Packers defense fantasy football: Where does Green Bay rank after Micah Parsons trade

The Green Bay Packers' fantasy football defense just added a major boost to their value by acquiring Micah Parsons. He has been locked into a heated contract negotiation with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys for the duration of the offseason, but was traded ahead of Week 1 after the two sides failed to come to an agreement.

Parsons almost immediately signed a new contract with tjhe Packers after the trade was completed, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. His four-year deal includes $188 million in total money with $120 million in guarantees.

In return for Parsons, the Cowboys received Kenny Clark and two first round picks in the NFL Draft across the next two years. Time will tell who won the deal in the long term, but the Packers appear to be the winners for the upcoming 2025 seaosn. This is especially true in fantasy football where Parsons' sacks are valuable towards their outlook.

The Packers ranked 18th in the 2025 fantasy football defense rankings before acquiring Parsons, but have now moved all the way up to the eighth spot. The Cowboys have encountered the opposite affect, dropping from ninth to 16th since trading away their superstar defender.

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Managers can now give much stronger consideration to selecting the Packers in their fantasy drafts this year. Despite playing in an extremely difficult NFC North division, Micah Parsons should increase their sack totals, which should result in an improved fantasy ranking. They recorded two or fewer sacks in ten of their 17 games last, so an improved pass ruch significantly raises their ceiling.

The Packers haven't quite moved into the elite tier of the rankings, but their upside suggests that they can still get there during the course of the 2025 fantasy football season. The Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers still profile as the top two options for this year, but here's how all 32 teams stack up.

Fantasy Football defense rankings for 2025 season

Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers
Houston Texans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings
Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers
Baltimore Ravens
Los Angeles Rams
Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
New York Jets
Dallas Cowboys
Chicago Bears
Seattle Seahawks
New York Giants
Washiongton Commanders
New England Patriots
Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons
Arizona Cardinals
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Tennessee Titans
Cincinnati Bengals
New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers

About the author

Adam Hulse is an NFL journalist at Sportskeeda with 4 years of experience. He is also the host of the podcast "Sports Talk with Adam Hulse."

Adam studied Communications at Villanova University and played American football at Pop Warner and as a high school Freshman. His favorite team are the Dallas Cowboys, and if Adam could lay his hands on a time machine, he would love to witness their glory years from the 1990s. The Cowboys' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX is his favorite Super Bowl of all time.

Given his affinity for 'America's Team,' Adam's favorite players of all time include Emmitt Smith. Michael Irvin, Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.

Adam takes a lot of pride in his work, which naturally culminates into insightful content for his readers, performance analysis being his forte. When not writing about football, Adam spends a time on his podcast.

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Edited by Adam Hulse