For the third week in a row, we have another small 10-game NFL DFS main slate as we embark on Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. We have the normal allotment of primetime games on Thursday and Sunday night. But we have another Monday Night Football doubleheader for the fourth time in seven weeks. Fortunately, it looks to be the last one for the year. And we have another NFL London game Sunday morning, while the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are on Bye.

It’s another small slate, which certainly consolidates ownership more than we might like. Even at the D/ST position, it’s likely we saw some chalk emerge with two or three teams collecting 15+% ownership in our NFL DFS contests. But we have you covered from top to bottom with the best plays, so let’s take a look at the NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach! 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

The NFL DFS D/ST Coach last week had some hits and some misses. I don’t take nearly as much pride in Week 6 as I did in Week 5. We did have the Las Vegas Raiders, who returned 16 fantasy points against the Tennessee Titans, and that’s an offense we’ll continue to exploit week after week for our NFL DFS lineups. We also had the Steelers D/ST, which returned double-digit fantasy points for the third straight game.

But we also had the Indianapolis Colts as the Play of the Week, and it just seems like, despite the upside, I can’t get them right when they’re the optimal D/ST. And last week’s Fade of the Week, the Seattle Seahawks, managed to get seven sacks on the Jacksonville Jaguars despite missing significant pieces on defense. So if you loaded up on the Raiders, like a lot of the lineup trains did, then you were probably looking pretty good. But we always aim to do better, and we’ll right the ship with the NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach.

NFL Week 7 Defense/Special Teams

As mentioned at the top of the article, it’s another 10-game main slate. This article is coming out two days early simply because I’m traveling for work this week and just want to get a jump on some of my writing commitments for the week. I will be sure to provide updates based on injury news and betting trends. As of Tuesday morning, half the games on this slate have implied game totals below 44 points. There are some good spots for D/ST’s and we have one game on the slate with a total of over 50 points (Washington and Dallas). We’ll avoid that game when searching for a D/ST.

But elsewhere, we identify five recommendations below for teams in great spots. The value D/ST recommendation is a slight favorite on the road. So while we won’t get an ownership discount with that group, they allow us to spend money elsewhere, and we can find different ways to make our lineups different from the sims. Here are the top defenses and special teams to consider for the NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach!

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks for Week 7

Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,500

The Chiefs present themselves as a pretty nice value on FanDuel. They’re the most expensive D/ST on DraftKings, but the fifth-most expensive option on FanDuel. The Chiefs are coming off a huge win on Sunday Night Football over the Detroit Lions. They navigated their team to a 3-3 record during Rashee Rice’s suspension, and he’s eligible to return this week.

They also enter the 10-game main slate as the biggest favorite on the board. They’ll host the lowly Las Vegas Raiders in a divisional matchup, and the Chiefs are huge 11.5-point favorites as of Tuesday morning. The Raiders enter this matchup with a 17-point implied team total, which is about what they’ve averaged entering Week 7, and the Raiders also rank 29th in offensive EPA/Play.

Geno Smith has strangely been better on the road this year, which nobody was really expecting. But Arrowhead is still a very tough environment to play in, and Smith has 10 interceptions on the season, and he’s thrown multiple picks in half his games this year. This offensive line still isn’t very good, so the Chiefs just need to focus on containing Ashton Jeanty, who has been finding a new gear after a sluggish start.

Denver Broncos – DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $4,300

Similar to the Chiefs, the Broncos are a pretty nice value on FanDuel as the seventh-most expensive D/ST on the board, while on DraftKings, they’re the third-most expensive selection for our NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach. This matchup isn’t as much of a home run as it would be if Russell Wilson were getting the start, but we have some positives we can take away.

The emergence of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo has injected some new life into the New York Giants fanbase. The Giants also enter this matchup with an edge. For starters, they played on Thursday Night Football in Week 6, so they have a few extra days of rest. By comparison, the Broncos had to play in London in Week 6, so they had some lengthy travel getting back home. This isn’t the end-all be-all because playing at Mile High is still an advantage for Denver.

The Broncos have been tough to run on. This year, they’re allowing just 89 rushing yards per game and just 63.3 yards per game over their last three performances. The Broncos also have one of the best pass rushes in the league. They have 30 total sacks through six games, and while nine of those came last week against the New York Jets, they still have four games this year with at least five sacks while giving up just 29 points to opposing offenses over the last three weeks.

There’s obviously excitement with the Giants, but in this matchup, I’m expecting them to have some struggles against the Broncos. If this game were in the Meadowlands, I might feel differently, but we’re getting Denver at home, ready to dish out some humble pie.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Pick for Week 7

Cleveland Browns – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $3,900

This is filler. I’ll be completely honest. It’s a short 10-game slate for the third week in a row. There are 20 teams to choose from, so I want to offer up five D/ST’s for the NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach. The Browns are probably my least favorite team I’m recommending. We like to believe this defense is “good” for the actual football game being played on the field. Perhaps we overrate them simply because they employ Myles Garrett, but they’re not a great fantasy football option.

The good news for the Browns is that this is a home game. In three home games, they’re allowed just 16 points per game and 240 yards of offense to opposing teams. On the road, they’re surrendering about 30 points per game and nearly 285 yards of offense. 11 of the 14 sacks they’ve collected this year have also come at home.

The Miami Dolphins come to town, and we know they can score some points. They’ve lost some close games of late, and it’s not the fault of the offense. Tua Tagovailoa isn’t a world beater by any means. He’s fumbled three times this year (lost one), and he’s thrown seven interceptions, so there’s a possibility the Browns can get themselves a pick-six in this matchup. I like this play even more as a correlation play if you go with Quinshon Judkins as one of your running backs, but if you wanted to pay up or down and avoid the mid-range, I wouldn’t fault you.

NFL Week 7 DFS D/ST Value Pick

Carolina Panthers – DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $3,700

The value tier for the NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Coach is pretty thin, as is the mid-range. However, the Panthers get a delicious matchup against the New York Jets. The Jets were quite the spectacle in the Week 6 NFL game in London. The crazy part is that they had a shot to actually win, but the Jets can’t help but get in their own way. And by now, you’ve probably heard that Justin Fields had net-10 passing yards on Sunday.

The Panthers aren’t a great D/ST, but again, they’re getting the New York Jets, who just had to travel back from overseas. Remember where we were in Week 5 when we had two D/ST’s in the value tier that were actually favorites. It doesn’t happen very often, but we have the Panthers as slight road favorites against the Jets. Carolina is favored by 1.5 points, and the implied total is relatively low at 42.5 total points.

The Jets likely won’t have Garrett Wilson for this matchup after he hyperextended his knee. Jaycee Horn will still take away half the field and limit where Fields can throw the ball. And it’s not like the Panthers need to respect the pass. They can stack the box to keep Breece Hall in check. For all these reasons, we like the Panthers as a team that can open up salary for us to upgrade the skill position players in our lineups. But don’t expect an ownership discount with this play. If you need a pivot, consider the Minnesota Vikings, who blitz at a high rate, but the matchup against the Eagles gives us some pause.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Fade for Week 7

Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $4,400

This one could come up and bite me in the rear. The Eagles are coming off back-to-back losses, and in doing so, they allowed 55 points to their last two opponents in addition to 300+ rushing yards and over 700 yards of total offense in that span.

This year, the Eagles have only nine total sacks and five takeaways in six games. They scored a touchdown credited to their D/ST in Weeks 3 and 4, which elevated their performances in those weeks. But this defense hasn’t been very good for fantasy football.

Now there’s also the matchup on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. Sure, the Eagles come in with some rest because they last played on Thursday Night Football. But the Minnesota Vikings are coming off their Bye week, and the revenge game narrative is always in play with Carson Wentz, but we don’t know who will start at quarterback as of Tuesday. Kevin O’Connell has yet to name a starter for Week 7 since J.J. McCarthy could return as well. If McCarthy starts, then maybe I’m not as inclined to fade the Eagles.

But Za’Darius Smith just randomly retired on Monday, and he was a late signing by the Eagles. Smith played in five games but recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks. So the Eagles' pass rush just got even more thin, so I’m not convinced this D/ST has a great performance up their sleeve unless McCarthy gets the start.

 

NFL DFS Week 7 D/ST Play of the Week

New England Patriots – DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $5,000

Is this a bit of a biased selection? Sure. But the New England Patriots are absolutely rolling, and they get arguably the best matchup of the week. This D/ST hasn’t done much lately, but they haven’t given up many points to opposing offenses, and this matchup against the Tennessee Titans is about as juicy as it can get.

For starters, Mike Vrabel makes his triumphant return to the Music City, and you know he just wants to run up the score and stick it to Tennessee’s ownership. And Vrabel’s return couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Titans just fired Brian Callahan, and with that, Bill Callahan also left the organization.

We’ve been loving D/ST’s against the Tennessee Titans. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward has been sacked 25 times through six games, and he’s thrown an interception in four straight contests as well. Tennessee’s offense is averaging just 13.8 points per game (second-worst in the NFL), and they’re dead last in offensive EPA/Play. Despite being on the road, the Patriots are favored by seven points, and the Titans' implied team total of 17.75 points could even be considered a bit bullish.