2025 Season

2025 NFL Defense Rankings by College

Which colleges Produce the Most NFL Talent?

Season

Stats

Draft Class

Overall Conference

About this leaderboard

These 2025 defense rankings rank colleges by how their NFL alumni performed as defenders — tackles, sacks, interceptions, and related fantasy points.

Totals cover the full 2025 NFL season.

Use them to compare programs known for defensive pipelines and to see mid-majors that still send productive NFL defenders.

Sort the table by the columns that matter for your question, then open a school for player-level detail.

Fantasy Points Passing Rushing Receiving Kicking Punting Returning Scoring

How we rank · About this data

NFL Regular Season: 2025

Defense Rankings

			Tackles			Sacks			Interceptions
College	FP	TD	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TFL	QB HTS	PD	INT	YDS	TD	FR	Players
1Alabama Crimson Tide	2,834.55	1	1012	766	1778	61	134	155	135	21	83	0	15	47
2Georgia Bulldogs	2,025.55	3	719	562	1281	40.5	93	106	98	10	43	1	13	44
3Ohio State Buckeyes	1,896.65	2	598	598	1196	56	100	132	77	11	104	0	16	50
4Michigan Wolverines	1,700.15	2	548	437	985	47.5	76	115	96	17	379	2	8	40
5LSU Tigers	1,545.55	2	528	434	962	35	74	76	73	12	188	1	10	38
6Iowa Hawkeyes	1,296	2	498	349	847	19	40	38	65	9	125	2	5	26
7Notre Dame Fighting Irish	1,238.85	1	476	335	811	8.5	31	21	71	10	181	1	9	32
8Florida State Seminoles	1,283.3	1	405	331	736	49.5	84	111	61	8	43	0	7	22
9Clemson Tigers	1,056.7	0	372	318	690	21	37	58	49	7	162	0	4	25
10South Carolina Gamecocks	1,148	1	395	288	683	24.5	56	44	62	16	235	1	5	22
11Texas Longhorns	1,009.45	0	336	333	669	34	46	76	26	5	37	0	8	33
12Auburn Tigers	983.9	1	356	311	667	14	31	41	54	4	74	1	1	24
13Oregon Ducks	1,022.3	0	365	294	659	26.5	56	49	38	6	93	0	5	27
14Penn State Nittany Lions	1,068.45	0	357	298	655	37	48	98	41	6	37	0	7	27
15Texas A&M Aggies	1,104.05	1	363	285	648	49	79	86	31	8	128	1	5	26
16USC Trojans	1,070.5	0	396	230	626	30	48	64	54	10	105	0	5	25
17Florida Gators	947.75	0	317	296	613	23.5	42	63	37	7	105	0	5	27
18Minnesota Golden Gophers	859.45	2	318	288	606	8.5	31	19	34	4	17	0	5	16
19Miami Hurricanes	1,032.45	1	356	237	593	30.5	45	77	51	8	167	1	7	20
20Stanford Cardinal	821.65	1	309	267	576	2	17	12	37	8	129	1	5	23
21California Golden Bears	880.9	0	337	231	568	14.5	38	23	37	9	44	0	7	16
22Washington Huskies	789.45	0	311	239	550	10	28	22	24	5	17	0	6	21
23NC State Wolfpack	804.2	0	274	268	542	23	47	48	21	3	17	0	5	15
24UCLA Bruins	811.25	0	256	279	535	20.5	46	72	22	6	25	0	3	25
25Wisconsin Badgers	886.55	2	252	252	504	33	52	75	37	8	128	1	11	16
26Oklahoma Sooners	755.5	0	245	218	463	31	46	57	26	5	5	0	6	24
27Illinois Fighting Illini	692.9	1	259	200	459	14.5	20	45	26	4	4	0	2	16
28Washington State Cougars	673.55	1	276	181	457	10	16	17	30	5	33	1	0	9
29Utah Utes	668.85	2	222	196	418	8	25	19	32	12	176	2	3	18
29Cincinnati Bearcats	629.8	0	243	175	418	11.5	32	26	23	4	43	0	0	12
31Kentucky Wildcats	726.2	0	254	163	417	15.5	42	44	43	6	57	0	4	21
32Virginia Tech Hokies	585.1	0	233	166	399	5	17	13	25	5	11	0	4	14
33Maryland Terrapins	568.25	1	233	164	397	5.5	19	16	22	1	0	0	1	18
34Tennessee Volunteers	659.6	0	227	146	373	34.5	45	65	21	2	21	0	3	24
35Boston College Eagles	587.75	0	188	170	358	23	33	87	12	1	0	0	1	11
36Wake Forest Demon Deacons	524.75	1	182	166	348	11.5	19	25	18	6	85	1	1	12
37Missouri Tigers	444.25	0	155	178	333	4	25	17	8	1	0	0	3	12
38Mississippi State Bulldogs	643.3	0	194	122	316	35.5	52	78	36	3	43	0	2	14
38Syracuse Orange	424.25	0	170	146	316	3	11	7	12	2	0	0	3	12
40TCU Horned Frogs	471	1	181	127	308	4.5	25	19	10	2	110	1	3	20
41Texas Tech Red Raiders	439.05	0	174	131	305	7.5	21	10	11	2	18	0	3	8
42Colorado Buffaloes	414.75	0	158	132	290	4.5	10	7	21	2	0	0	4	10
43Louisville Cardinals	458.9	1	163	110	273	11.5	25	36	21	2	14	0	1	13
44Ole Miss Rebels	452.75	1	153	118	271	15	28	35	13	0	0	0	7	21
45North Carolina Tar Heels	362.25	0	160	107	267	2	7	4	7	1	0	0	4	15
46Arkansas Razorbacks	384.7	0	158	103	261	3	6	6	19	5	27	0	1	12
47Wyoming Cowboys	364.9	0	136	105	241	6	15	10	18	2	39	0	2	5
48Houston Cougars	383.5	2	129	107	236	6.5	24	14	13	3	65	1	3	7
49Pittsburgh Panthers	340.25	0	144	84	228	5	16	11	11	2	0	0	0	11
50Montana State Bobcats	286.25	0	107	115	222	2.5	6	6	10	1	0	0	1	3
51Nebraska Cornhuskers	334.3	0	114	106	220	10	16	21	10	1	3	0	4	10
52Baylor Bears	346.95	0	131	82	213	1.5	17	10	16	5	42	0	3	8
53Kansas State Wildcats	335.7	1	134	71	205	2	8	3	17	4	37	0	5	8
53Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	332.1	0	133	72	205	0	5	0	19	8	91	0	2	4
55Idaho Vandals	275.1	0	98	105	203	3.5	10	13	9	1	16	0	0	3
56Temple Owls	299.5	0	110	86	196	8	12	26	12	0	0	0	0	7
57Utah State Aggies	254.45	0	88	96	184	5.5	10	11	5	3	7	0	1	4
58Oregon State Beavers	300.8	1	107	73	180	0.5	5	2	16	6	128	1	4	8
59Buffalo Bulls	277.75	0	103	74	177	10	17	26	6	0	0	0	0	6
60Appalachian State Mountaineers	224.5	0	74	98	172	1	4	2	8	2	0	0	4	5
61Iowa State Cyclones	283.25	1	98	72	170	11.5	16	24	5	1	0	0	3	9
62Virginia Cavaliers	259.95	0	96	72	168	3.5	12	8	9	3	47	0	2	6
63Yale Bulldogs	222	0	83	81	164	1	6	3	11	1	0	0	1	2
64South Dakota State Jackrabbits	212.25	0	75	82	157	4	9	5	4	1	20	0	2	4
65BYU Cougars	224.6	0	75	77	152	2	10	11	9	1	11	0	3	11
66Florida Atlantic Owls	248.4	1	75	76	151	4	5	10	21	3	9	0	2	5
67Tulane Green Wave	208.75	0	81	67	148	3.5	5	12	7	0	0	0	1	9
68Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	256.3	0	99	47	146	4.5	10	8	19	3	53	0	0	4
69Arkansas State Red Wolves	174.25	0	64	80	144	0.5	6	2	3	0	0	0	1	2
70Western Michigan Broncos	199.25	0	73	69	142	3	9	2	5	2	70	0	0	6
71Purdue Boilermakers	237.05	0	72	68	140	10	16	28	5	1	23	0	2	7
72Duke Blue Devils	176.25	0	64	69	133	2	4	5	6	0	0	0	2	11
72Vanderbilt Commodores	171	0	56	77	133	2	7	9	2	0	0	0	2	6
74Southern Illinois Salukis	165.25	0	73	59	132	1	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	2
75Fresno State Bulldogs	185.3	1	73	57	130	0	4	0	7	1	68	1	0	7
76Rutgers Scarlet Knights	201.75	0	78	51	129	2	10	6	8	0	0	0	4	9
77SMU Mustangs	203.25	0	83	45	128	2	6	5	14	0	0	0	2	10
78Toledo Rockets	211.75	0	71	54	125	5.5	6	12	21	0	0	0	1	7
79South Alabama Jaguars	179.55	0	75	45	120	1	6	2	8	1	28	0	1	3
79Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	162.6	0	65	55	120	1	4	2	7	1	6	0	0	4
81West Virginia Mountaineers	183.55	0	64	49	113	1	4	4	14	2	43	0	2	9
82Oklahoma State Cowboys	162.75	0	54	58	112	1.5	6	9	3	0	0	0	5	14
83South Carolina State Bulldogs	189	1	60	50	110	3.5	5	6	9	3	60	1	3	3
84Northwestern Wildcats	185	0	69	38	107	4	9	6	13	1	0	0	2	4
85Arizona State Sun Devils	162.2	0	65	41	106	0	5	1	8	1	7	0	3	6
86Troy Trojans	152.75	0	65	39	104	3.5	7	5	5	0	0	0	0	5
87Michigan State Spartans	124.5	0	50	53	103	0	1	2	2	0	0	0	1	11
88UCF Knights	156.85	0	63	35	98	1.5	7	3	11	1	6	0	0	10
89UTEP Miners	136.25	0	57	37	94	2	9	8	1	0	0	0	0	3
90East Carolina Pirates	170.1	1	63	28	91	4	6	4	12	2	61	1	0	2
91Ferris State Bulldogs	130	0	45	39	84	6	10	10	1	0	0	0	1	3
92Eastern Michigan Eagles	181.9	0	50	33	83	10	28	20	7	1	19	0	0	2
92Murray State Racers	126.75	0	45	38	83	3.5	8	5	7	0	0	0	0	1
94Sam Houston Bearkats	122.15	0	56	23	79	0	3	0	7	1	19	0	0	2
95Charlotte 49ers	153.5	0	48	30	78	10	19	20	3	0	0	0	0	3
95Georgia Southern Eagles	123.55	0	56	22	78	0	1	0	10	1	13	0	0	4
97Weber State Wildcats	111.75	0	43	33	76	3	6	5	4	0	0	0	0	3
98Boise State Broncos	163.75	3	37	37	74	6	11	20	1	0	0	0	7	9
99Kansas Jayhawks	139.25	0	45	26	71	10	13	19	4	0	0	0	0	5
100Arizona Wildcats	101.5	0	38	31	69	3	7	6	2	0	0	0	0	5
100Indiana Hoosiers	88.25	0	38	31	69	1	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	7
102UMass Minutemen	127.95	2	47	21	68	0	4	0	4	1	87	1	2	2
102Lenoir-Rhyne Bears	110.55	1	36	32	68	1	2	1	5	2	73	1	0	2
102South Dakota Coyotes	95.5	0	35	33	68	0	2	1	5	1	0	0	1	2
105Tusculum Pioneers	144.65	0	55	12	67	2	6	3	13	3	59	0	1	1
105Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	93.75	0	28	39	67	3	3	11	1	0	0	0	1	6
107Connecticut Huskies	108.5	0	31	34	65	6.5	10	11	2	0	0	0	1	3
107Marshall Thundering Herd	101.25	0	31	34	65	3.5	7	14	0	0	0	0	1	4
109San Diego State Aztecs	78.25	0	26	38	64	2.5	1	7	0	0	0	0	0	6
110UAB Blazers	127.8	0	39	24	63	5.5	13	9	9	1	18	0	0	3
111Manitoba Bisons	80	0	29	33	62	1	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	1
111Tarleton Texans	78.75	0	33	29	62	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	1
113UT San Antonio Roadrunners	112.5	0	41	18	59	1	2	4	12	1	30	0	1	4
113Memphis Tigers	107.5	0	34	25	59	4	6	15	3	1	0	0	1	8
115Valdosta State Blazers	97.7	1	34	21	55	1.5	3	3	6	1	32	1	0	1
115Albany State Golden Rams	82.55	0	23	32	55	0.5	5	7	4	1	3	0	0	1
117Houston Baptist Huskies	132.55	1	29	25	54	6.5	9	24	3	3	53	1	1	2
117Tulsa Golden Hurricane	104.75	1	32	22	54	2.5	7	11	0	0	0	0	4	3
119Florida A&M Rattlers	68.4	0	24	26	50	0	1	1	3	1	24	0	0	3
120Villanova Wildcats	113.55	2	36	12	48	3	5	4	4	2	63	1	2	2
120Sioux Falls	79.5	0	28	20	48	2.5	6	9	2	0	0	0	0	1
120Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns	66.5	0	34	14	48	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	5
123Fort Hays State Tigers	73.5	0	23	24	47	3	4	13	0	0	0	0	0	1
124Illinois State Redbirds	77.25	0	25	20	45	1	7	5	4	0	0	0	1	2
124Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles	62.5	0	17	28	45	3	3	4	3	0	0	0	0	7
126Texas A&M-Commerce Lions	63.5	0	19	24	43	2	8	5	0	0	0	0	0	1
127Western Illinois Leathernecks	70.75	0	22	20	42	6	8	5	1	0	0	0	0	2
127Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors	52.25	0	21	21	42	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
129Indiana-Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks	74.4	0	13	28	41	4	3	9	3	2	59	0	0	1
129UNLV Rebels	46.75	0	18	23	41	0.5	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3
131Bowling Green Falcons	45.25	0	12	25	37	0.5	1	5	1	0	0	0	0	3
132Missouri S&T Miners	44.5	0	11	25	36	2	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	1
133Jackson State Tigers	68.75	0	18	17	35	5.5	6	13	0	0	0	0	1	1
134Eastern Washington Eagles	65	0	23	11	34	2	5	8	0	0	0	0	2	2
135Missouri Western Griffons	45.25	1	13	20	33	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3
135Alcorn State Braves	37.75	0	15	18	33	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
137Florida Intl Golden Panthers	59.5	0	22	10	32	0	4	1	4	0	0	0	2	2
137Central Arkansas Bears	41.5	0	17	15	32	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	3
139Central Michigan Chippewas	37.5	0	16	14	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4
140Delaware Blue Hens	37.25	0	17	11	28	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
141Saginaw Valley Cardinals	43	0	12	15	27	1	2	2	3	0	0	0	1	2
142Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	59.25	0	13	13	26	7.5	6	15	0	0	0	0	0	2
142Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves	26.75	0	8	18	26	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
144Sacramento State Hornets	46	0	18	7	25	0	0	0	5	1	20	0	0	1
144Navy Midshipmen	35.25	0	14	11	25	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	2
144Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	33.75	0	16	9	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
147Cal Poly Mustangs	48.5	0	14	10	24	4	4	5	0	0	0	0	2	1
148Miami (OH) RedHawks	36	0	15	7	22	1.5	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	2
148North Dakota State Bison	27	0	10	12	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5
150Nevada Wolf Pack	26.5	0	12	9	21	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
151Rice Owls	25.75	0	10	10	20	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
152Grand Valley State Lakers	27	0	9	10	19	0	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1
152Montana Grizzlies	26.5	0	8	11	19	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
152New Mexico Lobos	26	0	11	8	19	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
152Northwest Missouri State Bearcats	23	0	6	13	19	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
156Air Force Falcons	23	0	9	9	18	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
156California (PA)	21	0	10	8	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
158Sacred Heart Pioneers	20.25	0	10	7	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
158Prairie View Panthers	19.75	0	4	13	17	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
158Jacksonville State Gamecocks	17.25	0	6	11	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
161West Florida Argonauts	18.5	0	6	9	15	0.5	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
162Wagner Seahawks	19.25	0	6	8	14	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1
163Harvard Crimson	21.25	0	5	8	13	1.5	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	2
163Pittsburg State Gorillas	16	0	6	7	13	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
165Youngstown State Penguins	13.5	0	6	6	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
166Malone Pioneers	12.75	0	6	5	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
167Ball State Cardinals	15.25	0	4	6	10	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3
168North Texas Mean Green	16	0	9	0	9	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
168Northern Iowa Panthers	14.5	0	5	4	9	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3
168Drake Bulldogs	13.5	0	5	4	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
168Morgan State Bears	11.25	0	6	3	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
168Augustana University (SD) Vikings	9.75	0	4	5	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
173Furman Paladins	14.25	0	7	1	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
173Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	10.5	0	6	2	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
173Maine Black Bears	9	0	4	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
173East Tennessee State Buccaneers	9	0	4	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
173Army Black Knights	6.75	0	1	7	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
178Colorado State Rams	12	0	5	2	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
179Stony Brook Seawolves	10.5	0	3	3	6	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
179Missouri State Bears	8.75	0	4	2	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
179Fayetteville State Broncos	7.5	0	4	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
179Kutztown Golden Bears	7.5	0	4	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
179Chattanooga Mocs	6	0	2	4	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
184Brown Bears	10.5	0	2	3	5	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1
184Rhode Island Rams	6.75	0	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
184Berry College Vikings	6.75	0	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
184New Hampshire Wildcats	6	0	3	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
184Southern Utah Thunderbirds	6	0	3	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
189Old Dominion Monarchs	6	0	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
189Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	6	0	2	2	4	0.5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
189Northern Colorado Bears	3.75	0	1	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
192Friends University Friends	5.25	0	1	2	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
192Barton Bulldogs	4.5	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
192Azusa Pacific	3.75	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
192Washburn Ichabods	2.25	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
196Campbell Fighting Camels	5.25	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
196Towson Tigers	3	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
196Duquesne Dukes	3	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
196Marist Red Foxes	3	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
196Idaho State Bengals	2.25	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
196William & Mary Tribe	2.25	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202San Jose State Spartans	4.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
202Fort Valley State Wildcats	4.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
202Wayne State (MI) Warriors	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202James Madison Dukes	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Indiana State Sycamores	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202San Diego Toreros	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Texas State Bobcats	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Wingate Bulldogs	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Minnesota State Mavericks	1.5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Pennsylvania Quakers	0.75	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Dayton Flyers	0.75	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
202Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks	0.75	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
215South Florida Bulls	1.75	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1