Sports
Fantasy Football DST Draft Rankings
Updated fantasy football DST draft rankings for NFL team defenses as of August 31, 2025. Pick the right fantasy defenses with our DST rankings for all teams.
Fantasy football draft season is in the home stretch, with only a few more days to draft before Thursday’s kickoff. We have updated all of our rankings almost daily, and below you’ll see our team’s updated fantasy football defense (DST) draft rankings to help you crush your drafts. Some fantasy managers wait until the last few rounds before selecting their starting defense and play the streaming game — so if that’s your strategy, be sure to also check our Week 1 defense streamers article as well.
Earlier this week, the Cowboys stunningly traded star defensive lineman Micah Parsons to the Packers. What sort of implications will that have for fantasy managers? Find out where the Packers ranks (post Parsons trade), and other key defenses such as the 49ers, Lions, Chargers, Seahawks, and Jets.
These updated DST fantasy football rankings are from Nick Mariano, RotoBaller’s lead NFL analyst, and will help guide you through 2025 drafts when it’s time to grab your team defense. You’ll also see relevant DEF fantasy football news and DEF outlooks for certain key defenses below. Good luck with your drafts RotoBallers, and let’s get to it!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:
Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings
| DST Tier |
DST Rank |
DST Name | Pos. |
| 1 | 1 | Denver Broncos DST | DST |
| 1 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers DST | DST |
| 1 | 3 | Philadelphia Eagles DST | DST |
| 1 | 4 | Baltimore Ravens DST | DST |
| 2 | 5 | San Francisco 49ers DST | DST |
| 2 | 6 | Minnesota Vikings DST | DST |
| 3 | 7 | Buffalo Bills DST | DST |
| 3 | 8 | Kansas City Chiefs DST | DST |
| 3 | 9 | Green Bay Packers DST | DST |
| 3 | 10 | Houston Texans DST | DST |
| 4 | 11 | Arizona Cardinals DST | DST |
| 4 | 12 | Los Angeles Chargers DST | DST |
| 4 | 13 | Detroit Lions DST | DST |
| 4 | 14 | New York Giants DST | DST |
| 5 | 15 | Seattle Seahawks DST | DST |
| 5 | 16 | New York Jets DST | DST |
| 5 | 17 | Cleveland Browns DST | DST |
| 5 | 18 | Los Angeles Rams DST | DST |
| 5 | 19 | New England Patriots DST | DST |
| 5 | 20 | Chicago Bears DST | DST |
| 6 | 21 | Indianapolis Colts DST | DST |
| 6 | 22 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers DST | DST |
| 6 | 23 | Atlanta Falcons DST | DST |
| 6 | 24 | Washington Commanders DST | DST |
| 6 | 25 | Dallas Cowboys DST | DST |
| 7 | 26 | Las Vegas Raiders DST | DST |
| 7 | 27 | Carolina Panthers DST | DST |
| 7 | 28 | Jacksonville Jaguars DST | DST |
| 7 | 29 | Cincinnati Bengals DST | DST |
| 8 | 30 | New Orleans Saints DST | DST |
| 8 | 31 | Miami Dolphins DST | DST |
| 8 | 32 | Tennessee Titans DST | DST |
- Jared Verse a Defensive Player of the Year Candidate
- Saints Excited About Kool-Aid McKinistry
- Derrick Brown Should Continue to be a Force for The Panthers’ Defense
- Micah Parsons’ Status for Week 1 Unclear
- Patriots Release Jabril Peppers
- Bills Not Ruling Out Tre’Davious White for Week 1
- Jaguars Not Tipping Hand on Travis Hunter‘s Usage
- Christian Gonzalez Still Not Practicing
- Kenny Clark Heading to Dallas
Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams
Per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, one rival NFL executive predicts that Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse will be the league’s best defensive player in 2025. Verse already won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 by totaling 66 tackles (36 solo), 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 18 QB hits, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 17 regular-season games (16 starts) last year, and he was more disruptive than his 4.5 sacks suggest.
The 24-year-old former 19th overall pick out of Florida State appears to be the real deal for a young and emerging Rams defense that was awfully close to knocking out the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs last year. If Verse stays healthy, he should easily be able to top the 4.5 sacks he accrued in a very successful rookie campaign.
Kool-Aid McKinstry, New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are excited about second-year cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. McKinstry showed up to training camp in terrific shape and has “shown strong ball skills, instincts, and toughness.” The former second-rounder out of Alabama could become the team’s next stud cornerback after both Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo have left town.
In his first taste of the NFL last year, the 27-year-old defensive back had 42 tackles (32 solo) and six pass breakups in 15 games (nine starts) in the Big Easy as a starter. It wasn’t a bad showing for a rookie cornerback that was forced into a starting role, and it sounds as though McKinstry is ready to take the next step in Year 2 for a Saints team that isn’t expected to do much under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. Takeways have never been a part of McKinstry’s game, though, making him avoidable in IDP formats.
Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown continued to impress during training camp this summer and “should be a force” again in 2025, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Brown has been a high-impact player for years now, and there doesn’t appear to be a drop-off in sight for the former seventh overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Auburn.
The 27-year-old was a first-time Pro Bowler and one of the top D-linemen in the league in 2023, when he had a career-high 103 tackles (57 solo), two sacks, seven tackles for loss, 15 QB hits, an interception, and six pass breakups in 17 starts. However, he tore his MCL in Week 1 of last year, leading many to wonder if he can regain his form for Carolina in 2025. By all accounts, Brown is fully healthy, and the Panthers’ defense is going to need him if they are going to make any noise in the NFC South.
Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
Per Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, he and the team are hopeful that edge rusher Micah Parsons can play “at least a little” in their Week 1 matchup with the visiting Detroit Lions. Gutekunst also noted that it’s on the Packers to “be smart” with the 26-year-old. The Penn State product underwent his physical on Friday.
Whether Gutekunst’s comments are regarding Parsons’ unfamiliarity with the team or the minor back issue he’s been dealing with this offseason is uncertain. The latter hasn’t been deemed serious, but with their home opener just over a week away, there isn’t much time for any lingering issues to heal. Fantasy managers can likely expect him to be a full go by Week 2 at the latest. In the meantime, his status is worth monitoring.
Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter will play both ways in 2025, but the team is unwilling to tip its hand on how often he’ll line up on either side of the ball. Speaking with the media on Wednesday, first-year general manager James Gladstone said, “There’s a competitive advantage to not knowing what side of the ball he’s going to be deployed on fully. If that’s half, if that’s a mixture … all those sorts of things can vary from one week to the next.”
That could be a bit frustrating for fantasy managers, who are holding out hope that Hunter will play a significant role on offense and produce big numbers as the team’s WR2 opposite Brian Thomas Jr. Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall pick, dealt with an upper-body injury earlier this month and only played in one preseason game. He returned to practice on Wednesday and is “rolling full speed” heading into the Jags’ regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 7, according to Gladstone.
Kenny Clark, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks on Thursday from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. It’s unclear yet if the Cowboys acquired any other players in this blockbuster deal. Clark is no Parsons, but he was a former first-rounder himself (27th overall) in 2016 out of UCLA and has made three Pro Bowls in his first nine NFL seasons.
In 140 games (126 starts) for the Packers, Clark has recorded 35 sacks, 417 tackles (236 solo), 51 tackles for loss, 76 QB hits, 12 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries. He had just one sack in 17 regular-season starts in 2024, but Clark will certainly be a boost to Dallas’ interior defensive line going forward. Clark had a career-high 7.5 sacks in 17 starts in 2023.
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Sports
Volleyball Closes Season Against No. 1 Kentucky in NCAA Tournament
LEXINGTON, KY. – The Wofford volleyball team was defeated by the No. 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats 3-0 on Thursday night inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers close the season 17-14 with a 10-6 record in conference action. Kentucky will take on UCLA tomorrow night.
“Our mindset was to come out and leave it out there,” said head coach Lynze Roos. “I feel like we competed in some really good points. They got some separation and that was tough, but I’m really proud of the way that these women competed in the season that we had.”
Wofford totaled 27 kills on 26 assists throughout the match. On defense, the team posted 54 digs and four blocks. The Wildcats finished the match with 45 kills on 44 assists. Kentucky also posted 56 digs and four blocks.
Leading Wofford was Bradley Brown who had 10 kills on a .259 hitting percentage. Brown also led the team with three blocks. Following behind was Chloe Smith with six kills. Maddy Frazier dished out a team-high 13 assists, while Taylor Pecht had 10. Laney Klika recorded a team-high 13 digs, along with 10 from Caroline Przystup. Annemarie Rakoski and Natalie Arnold tallied one block apiece.
“We talk a lot about playing relentless defense and going for every single ball. We knew that tonight was going to be a tough task, but you never really know unless you go for it,” said Laney Klika.
“We talked a lot before the game about playing how we play and not letting their offense or defense change the way that we like to play,” added Annemarie Rakoski.
“It was amazing just to be able to have some family and friends that I don’t get to see very much anymore come watch me play. It was super cool to just have that support,” said Chloe Smith.
Kentucky grabbed the first two points of set one, but Wofford responded with a solo block by Annemarie Rakoski. Another solo block from Bradley Brown kept the Kentucky lead within one point. With the Wildcats leading 13-8, Kentucky would add four unanswered points to bring the Wofford deficit to nine points. The Terriers could not overcome the Kentucky lead, losing set one 25-11.
The teams were back-and-forth to start set two, as the Terriers would take an early 5-4 lead. Wofford took its biggest advantage – a 15-13 lead – after a pair of Kentucky attacking errors. The Wildcats fought back to take a 20-19 lead, and the team scored the final five points of the stanza to take set two 25-19. Bradley Brown totaled eight kills and one block in the second set alone.
Wofford jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the third set of the match by way of a Bradley Brown kill. Kentucky responded with a 7-1 run, however, to regain the lead. The Wildcats would eventually take a 13-4 advantage. Wofford cut the deficit to six points a few rallies later, but the team would lose set three and ultimately the match.
Wofford concludes the season 17-14 with a 10-6 mark in Southern Conference play. The team entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated both No. 6 Samford and No. 2 Furman to reach the championship match. The Terriers took down No. 1 ETSU to win their third-straight conference championship and earn another bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Sports
Demon Deacons Open Season at Liberty Kickoff
Junior Seren Rodgers secured a third place finish in the pentathlon, totaling 3,771 points. With the result, the Taunton, England, native now sits sixth all-time in program history in the women’s indoor pentathlon.
Overall, Rodgers recorded three podium finishes during the competition, including a pair of runner up results in the long jump, where she recorded a jump of 10.32 meters, and the 800m, crossing the line in 2:19.62. Rodgers also claimed third place in the 60m hurdles after clocking a time of 8.86 seconds.
Meanwhile, freshman Julia Aere also competed in the pentathlon, securing eighth place with 3,462 points in her collegiate debut. The Delray Beach, Fla., native placed inside the top-10 in all five events, highlighted by a third place finish in the shot put after recording a distance of 11.13 meters, as well as a fifth place result in the 800m after recording a time of 2:27.34.
Notable Finishes
Pentathlon
2025-26 Indoor Track and Field Top-10 Marks in School History
From the Staff
“I’m really pleased with how the competition progressed today. Julia and Seren competed well and this meet was a great measure of how hard we have worked throughout the fall semester. It gave us a chance to get out, perform at a high level and still recognize that we left some points on the table, which is exciting. We are in a great place heading into the holiday break and this will keep us motivated and hungry. These two ladies set the tone early for the team and we are eager for the rest of the team to compete this weekend.” – Assistant Coach Ryan Grinnell
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return to action on Saturday with a pair of meets. One group of Wake Forest athletes will travel to Boston to compete in the 5K race at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Meanwhile, several Deacs will compete at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off at the JDL Fast Track.
Sports
Lopes unveil 2025-26 indoor slate
After the Lopes dominant WAC indoor run of 14 conference titles between the men’s and women’s teams, GCU will compete in its first season as a Mountain West member.
Grand Canyon’s indoor schedule will feature meets in trips to Flagstaff, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Reno, Nevada.
“Again, we are really excited about our indoor schedule,” Flood said. “We will again be competing at some of the finest indoor facilities in the country and against some of the best track and field programs in the country.”
The 2025-26 season begins Thursday as the Lopes travel to Reno, Nevada, before taking a break until the new year. From there, they will travel to Flagstaff and Albuquerque before heading back to Reno for the Mountain West Indoor Championships.
GCU aims to represent at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For the full indoor schedule, click here.
Sports
Men’s and Women’s Track and Field 2026 Season Preview
A new era in Hope College track and field begins today with the first indoor meet of the 2026 season.
Beginning at noon, the Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen are competing at the Grand Valley State University Holiday Open under the leadership of first-year head coach Jordan Bartolazzi, the 11th women’s head coach in program history and the 13th men’s coach.
Bartolazzi, who built his alma mater, Elmhurst University (Illinois), into a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin power before coming to Hope, is thrilled with the progress both teams made during preseason workouts.
“There was a lot of good stuff going on here to build on,” Bartolazzi said. “Our focus, with every practice, has been preparing to compete, whether we’re an All-American or trying to crack the conference lineup. We have a lot of student-athletes working really hard. We’ve been having a ball. There has been really good energy. I think it’s been a good start for us.”
The Flying Dutch, who finished third in the MIAA Women’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll, feature a roster of 73, with 17 seniors, 17 juniors, 14 sophomores and 25 freshmen.
The Flying Dutchmen, who also tookl thjird in the MIAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll, have a roster of 64, with 18 seniors, nine juniors, 17 sophomores and 20 freshmen.
Coaching Staff
Head coach: Jordan Bartolazzi, first season
Distance coach: Mark Northuis
Distance assistant coaches: Dan Campbell, Mike Northuis
Throws coach: Paul Markel
Jumps coach: Addy Gerig
Pole vault coaches: Jon Lunderberg, Ben Turner
Women’s Roster
Senior Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) is Hope’s top returner after claiming All-America honors in four events for the second consecutive season in 2025: indoor and outdoor 200 meters and indoor and outdoor 400 meters.
The exercise science major swept MIAA Most Valuable Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete honors as a junior and earned MIAA Most Valuable Indoor Track Athlete accolades in back-to-back seasons. She became the first sprinter in league history to win titles in the 60, 200 and 400 at the same meet.
Schermerhorn set MIAA records in the indoor 200 and 400 meters last season. She also ran on the MIAA champion 4×400 relay, which returns two other sprinters: senior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire / Saint Johnsbury Academy) and sophomore Sofia Fisher (Lombard, Illinois / Montini Catholic).
Hope returns three runners from the MIAA champion distance medley relay: senior Molly Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South), junior Amanda Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / William Fremd) and sophomore Lily Sackrider (St. Johns, Michigan / St. Johns).
Durow is coming off an All-America cross country campaign this fall. The special education major finished 32nd at the Division III national championships and was runner-up at the Great Lakes Regional and MIAA Championships.
“We have great leadership,” Bartolazzi said. “Not only do we have some great upperclassmen, but we have some really wonderful seniors who have made an effort to welcome our freshmen and newcomers to the program. It’s a gift to have great senior leadership in year one.”
Men’s Roster
Hope returns senior sprinter Liam Danitz, the 2025 First Team All-MIAA honoree and MIAA Most Valuable Men’s Indoor Track Athlete.
Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) set an MIAA record in the 200-meter dash (21.59), earned First Team All-America honors with a fifth-place national finish in the 200 (21.93), and took second in the 60-meter dash (6.83) for All-MIAA Second Team honors.
The exercise science major also contributed to an All-MIAA Second Team 4×400 relay alongside returning junior Dylan Terpstra (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville).
Senior Erickson Kunzler (Marne, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) returns as the MIAA 800-meter champion after posting a winning time of 1:56.09.
Senior Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) and junior Carter Dean (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) also return from last year’s All-MIAA First Team distance medley relay.
Cole recorded Hope’s top cross country finish at nationals this fall. The Flying Dutchmen placed 23rd in the nation as a team and made history with their first Great Lakes Regional title since 1980 and first MIAA crown since 1986.
Sophomore Logan Begeman (Portage, Michigan / Portage Central) ran away with the Great Lakes Regional and MIAA individual championships.
“They’re hungry,” Bartolazzi said of the Flying Dutchmen. “Having that breakthrough season in cross country is such a gift. They felt like they were close and believed they could compete at the conference and national levels. They showed they could. That carries over to the track season.”
Schedule
The Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen are scheduled to compete in 10 indoor meets and eight outdoor meets.
The MIAA Indoor Championships are Saturday, Feb. 28, at Trine University.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are Friday-Saturday, March 13-14, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Hope will host the MIAA Outdoor Championships on Friday-Saturday, April 30-May 1, at Brewer Track.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships are Thursday-Saturday, May 21-23, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
“One thing I wanted to do this year was get our student-athletes on banked tracks a little more,” Bartolazzi said. “Nationals will be on a banked track, so I want them to know what that feels like. It’s a great thing in West Michigan — you don’t have to go far to race against really good people.”
Sports
Mustangs Open Track and Field Season This Weekend
Blue-Gold Invite
Loftus Sports Center – South Bend, Indiana
Friday, December 5, 2025
Live Results
McFerrin-12 Degree Invite
Fasken Indoor Track – College Station, Texas
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Live Results | Watch
Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener
BU Track & Tennis Center – Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Live Results | Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App Apple | Google Play
DALLAS, Texas (SMU) — The Mustangs will open up their 2025-2026 track and field season across three different meets this weekend. The distance ponies will split between Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Invite and Boston University’s Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener. The rest of the team will travel to Texas A&M’s McFerrin-12 Degree Invite.
This meet will serve as a soft opener for the Mustangs with the remainder of the season beginning in mid-January. The distance athletes are coming off a successful cross country season, which concluded with an appearance at the national championship for Rose Mburu, but this will be the first competition for the sprints, jumps, and multis after fall training.
The action will begin on Friday at Notre Dame and continue at the other two meets on Saturday.
Sports
Sooners Set to Host OU Winter Field Fest Season Opener
The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and will include a combination of field and sprint events.
Admission is free to fans. Live results from the OU Winter Field Fest can be found via TimingInc.
The Sooners are coming off their first season in the SEC, where they claimed seven individual conference titles.
OU Winter Field Fest Schedule of Events
Triple Jump (M) – 1:30 p.m.
Weight Throw (M) – 1:30 p.m.
High Jump (W) – 2:30 p.m.
Triple Jump (W) – 3 p.m.
Pole Vault (W) – 3 p.m.
Weight Throw (W) – 3 p.m.
60M Hurdles Prelims (W) – 3 p.m.
60M Hurdles Prelims (M) – 3:15 p.m.
60M Dash Prelims (W) – 3:30 p.m.
60M Dash Prelims (M) – 3:45 p.m.
Long Jump (M) – 4:30 p.m.
Shot Put (M) – 4:30 p.m.
60M Hurdles Finals (W) – 4:30 p.m.
60M Hurdles Finals (M) – 4:40 p.m.
60M Dash Finals (W) – 4:50 p.m.
60M Dash Finals (M) – 5 p.m.
Pole Vault (M) – 5:30 p.m.
Long Jump (W) – 6 p.m.
High Jump (M) – 6 p.m.
Shot Put (W) – 6 p.m.
For more information on Oklahoma Track & Field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.
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