-2025 NFL Schedule -Strength of Schedule
MOCK DRAFT
Ask the Commish.Com 2025 Draft Kit
Historically, the Saints offer strong streaming potential late in the season when facing weaker offensive units. When facing turnover-prone quarterbacks, the defense retains the ability to rack up sacks and create defensive scores. The unit tends to struggle when facing elite offenses, making them too risky to start in such weeks. Questions linger about whether the defense can maintain its previous high-water marks as the franchise navigates roster changes with veteran defenders departing. Depending on the specific schedule, early match-ups against highly-rated offenses can make them a poor choice to draft and hold onto straight from Week 1. That said, we do value their late-season upside. We view the Saints D/ST as a match-up-dependent streaming option for fantasy drafts.
The Chargers open the season with incredibly soft match-ups against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. They are heavy home favorites, setting a perfect script for the defense to rack up sacks and turnovers. The defensive front remains fearsome, featuring veterans like Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. They also added Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor in the NFL Draft, bolstering a unit that consistently pressures the quarterback. Anchored by star safety Derwin James, this defense historically limits explosive plays and forces a high rate of interceptions. After the first two games, you will likely need to pivot. The Chargers hit the road in Week 3 to face the Buffalo Bills, which is a highly unfavorable match-up requiring a backup plan. While their core personnel is largely intact, D/ST consistency will hinge on how the players adapt to defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary’s scheme tweaks following the departure of Jesse Minter. The Los Angeles Chargers D/ST is a high-upside, low-end No. 1 fantasy option with an elite early-season schedule.
Here's where patience -- and the recognition of top-flight talent finally pay off. After all, the Jets have been making high selections in the draft for years and are coming off a 2026 draft in which they loaded up on defense. With up to eight new starters on the defensive side of the ball—including highly touted rookies like David Bailey and D'Angelo Ponds—the unit may look different, but it remains a "wait-and-see" fantasy prospect. Historically, the unit has been elite at limiting total yardage but plagued by a chronic inability to generate turnovers and sacks. The defense has struggled in particular in the takeaways department. We like for the Jets to continue to develop into a solid "real-life" defense, and with any improvement at all (which isn't hard to project) in their sack and interception numbers, they could see a dramatic spike.
Anchored by defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ aggressive, high-pressure scheme, the unit is coming off a stellar prior campaign and boasts significant turnover and sack upside, making them a potential draft-and-hold option. Flores' heavily blitz-reliant defense guarantees high sack totals. Last year the Vikings finished among the league leaders in both sacks and pressure rate, putting immense stress on opposing quarterbacks. Minnesota allowed some of the fewest passing yards and points per game in the NFL last year. Even with minor regression expected in some third-down and red-zone metrics, the baseline remains incredibly high. The front office aggressively added more talent to the defensive line and secondary during the off-season, ensuring the play-makers can execute the blitz-heavy system successfully.