When to Draft Kickers and D/ST in Fantasy Football

Knowing when to draft kickers and defenses can help Fantasy managers make the most out of the Fantasy team

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) kicks a field goal to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kickers and defenses are typically afterthoughts for Fantasy managers when filling out their Fantasy team on draft night.

Knowing when to draft a kicker and a defense can be the difference between a pedestrian season and a championship-contending season. 

When to Draft a Kicker

A missed field goal can have Fantasy managers ripping their hair out as the missed kick can be the difference between a win and a loss. 

Kicker is typically the last spot filled in the starting lineup, but waiting to find a kicker can be a mistake for Fantasy managers down the road. 

Ever since Brandon Aubrey’s emergence into the NFL, I’ve been in favor of reaching for the Dallas Cowboys kicker.

Aubrey currently has a 129 ADP, but I’d be comfortable selecting the three-time Pro Bowler as early as the 10th round, depending on how many teams are in the league..

Aubrey has two K1 finishes under his belt and looks to add another one with his accurate and powerful leg. The Dallas Cowboys kicker also has the advantage of playing his home games in a dome stadium, eliminating the weather factor for half of Aubrey’s games. 

The 2023 All-Pro is worth selecting early on to avoid having to deal with the headaches of having a mediocre kicker in your Fantasy lineup.

Brandon Aubrey from 63 yards. No problem.

DALvsDET on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/npT7Jt0qDf

— NFL (@NFL) December 5, 2025

If a Fantasy manager is quicker in selecting Aubrey, waiting until the later round to select a kicker is viable as none of the kickers in the immediate range after Aubrey have as much Fantasy impact as the 2023 NFL scoring leader. 

When to Draft a Defense

The waiver wire is the way to go when managing the D/ST position.

Finding teams in a matchup against a poor offense offers a better chance at winning the weekly Fantasy battle than riding with the same defense throughout the whole season.

Defenses typically get selected ahead of kickers, outside of Aubrey, but the matchup battle has too much volatility in selecting a defense early on. 

Fantasy managers should use their last draft pick or second-to-last draft pick to select their defense, since finding a defense off the waiver offers better matchups. 

Waiting to select a defense in the last round, allows Fantasy managers to select depth pieces early on while other Fantasy managers join on the run of selecting defenses earlier in the draft. 

The only defense that may have an Aubrey-esque effect is the Houston Texans Defense.

The Texans are loaded with talent in their front seven and their secondary. Houston finished top-three in turnovers, second in points per game allowed and seventh in sacks.

The Texans are set up to build off their 2025 success as they have several favorable matchups throughout the season. 

Texans Defense 5 SCK, 1 INT, 1 FF, 8 TFL, 5 PD vs Chargers Today.

Best defense in the NFL.pic.twitter.com/8vwc5SUnJ8 https://t.co/029ceJhp0e

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) December 28, 2025

Even then, the Texans defense have tough Fantasy-playoffs matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, so they may not be the best play that week due to the matchup.

The importance of the matchup for a defense makes taking one earlier in the draft too risky.

The waiver wire will be the main focus for navigating the D/ST position, so draft any middle-of-the-pack defense to fill the position and pay attention to the matchups throughout the season.