium pick on.

For one, scoring among fantasy D/STs is more evenly distributed than it is at other positions. Using FantasyPros’ default scoring settings, here are the average per-game scores of each of the top 20 ranks in D/ST scoring over the last five years:

As you can see, the DST1 scores on average just a few more points per game than the DST12. The DST2 outscores the DST8 by fewer than two points per game. Compared to other positions, where elite starters commonly outscore replacement-level options by gaps of at least five points per game, this isn’t much.

On the other hand, three points per game isn’t nothing. The real issue is that you only get those three points per game by using perfect hindsight to compare the best defensive performer to the worst D/ST starter. In reality, predicting who will be the season-long DST1 is a fool’s game. Injuries, scheme changes, regression and the massive luck inherent in a position where scoring is heavily based on high-variance plays like pick-sixes and return touchdowns make it essentially impossible.

Last year, the top five defenses in fantasy average draft position (ADP) were the 49ers, Ravens, Cowboys, Browns and Jets. Those units finished 25th, 12th, 14th, 27th and 21st in fantasy scoring at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the three teams that finished atop the standings were the Broncos, Vikings and Packers, all of whom had ADPs outside of the top 18 DSTs heading into the season. This was a rough year for defensive predictability, but it’s not a huge outlier, either.

Along with being tough to predict on a season-long basis, D/ST scoring is also incredibly matchup-dependent on a week-to-week basis. Even the most “elite” D/STs should be avoided when facing a top-tier offense, and mediocre or even terrible defenses become startable options when facing struggling offenses. Putting it all together, it’s easy to see why the classic wisdom says to wait to select your defense until the last possible moment.

Consider League Format

The single most important thing to remember for any fantasy draft is to consider your league’s format. This is especially important for D/STs, as different leagues can have vastly different defensive scoring systems. Some reward teams almost entirely based on their points and yards allowed, while others have huge bonuses for sacks, turnovers or even tackles for loss. If your league has particularly unique D/ST scoring settings, I recommend running them through 2025 projections (or calculating how teams scored in 2024) to see if any teams or types of teams stand out.

League format can also play into whether it’s worth considering drafting a defense earlier than usual, or drafting more than one. In very deep leagues with at least 12 teams and 10+ bench slots, managers will sometimes hoard multiple defenses. This can make it much more difficult than usual to fill your D/ST slot each week by simply picking the team with the best matchup from the waiver wire.

Even in the deepest of leagues, I still don’t recommend reaching to draft a defense before your league mates (remember, we are very bad at predicting which defenses will be good fantasy options). But you don’t want to get completely left behind and be stuck with nothing but objectively untalented units to choose from.

Early-Season Schedule is Key

As I keep mentioning, it’s very difficult to predict which defenses will perform well on a season-long basis. With that in mind, one of the best ways to build a shortlist of viable options is by looking at each team’s early-season schedule, especially their Week 1 matchups.

Of course, it’s nearly as hard to predict which offenses will be good matchups as it is to predict which defenses will dominate. But we can still make some guesses, especially by targeting teams with questionable quarterback situations. This season, the Browns, Giants and Saints stand out as teams with question marks all over the offensive side of the ball and no clear NFL-caliber starting quarterbacks. Any defenses with early matchups against those teams deserve a boost in your rankings.

It’s also important to avoid some of the league’s elite offenses. For example, the Ravens’ D/ST currently has the third-highest ADP in fantasy drafts. But they start the season on the road against reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. They do then get a juicy matchup with the Browns, but Week 3 and Week 4 meetings with the Lions and Chiefs aren’t appealing. They’re a talented unit, but Baltimore’s defense probably isn’t worth drafting this season.

As a rule of thumb, it’s not worth holding two defenses in most leagues, especially early in the season when your bench should be loaded with high-upside dart throws. If you know you can’t confidently start a D/ST in Week 1, don’t draft them.

Pressure Makes Diamonds

If you want to increase your odds of hitting on a standout D/ST, my top recommendation is to look for a unit you expect to rack up plenty of pressures. Pressure not only turns into sacks, one of the biggest drivers of consistent fantasy scoring, but it also causes chaos, which can lead to more turnovers and hopefully defensive touchdowns.

In 2024, pressure rate had a 0.53 correlation coefficient with D/ST fantasy scoring. Total pressures have an even higher correlation coefficient of 0.65. This means getting lots of opportunities to rack up pressures is arguably more important than generating pressures at a high rate, so D/STs paired with fast-paced offenses may have an edge.

On a related note, the volume of passing attempts D/STs faced in 2024 was positively correlated with their fantasy scoring, while the volume of rushing attempts faced was negatively correlated. This is driven by the fact that good defenses are more likely to put their opponents behind the chains, forcing them to pass, but the correlation is strong enough that this is likely not its only cause.

This means we want D/STs we can expect to face teams that are forced to pass, otherwise known as D/STs paired with good offenses. This conclusion is supported by the fact that D/ST fantasy points also had positive correlations with their team’s offensive scoring (0.50), yards (0.31), and yards per play (0.27).

Of course, all of this analysis is only helpful if we can predict which D/STs will have high pressure rates, face plenty of passing attempts, and/or be paired with strong offenses. That’s easier said than done. But it’s worth looking for teams that have strong defensive lines and/or aggressive defensive coordinators. Is it a coincidence that last year’s top two teams in D/ST scoring, the Broncos and Vikings, ranked seventh and first in blitz rate under aggressive defensive coordinators in Vance Joseph and Brian Flores? Probably, considering that the Packers finished as the DST3 despite having the league’s second-lowest blitz rate… but maybe not.

Final Thoughts

Fantasy D/ST scoring is hugely random, and it’s only worth attempting a deep dive into the position if you already feel very confident in your takes and strategy at other positions (except kicker, which is somehow even more of a nonsense position). Even if you do take the time to research D/STs, don’t fall in love with a team and feel the need to draft them early; the historical success rate of highly drafted D/STs is abysmal.

Instead, wait until the last few rounds, then prioritize teams with good early-season matchups, keeping in mind that you will almost certainly be looking to the waiver wire for a D/ST at some point in the season, regardless.

Outside of very deep leagues, only draft one D/ST, and don’t be afraid to cut them if they start slow or are heading into a bad matchup. If you are looking to break a tie between two options, prioritize teams that look likely to rack up pressures, whether they boast an elite defensive line, have an aggressive coaching staff or are paired with an explosive offense to put opponents on the back foot.

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Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.