The 2025 fantasy football season is starting to ramp up during the NFL offseason. Training camps will soon open for all teams as fantasy managers continue to prepare for their drafts. Ananlyzing the values and outlook of all avaibale players is important in determining who to target during the draft.
For those playing in IDP leagues, additional research will be required during draft preparations. Unlike traditional leagues that allow managers to use an enitre NF team’s defensive unit, this format requires individual defenders in starting lineups each week.
Defensive lineman can be tricky when assessing fantasy football value because most of them rely heavily on sacks for their weekly output. Most players in this position don’t accumulate a ton of tackles, so the best strategy is usually targeting those options who can generate sacks on a consistent basis.
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Maxx Crosby top the DL rankings for 2025 fantasy football drafts. He has been consistently reliable as an edge rusher and led the entire NFL in total pressures last year. This gives him more opportunities to score fantasy points, but he is closely followed by the elite trio of Micah Parsons, TJ Watt, and Myles Garrett.
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One player to keep a close eye on this year is Aidan Hutchinson as he returns from a devstating season-ending injury in his most recent campaign. He has already demonstrated the upside to potnetially finish as the DL1, but his injury does add more risk than he would usually have.
Another intersting option for the 2025 fantasy football season is rookie Abdul Carter, who enters his first year with massive expectations. All rookies carry significant risk due to the unknowns of their general outlook, but it’s rare for one in this position to have as much upside as Carter. He cracks the top ten defensive lineman for this year’s pre-draft rankings, so here’s where he and the rest of the field currently land.
DL rankings for 2025 fantasy football
- Maxx Crosby
- Micah Parsons
- TJ Watt
- Myles Garrett
- Aidan Hutchinson
- Nick Bosa
- Trey Hendrickson
- Will Anderson Jr.
- Abdul Carter
- Khalil Mack
- Josh Hines-Allen
- Brian Burns
- Danielle Hunter
- Jared Verse
- Nik Bonitto
- Alex Highsmith
- Andrew Van Ginkel
- Travon Walker
- Greg Rousseau
- Montez Sweat
- Jonathan Greenard
- Nolan Smith Jr.
- George Karlaftis III
- Josh Sweat
- DeForest Buckner
- Harold Landry III
- Laiatu Latu
- Chris Jones
- Jonathan Cooper
- Dexter Lawrence II
- Jermaine Johnson
- Tuli Tuipulotu
- Joey Bosa
- Will McDonald IV
- Boye Mafe
- Carl Granderson
- Jalen Carter
- Byron Young
- Jeffery Simmons
- James Pearce Jr.
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Edited by Adam Hulse
