Fantasy Strength of Schedule

How strength of schedule works

What it measures. For each NFL team and each fantasy position, SOS shows two numbers: the average PPR fantasy points the opposing defenses allowed to that position in 2025 (higher = more permissive = easier matchup environment), and a rank 1–32 where rank 1 = EASIEST schedule and rank 32 = hardest. The rank is computed on the simple mean across all non-bye weeks in the selected range — byes are excluded from the mean, never counted as a zero.

Why per-position. Defenses don't defend all positions equally — a unit that locks down wide receivers can still be porous against tight ends or running backs. A single "easy schedule" number hides this. Each position is rated independently against how much fantasy production opposing defenses allowed to that position, so the number is actually meaningful for draft and waiver decisions.

The breakdown. Expand any team row to see its full opponent list — each opponent's 2025 defensive fppg allowed to the position is shown so you can see exactly which weeks drive the rating up or down.

Data provenance. Opponent difficulty values are derived from week-by-week opponent-vs-position fantasy points allowed (same nflverse CC-BY 4.0 data that powers the Start Score's matchup component), aggregated to a 2025 season average with weekly values rounded to one decimal before aggregation. This is not a raw box-score sum — it is a mean of rounded weekly averages, precise to roughly a tenth of a point. Ranks are stable across the full 32-team spread.

Limitation — prior-season basis. These ratings reflect 2025 defensive performance. Rosters, coordinators, and schemes change over an offseason, so prior-season defense predicts the new season imperfectly. This is the best citable primary-source signal available in the draft window, but treat it as directional, not definitive. It also rates the schedule, not the player — a favorable schedule helps only a player with a real role in that offense.

Views. The Full Season view covers all regular-season weeks — useful for draft prep and season-long planning. The Fantasy Playoffs view (Weeks 15–17) isolates the weeks that decide championships. Playoff weeks vary by league; 15–17 is the most common range and is used here as the labeled default. Full-season SOS is inherently low-variance — 17 opponents regress toward the mean — so treat it as a mild tilt signal for draft positioning. The playoff view is where schedule divergence concentrates: three specific matchups can meaningfully separate championship-window teams.