2025 Fantasy Football: Kickers and Defense

Even though most leagues are going away from this format, kickers, defense, and special teams are still a big part of fantasy football. From return touchdowns to kickers scoring 20 points sometimes, you need to know who to select and when. For most people and myself, I draft my defense in the last round or two, but I’ve seen others grab a kicker by round five. There will be none of those shenanigans in this article, so here are my kickers and defense that you should target for the 2025 NFL season. Remember, you’ll also want to look over your league settings to see where you can target to get every point your team deserves. The scoring system used in this article comes from my models, so I’ll be giving a weekly average along with the team, based on those statistics. Have a great day, everyone, and may the picks be with you.

Kickers

1. Chase McLaughlin, TB: 9.0
2. Jake Bates, DET: 8.8
3. Cameron Dicker, LAC: 8.7
4. Jake Elliott, PHI: 8.7
5. Brandon Aubrey, DAL: 8.6
6. Cam Little, JAX: 8.5
7. Harrison Butker, KC: 8.5
8. Jason Myers, SEA: 8.4
9. Jason Sanders, MIA: 8.4
10.  Cairo Santos, CHI: 8.4
11.  Chris Boswell, PIT: 8.3
12.  Matt Gay, WAS: 8.3
13.  Wil Lutz, NO: 8.3
14.  Tyler Loop, BAL: 8.3
15.  Ka’imi Fairbairn, HOU: 8.2
16.  Tyler Bass, BUF: 8.2
17.  Evan McPherson, CIN: 8.2
18.  Spencer Shrader, IND: 8.1
19.  Brandon McManus, DEN: 8.1
20.  Joshua Karty, LAR: 8.0
21.  Will Reichard, MIN: 7.9
22.  Andy Borregalas, NE: 7.9
23.  Daniel Carlson, LV: 7.7
24. Chad Ryland, ARI: 7.7
25. Blake Grupe, NO: 7.6
26. Younghoe Koo, ATL: 7.6
27. Ryan Fitzgerald, CAR: 7.6
28. Dustin Hopkins, CLE: 7.4
29. Joey Slye, TEN: 7.2
30. Harrison Mevis, NYJ: 7.2
31. Jake Moody, SF: 7.2
32. Jude Mcatamney, NYG: 7.0

Defense and Special Teams

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 14.0 p
2. Denver Broncos: 13.9
3. New England Patriots: 13.5
4. Minnesota Vikings: 13.4
5. Arizona Cardinals: 13.2
6. Washington Commanders: 13.2
7. Chicago Bears: 13.1
8. Cincinnati Bengals: 12.9
9. San Francisco 49ers: 12.9
10.  Houston Texans: 12.8
11.  Jacksonville Jaguars: 12.8
12.  Philadelphia Eagles: 12.4
13.  New York Jets: 12.4
14.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 12.4
15.  Los Angeles Rams: 12.4
16. New York Giants: 12.3
17.  Detroit Lions: 12.3
18.  Miami Dolphins: 12.2
19.  Kansas City Chiefs: 12.1
20.  Dallas Cowboys: 11.8
21.  Indianapolis Colts: 11.7
22.  Las Vegas Raiders: 11.6
23.  Seattle Seahawks: 11.5
24.  Atlanta Falcons: 11.1
25.  Green Bay Packers: 11.1
26.  Cleveland Browns: 11.1
27.  Baltimore Ravens: 11.0
28.  Tennessee Titans: 10.9
29.  Los Angeles Chargers: 10.8
30.  Buffalo Bills: 10.8
31.  Carolina Panthers: 10.7
32.  New Orleans Saints: 10.5