Fantasy Football Player Outlooks for The 2025-26 Season

Rookie defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was the silent star for Green Bay last year, fielding a defense ranked sixth in points allowed, fifth in yardage, fourth in takeaways (31) and t-9th in sacks (45). Only the Broncos and Vikings scored more fantasy points, with the Packers riding their defense to 11 wins amid a disappointing year for QB Jordan Love and the offense. S Xavier McKinney more than lived up to the massive contract he signed last offseason, picking off a pass in each of his first five games (en route to eight INTs overall). Rookie linebacker Edgerin Cooper and veteran edge rusher Rashan Gary also impressed, helping the Packers to overcome injuries and poor play at cornerback. That looks to be the weak spot again in 2025, although they signed CB Nate Hobbs away from the Raiders and finally moved on from injury-prone Jaire Alexander. While a repeat of last year's stellar results is unlikely, the Packers should be good enough to start in fantasy leagues when they have favorable matchups.

The Texans generally played tough defense in 2024, but they weren't good in the red zone and made just one house call on 24 takeaways, ultimately ranking 14th in both real-life points allowed (21.9 per game) and fantasy points scored (7.6 per games). It was a more promising year if one dissects the pieces, with 2022 third overall pick Derek Stingley becoming an elite cover man / a First Team All-Pro, and edge rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter combining for 23 sacks. The team's most important players performed as expected, at least on the defensive side, but their supporting cast was plagued by everything from injuries to suspensions to age-related decline. Houston didn't make any big-money additions on defense this offseason, with the biggest moves being a trade for S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and a one-year contract for LB E.J. Speed. It's enough talent to get by when all three superstars are healthy, but the Texans likely will run into problems if Anderson, Hunter and Stingley combine for a lot of missed games.

The Vikings fell apart down the stretch last year, making it easy to forget how well they played for most of the season. Their defense was arguably the league's best early in the year -- before Philadelphia took that distinction -- and only Denver finished with more D/ST fantasy points. It was the second big step forward in Brian Flores' second season as Vikings defensive coordinator, after he inherited a unit that had been one of the league's worst in 2022. The Vikings quickly remade their defense without many splashy personnel moves, arguably relying on Flores' clever scheming (and league-high blitz rates) more so than high-end talent. They did get excellent seasons in 2024 from edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard as well as CB Byron Murphy, and now they've added DTs Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to make the interior pass rush match the edge threat. It's a formula that should work well for fantasy scoring, even if it also entails a reduction to last year's league-high 38.5 percent blitz rate.

Pittsburgh was fourth among defenses in fantasy scoring last year, with a league-high 33 takeaways making up for an uncharacteristically modest sack total (40, t-16th). OLB T.J. Watt played all 17 games for a second straight year, but he wasn't quite as dominant relative to recent years, with 11.5 sacks and 27 QB hits being his lowest totals in a healthy season since the first two years of his career. Watt is 30, and one of the league's best at his position even when out of his top form, joined up front by Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward, the latter of whom rebounded from a down season in 2023 with a dominant, eight-sack campaign in 2024 at age 35. The Steelers are swapping out Donte Jackson for Darius Slay at cornerback, and they added LB Malik Harrison from the division-rival Ravens (after signing LB Patrick Queen away from Baltimore last offseason). Otherwise, it'll mostly be the same group under veteran defensive coordinator, led by stalwarts Watt, Heyward, Highsmith and S Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Baltimore finished 2023 atop the NFL in points allowed, sacks, takeaways and D/ST fantasy points, vaulting defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to the head coach job in Seattle. Internal promotion Zach Orr looked like a one-and-done midway through the 2024 season, but his defense played much better in the second half of the year to ultimately finish ninth in points allowed and 10th in yardage. The Ravens had 54 sacks, second most, yet were tied for 20th in takeaways (17). They largely opted for continuity this offseason, losing NT Michael Pierce to retirement and LB Malik Harrison to the Steelers while swapping out CB Brandon Stephens for Chidobie Awuzie. Baltimore's biggest additions came during the draft, adding S Malaki Starks at No. 27 and edge rusher Mike Green at No. 59. The Ravens still have veteran standouts in S Kyle Hamilton, CB Marlon Humphrey, LB Roquan Smith and DT Nnamdi Madubuike, but all besides Humphrey took a step back in 2024 after career years in 2023. There's still plenty of talent to field a top defense, especially if the rookies are quick to contribute, but the Ravens don't quite have the same depth they possessed a couple years ago.