We kick off the second half of the 2025 NFL season with another 10-game main slate on DraftKings, and this might be the most excited I’ve been over the last month for an NFL DFS main slate. For our NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach, we can’t target the Tennessee Titans offense as they have the week off. But the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys are also off, as well, and the Las Vegas Raiders aren’t on the main slate.

So there are fewer “bad” defenses on the board when considering the skill position players. So with fewer obvious spots available to us, I think it’s a great opportunity to get a little risky with our top NFL DFS picks. Perhaps we see less ownership consolidation to the chalk across the board. Let’s dig into the latest NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach with the final pieces to the puzzle for our NFL DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel!

NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

The NFL DFS Week 9 main slate truly encapsulated how difficult the D/ST position can be sometimes. Last week’s Play of the Week, the Los Angeles Rams, gave up just 10 points and 224 total yards to the New Orleans Saints. It was a great performance, but they only returned nine fantasy points because they had just one sack and two takeaways. This is what we mean when we say this is a position of variance.

By comparison, the Tennessee Titans turned out to be a better play because they had a pick six and a punt return for a touchdown in addition to six sacks. Perhaps we don’t shy away from taking some GPP shots on D/ST’s playing the Los Angeles Chargers, since no quarterback is being hit as much as Justin Herbert, given the state of the Bolts' offensive line. But again, the Bolts are off the main slate in Week 10.

So we get right back to it for the upcoming main slate and try to navigate the variance and find the optimal plays for our NFL DFS Week 10 lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel!

 

 

 

NFL Week 10 Defense/Special Teams

We have another unique slate where there are three games in obvious spots where we can look for a D/ST. Three games in the early window of this 10-game main slate have implied totals under 40 points, and one of the home teams in that matchup is favored by 5.5 points. The remaining seven games on this slate have implied totals of at least 47.5 points, and there are some close games that could be competitive throughout when we look for teams and games to stack.

For most of the season, we’ve had some good weather. We haven’t had too many games impacted by heavy rains or wind. But it’s now November, so the weather is drastically changing. But the coldest air of the fall season is going to sweep over the country this weekend. We don’t need to overreact too much just to cold air. But the ground feels a bit harder in colder air, and tiny little nagging injuries weigh heavier in these conditions, and it can take longer for the human body to warm up. Pace of play could be a bit slower at the start of games in the colder elements. We don’t need to downgrade too many D/ST’s but perhaps we start to recalibrate the thought process going forward when looking at D/ST’s as we head into the colder months of the year.

We have two games in Florida this weekend as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New England Patriots, and then the Miami Dolphins will host the Buffalo Bills. Those two games should avoid the Sunday cold air in the Southeast. There are only two games in controlled environments as the Jacksonville Jaguars will visit the Houston Texans, and the Baltimore Ravens go on the road to play the Minnesota Vikings.

 

 


 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks for Week 10

Buffalo Bills – DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,400

The Bills are one of the biggest favorites on the slate (-9.5), but the Dolphins still have an implied team total of 20.5, which is far from the worst on the slate when we’re considering underdogs. And this game is still in Miami’s backyard, so this isn’t the safest play on the board by any means.

Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t been very good this season. He has 11 interceptions on the season, including seven in his last four games. He ranks 22nd among qualified quarterbacks in EPA/Play (0.01), 30th in turnover-worthy play rate (4.9%), and he’s 27th in average depth of target (6.6).

These two teams met in Week 3 on Thursday Night Football, where the Dolphins still put up 21 points, but they also had Tyreek Hill for that game. We’ll keep an eye on the injury report for Buffalo because there are injuries we should monitor, but this feels like a game the Bills could dominate amidst a nightmare season for the Dolphins.

Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $5,000

The Seattle Seahawks are strictly a GPP-only recommendation this week. If you look at the landscape of the slate, this afternoon window is kind of ugly. There are three games, and this one has the lowest implied total at 44.5 points. There are three games in the early window with lower implied totals. Most DFS players will flock to those games for their D/ST.

But the Seahawks are actually favored by 6.5 points against the Arizona Cardinals. Moreover, the Cards just played on the road in Dallas on Monday Night Football. Now they’re being tasked with another road matchup on a short week in one of the loudest environments in the NFL? That’s a pretty tall order, and they may very well still experience a small hangover from Monday’s big win over the Cowboys.

For DFS, the Seahawks have only returned fewer than eight fantasy points just once this season, which may sound like they are cash game eligible. But I do want to tread carefully, simply because the Cardinals' offense has looked much better with Jacoby Brissett under center. But Seattle’s defense is allowing just 13 points per game in their last three games, and no opposing offense has racked up 300 yards of offense in that sample size.

 

 


 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Picks for Week 10

Cleveland Browns – DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,600

We love a defense that can go on the road and be a favorite in a game with an embarrassingly low total. We don’t need to sugarcoat it, folks, this Browns/Jets game in the Meadowlands on Sunday could be an all-time stinker. But we can at least look to the Browns as a team we consider pairing with Quinshon Judkins at running back.

The Browns are favored by about a field goal, and the Jets have an implied team total of 17.5 points. Normally in a game like this I would be fine playing both D/ST’s but considering the New York Jets traded Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams on Tuesday, I’m out on the Jets for the NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach.

Entering Week 10, the Browns rank 1st in pass rush win rate (55%) and 3rd in sack rate (9.2%). Perhaps they’re in for some regression because they’re only 16th in pressure rate (30.7%), but when you have Myles Garrett on your defense, your whole group is always a threat for sacks. The Jets' offensive line ranks 31st in pass block win rate (54%) and 29th in pressure rate allowed (36.3%), so it’s wheels up for the Browns D/ST in Week 10.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $3,900

I am a Patriots fan, so putting their opponent in this article gives me some pause. But anybody with eyeballs on the Patriots game last week will tell you it was one of the sloppiest games they’ve played all year. It was a tough matchup considering Atlanta’s defense is pretty tough, and the Pats scored just three points in the second half.

Tampa Bay has the luxury of being the home team in this matchup, and in their three games heading into their Bye week, they allowed just over 15 points per game, recorded 15 sacks, and had eight defensive takeaways. We know the Patriots' offensive line is pretty terrible, as Drake Maye has been sacked six times in each of the last two games.

So let’s strictly just use Tampa Bay as a GPP recommendation because the Patriots still have an implied team total of 23 points. But the Bucs have fresh legs ahead of this Week 10 matchup.

 

 


 

NFL Week 10 DFS D/ST Value Picks

Jacksonville Jaguars – DraftKings: $2,600

The Jaguars' defense isn’t very good, but they’re the cheapest D/ST I’m entertaining on DraftKings in Week 10, and I’m still hesitant to play them. The Jaguars are actually pretty tough to run on. On the season, they’re allowing the third-fewest rushing yards per game (86.9), and in their last three games, they’re only surrendering 68.3 yards per game. They rank 11th in defensive EPA/Rush (-0.09) and 3rd in rush success rate (32.9%). The Houston Texans' O-line ranks 30th in run block win rate (68%).

The Jags are slight road favorites in this matchup (-1.5) because C.J. Stroud has been ruled out. Davis Mills will get the start, so the odds have shifted to Jacksonville’s favor, so the Texans have an implied team total of just 18 points. And this is coming a week after they scored 15 points on the back of five field goals from Ka’imi Fairbairn when Mills replaced Stroud. We should keep expectations in check since this might be a better “floor” play because the Jaguars only have three sacks and two takeaways in their last four games. In that span, they’ve also given up 28 points per game. 

Carolina Panthers – FanDuel: $3,600

Don’t look now, but the Carolina Panthers are 5-4 and might end up contending for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Now this is mostly a recommendation for FanDuel because on DraftKings, they’re the third-most expensive D/ST. If you can fit them in, that’s great. But don’t force it if you need some salary relief.

Things are looking up for the Queen City Kitties as the recently cancelled “MeowMix” podcast has reversed their decision to retire the pod. Does un-retiring the podcast flip the script and push the Panthers back into obscurity? Time will tell!

The Panthers host the New Orleans Saints at home on Sunday, and they’re currently 5.5-point favorites, which gives New Orleans an implied team total of just 17 points. Tyler Shough is fresh off his first career start against the Rams. It’s hard to take anything away from it. He completed only 15-of-24 pass attempts for 176 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was also only sacked once.

Are the Panthers a great play? Not really. We like them because of the matchup against a bad offense led by a rookie quarterback that lost one of its best receivers via the Trade Deadline (Rashid Shaheed being dealt to the Seattle Seahawks). The Panthers are dead last in pressure rate (21.4%), 28th in pass rush win rate (31%), and 30th in sack rate (3.5%). But the price tag is nice enough on FanDuel where I’d be comfortable playing them even without an ownership discount. Last week, the Rams scored just 10 points and racked up just 224 yards of offense.

 

 


 

NFL DFS D/ST Fade for Week 10

New York Jets – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,000

I was actually somewhat excited about playing the New York Jets D/ST for Week 10. However, on Tuesday, they went and traded two of their best defensive players, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. This is a team that gave up 27+ points to five of eight opponents prior to their Bye week.

Sure, they’ll be fresh, but even against a bad offense like the Cleveland Browns, I’m not particularly excited about this matchup for New York. Even if the Browns simply take a run-heavy approach, the loss of Williams weighs heavily for a defense that was already allowing 135.8 rushing yards per game (26th in the NFL).

NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Play of the Week

Houston Texans – DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $4,900

The Houston Texans are great at disrupting. They generate pressure at the fifth-highest rate (36.4%) even though they aren’t sending the blitz as much as we’ve seen in previous seasons. They have just five sacks in three games since their Bye week, but they do have seven takeaways.

Only two quarterbacks have thrown for 200+ yards on this secondary, but nobody has thrown for over 230 yards. The Texans are at home, and they are underdogs in this game, but that’s mostly because of the quarterback situation. Houston gets to host Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. The Jags took a beating at the wide receiver position last week and acquired Jakobi Meyers prior to the NFL Trade Deadline. But Trevor Lawrence ranks 24th among qualified quarterbacks in defensive EPA/Play (-0.01) and 29th in completion percentage over expected (-5.0%).

It’s also nice defensively when you have a shutdown cornerback like Derek Stingley that can take away the opposing offense’s best weapon. We’ll keep an eye on injury reports and inactives, but as of Wednesday, Brian Thomas did not practice for Jacksonville, and Dyami Brown was limited.